Irish Wallball Nationals
| 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) |
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.
Events and venues
[edit]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
[edit]The Irish Wallball Nationals is managed by GAA Handball, formerly the Irish Handball Council.
History
[edit]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
[edit]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
|
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
[edit]- European 1-Wall Tour
- Handball International Championships
- GAA Handball
- UK Wallball
- United States Handball Association
- International Ball game Confederation (CIJB)
- Valencian Pilota Federation (Fedpival)
- Gaelic handball
- American handball
- Basque pelota
- Pêl-Law (Welsh handball)
- Valencian frontó
References
[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.