The Irish Wallball Nationals is a wallball/one-wall handball tournament held annually in Ireland in early July.[2][3][4] The tournament is the main wallball/One-wall handball on the Irish handball calendar.
| Irish Wallball Nationals | |
|---|---|
| Venue | Various (County Sligo, County Mayo, County Roscommon) |
| Location | County Roscommon (2022-present) |
| Date | early July (Annual Tournament) |
| Competitors | 400 (2019) |
| Website | http://gaahandball.ie |
| Champions | |
| Men | C. McElduff (2022)[1] |
| Women | C. Casey (2022) |
Events and venues
editThe Nationals feature men's and women's singles; with Senior/Open, B, C, 23 and under (23&U), 19 and under (19&U), Masters and Juvenile grades. Since 2009, the games are normally held in a 5-court venue in the Sports Arena at Breaffy House Hotel in Castlebar.[2][3][4] For 2022, the Irish Wallball Nationals were planned for Roscommon venues[5] as the Breaffy House Sports Arena was unavailable.[6]
Management
editThe Irish Wallball Nationals is managed by GAA Handball, formerly the Irish Handball Council.
History
editThe event was first played in County Meath in 1997 before moving to Sligo where it was hosted[7][8] for several years before moving to its current, multi-court venue, Breaffy House Hotel in County Mayo in 2009.[2][9] The 2022 Nationals were scheduled to take place across three Roscommon venues - Kilglass GAC, Strokestown CS, and the Convent of Mercy Roscommon, as Breaffy House Arena is unavailable to host the tournament this year.[10] The three-court venue in Kilglass was set as the main venue for finals / premier grades.
Champions
editMen's Open:
| Year | Champion | County |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | P. Hall | Dublin 
|
| 1998 | R. McCarthy Snr | Westmeath 
|
| 1999 | D. King | Carlow 
|
| 2000 | D. Keegan | Mayo 
|
| 2001 | D. King | Carlow
|
| 2002 | D. King | Carlow
|
| 2003 | C. Browne | Meath 
|
| 2004 | D. Keegan | Mayo
|
| 2005 | D. King | Carlow
|
| 2006 | R. McCarthy | Westmeath
|
| 2007 | C. Shanks | Armagh 
|
| 2008 | P. Brady | Cavan 
|
| 2009 | C. Shanks | Armagh
|
| 2010 | C. Shanks | Armagh
|
| 2011 | H. Mendez | Puerto Rico 
|
| 2012 | R. McCarthy | Westmeath
|
| 2013 | H. Mendez | Puerto Rico
|
| 2014 | C. McElduff | Tyrone 
|
| 2015 | C. McElduff | Tyrone
|
| 2016 | M. Mulkerrins | Galway
|
| 2017 | C. McElduff[11] | Tyrone
|
| 2018 | C. McElduff[12][13] | Tyrone
|
| 2019 | M. Mulkerrins[14] | Galway
|
| 2020 | The competition did not take place in 2020 due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. | |
| 2021 | The competition did not take place in 2021 due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. | |
| 2022 | C. McElduff[1] | Tyrone
|
Women's Open:
| Year | Champion | County |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | F. Mee | Roscommon 
|
| 1998 | L. Doolan | Roscommon
|
| 1999 | No Competition | |
| 2000 | No Competition | |
| 2001 | No Competition | |
| 2002 | No Competition | |
| 2003 | No Competition | |
| 2004 | M. Kennedy | Galway
|
| 2005 | F. O'Reilly | Limerick 
|
| 2006 | M. Rushe | Roscommon
|
| 2007 | A. Prendiville | Kerry
|
| 2008 | M. Rushe | Roscommon
|
| 2009 | M. Rushe | Roscommon
|
| 2010 | L. Havern | Down 
|
| 2011 | K. McConney | United States 
|
| 2012 | L. Havern | Down
|
| 2013 | L. Havern | Down
|
| 2014 | M. McMahon | Limerick
|
| 2015 | C. Casey | Cork 
|
| 2016 | L. Havern[16] | Down
|
| 2017 | M. McMahon[11] | Limerick
|
| 2018 | M. McMahon[13] | Limerick
|
| 2019 | C. Ni Churraoin[14] | Galway
|
| 2020 | The competition did not take place in 2020 due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. | |
| 2021 | The competition did not take place in 2021 due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. | |
| 2022 | C. Casey | Cork
|
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Mc Elduff King Of The Court Again". TeamTalk Mag. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
- ^ a b c Fitzpatrick, Paul. "One Of The World's Fastest Growing Sports Is Taking Over Castlebar This Weekend". Balls.ie. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
- ^ a b Advertiser, Mayo. "Wallball nationals roll into Castlebar". Mayo Advertiser. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
- ^ a b "Worlds best come to Ireland for Handball Nationals". Sport Ireland. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
- ^ Dooner, Dan (30 June 2022). "Kilglass and Roscommon to host Wallball Nationals". Roscommon People. Roscommon People. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
- ^ "Irish Wallball Nationals 2022 - Entry Open". GAA Handball. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
- ^ "Handball: One-wall nationals another great success". Independent.ie. MediaHuis. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
- ^ "One wall handball nationals in Sligo - HoganStand". hoganstand.com. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
- ^ "One-Wall Handball Nationals preview". RTE. 23 June 2009. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
- ^ "Irish Wallball Nationals 2022 - Entry Open". GAA Handball. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
- ^ a b "Open titles for McElduff and McMahon at Irish Wallball Nationals - HoganStand". hoganstand.com. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
- ^ McGee, Tony (26 May 2018). "Conor McElduff hopes to cap great run with another handball victory". The Irish News. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
- ^ a b "2019 Wallball Nationals - Entry Open". GAA Handball. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
- ^ a b GBFM, Sport (9 July 2019). "Seven Gold Medals For Galway At One Wall Nationals". Galway Bay FM. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
- ^ "Roll of Honour". GAA Handball. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
- ^ McGee, Tony (5 July 2016). "Lorraine Havern wins ladies' open title at National Wall-Ball". The Irish News. Retrieved 10 June 2022.