Irish Wallball Nationals

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
VenueVarious (County Sligo, County Mayo, County Roscommon)
LocationCounty Roscommon (2022-present)
Dateearly July (Annual Tournament)
Competitors400 (2019)
Websitehttp://gaahandball.ie
Champions
MenC. McElduff (2022)[1]
WomenC. Casey (2022)

Events and venues

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The 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

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The Irish Wallball Nationals is managed by GAA Handball, formerly the Irish Handball Council.

History

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The 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

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Men'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  

[15]

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

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Mc Elduff King Of The Court Again". TeamTalk Mag. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ a b Advertiser, Mayo. "Wallball nationals roll into Castlebar". Mayo Advertiser. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Worlds best come to Ireland for Handball Nationals". Sport Ireland. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  5. ^ Dooner, Dan (30 June 2022). "Kilglass and Roscommon to host Wallball Nationals". Roscommon People. Roscommon People. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  6. ^ "Irish Wallball Nationals 2022 - Entry Open". GAA Handball. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  7. ^ "Handball: One-wall nationals another great success". Independent.ie. MediaHuis. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  8. ^ "One wall handball nationals in Sligo - HoganStand". hoganstand.com. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  9. ^ "One-Wall Handball Nationals preview". RTE. 23 June 2009. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  10. ^ "Irish Wallball Nationals 2022 - Entry Open". GAA Handball. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  11. ^ a b "Open titles for McElduff and McMahon at Irish Wallball Nationals - HoganStand". hoganstand.com. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  12. ^ McGee, Tony (26 May 2018). "Conor McElduff hopes to cap great run with another handball victory". The Irish News. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  13. ^ a b "2019 Wallball Nationals - Entry Open". GAA Handball. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  14. ^ a b GBFM, Sport (9 July 2019). "Seven Gold Medals For Galway At One Wall Nationals". Galway Bay FM. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  15. ^ "Roll of Honour". GAA Handball. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  16. ^ McGee, Tony (5 July 2016). "Lorraine Havern wins ladies' open title at National Wall-Ball". The Irish News. Retrieved 10 June 2022.