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Ladies Football and Handball news

18/11/2018 Clares   Con Collins    Picture Seamus Loughran
18/11/2018 Clares Con Collins Picture Seamus Loughran 18/11/2018 Clares Con Collins Picture Seamus Loughran

Ladies Football

Post Primary Schools Inter-provincial Championship 2019

THE first silverware of the season is on offer this weekend at the Post Primary Schools’ Inter-provincial Championships in Kinnegad.

Ulster are two times defending champions aiming for a third consecutive title and manager Gary Mallon takes a very strong panel of 30, representing all nine counties, to Westmeath for tomorrow’s competition.

Having won the competition for the first time in 2017, they retained their title 12 months ago and no doubt Mallon will hope to keep their hands on the title for another year.

Only seven players remain from last year’s winning team, but among them are experienced players including Donaghmoyne star Louise Kerley and Fermanagh’s Blaithin Bogue who have been selected for a third successive year, while Dearbhla Coleman was on the 2017 team while Jayne Drury of Our Lady’s Castleblanyey, who was also in the Monaghan senior squad last year is captain.

New to the squad this year is some serious talent in Monaghan trio – Aisling McAnespie, sister of Monaghan and Emyvale stars Ciara, Aoife and Eimear, and sisters Lauren and Amy Garland who played a pivotal role in Donaghmoyne’s Ulster senior club championship success in 2018.

Ulster will begin their defence against Leinster at 11am followed by games against Munster (12noon) and then Connacht (1pm) with the shield final, which will be third and fourth placed teams, and the cup final between the top two teams, scheduled for the afternoon.

Ulster: B Gallagher (St Columba’s Glenties), G Ferguson (Our Lady’s, Newry), A McCarvill (OLSP, Knock), M ,Monaghan (Largy College, Clones), L Garland (St Louis Carrickmacross), L McVeety (Loreto Cavan), M McCambridge (St Ronan’s Lurgan), J Drury (Our Lady’s Castleblayney), B Bogue (Mount Lourdes, Enniskillen), A Garland (St Louis Carrickmacross), L Dahunsi (St Genevieve’s, Belfast), A McAnespie (St Ciaran’s Ballygawley),C McCaffrey (Mount Lourdes, Enniskillen), L Kerley (St Louis Carrickmacross), E Smyth (Mount Lourdes, Enniskillen), C Duffy (St Louis Carrickmacross), D Coleman (St Ronan’s Lurgan), D Gallagher (Mount Lourdes, Enniskillen), J Duffy (Our Lady’s Castleblayney), E Doherty (St Pius Magherafelt), A Daly (Loreto Omagh), M Hanna (St Dominic’s Belfast), J Treaty (Loreto Milford), C Brown (St Dominic’s Belfast), S Macartan (St Louis Kilkeel), A Smyth (Assumption Ballynahinch), L Carr (Loreto Milford), C Nic Ghiolla Bhríde (Colaiste Oiriall), A O'Keefe (Aquinas Belfast), C Brown (Sacred Heart Newry)

Handball

European Number One Conor McElduff has opted out of this weekend's Dutch Wall Ball Chanmpionship in the interests of getting more practice at home on the Four Wall courts. He will begin his defence of the Tyrone League title instead of defending the Dutch crown he collected last season, Tony McGee.

“I aim to make a big push in Ireland this year in the Four Wall game,” reveals the Breacach battler. “In recent years I haven't played very much on the four wall courts so I am concentrating on that now. I would love to win an Ulster title and then see what happens at national level.

“Because I have been concentrating on that aim I haven't had much practice, since the Worlds, in the One Wall game. It was a big decision to make not to defend the Dutch title this weekend but I feel it is the correct one. I hope to gain enough ranking points during the rest of the season to hold on to my European top spot.

“My next European visit will be to the UK Open at the end of February. By then I hope to have got in some extra practice in One Wall.

“Apart from the Tyrone league, we have the Ulster Championships coming up soon and I am concentrating on that just now.

“Because of that I have got zero practice in One Wall so I believe it was the right decision to pull out of the Dutch Open this weekend.”

Meanwhile, a total of 162 females - a record entry of players aged from nine to 40+ - competed in the She's Ace competitions in Mayo and Sligo with, as usual, the Four Wall Open final being the main attraction, at Aughagower.

This was a cracking contest between the best two players in the world, Catriona Casey (Cork) & Martina McMahon (Limerick) with Casey helping to wipe out a little the disappointments of losing last year's All-Ireland and World Championships finals to the Limerick lass.

McMahon entered as favourite but it was Casey who stormed into an early lead and dominated the opening exchanges with her aggressive play. However, McMahon recovered to surge back to 14-12 but Casey refused to give in, leaving it game ball and winning 15-14.

That gave the Cork girl confidence to push on and she easily won the second game 15-7, to win her fifth She's Ace title in the sixth edition of the event.

In the 17&U final, Noelle Dowling (Kilkenny) proved too strong for Cuilleann Bourke (Mayo), winning her second straight She's Ace title, having won last year's 15&U crown. This year that crown went to Clodagh Munroe (Tyrone) who's power was too much for Chloe Philpott (Clare). Emma Kinane (Galway) continued her recent winning streak by seeing off the challenge of Jodie Keeling (Wexford) in the 13&U grade.

She's Ace 40x20 Finals:

13&U: Emma Kinane (Galway) dft Jodie Keeling (Wexford) 15-7, 15-4

15&U: Clodagh Munroe (Tyrone) dft Chloe Philpott (Clare) 25-16

17&U: Noelle Dowling (Kilkenny) dft Cuilleann Bourke (Mayo) 25-12

Ladies' Challenger: Mary Burke (Mayo) dft Mags Donovan (Mayo) 25-22

Ladies' 40+: Orla Foy (Westmeath) dft Hayley Kilroy (Mayo) 25-6

Ladies' B: Sabrina Hughes (Dublin) dft Ellen O’Connor (Kildare) 10-21, 21-8, 11-0

Ladies' Open: Catriona Casey (Cork) dft Martina McMahon (Limerick) 15-14, 15-7

She's Ace One-Wall Finals:

Team Event: Team Bourke (Cuileann Bourke, Louise McGinnity, Sara Coleman, Jodie Keeling, Brona Ni Cheallachain, Emer Barron) dft Team Percy (Eleanor Percy, Clodagh Munroe, Leah Minogue, Sarah Taaffe, Katelyn Donovan, Elisha Kenna) 45-19

Mother & Daughter: Eithne & Clodagh Munroe (Tyrone) dft Mary & Cuileann Bourke (Mayo) 15-11

Beginners' Challenge: Maria Maloney (Mayo) dft Mags Donovan (Mayo) 21-12