WITH victory in the O'Neill's All-Ireland Ladies' 40x20 Doubles, in Kilkenny, Catriona Casey has achieved the phenomenal feat of holding every Ladies' Senior title in Irish Handball in a period of 12 months, not to mention the titles she has won on the USHA Tour.
She is now current 40x20 Singles and Doubles champion, 60x30 Singles and Doubles Champion and Irish One Wall Ladies' Singles Champion.
She completed a hat-trick of Doubles titles in tandem with playing partner Aisling O’Keefe with a hard-earned victory over Limerick duo Martina McMahon and 16-year-old Katie McCarthy who performed with confidence that belied her young years.
Anyone who may have thought that the Limerick duo were just there to make up the numbers quickly changed their minds following the first game in which the Treaty females never allowed Casey and O'Keefe to take control. McMahon dominated the court and McCarthy dealt with whatever came her way, taking the thrilling first game 21-19.
Casey took control in the second game and, with the experience of O’Keefe coming to the fore, the holders levelled the battle 21-16 to force a tie-breaker.
In the shootout third game, it was Limerick who started the brighter with McMahon producing a series of fantastic killshots to open up a lead but the Cork pair drew on their experience. They gained a grip on the game with Casey’s serve in particular reaping rewards. O’Keefe began to dominate on the right and the duo from Ballydesmond were soon at match point and retained the title for a third consecutive year 21-8.
Cavan’s ten-time All-Ireland winners Paul Brady and Michael Finnegan remain on course to stretch their run as they overcame a determined challenge from Kerry’s Dominick Lynch and Jack O’Shea, in the men's semi-finals. The Kerry duo went into the game as underdogs but came out with a lot of credit as they pushed the Cavan duo all the way.
In the end it was the Breffni boys on the right side of the 21-16, 21-16 scoreline.
They will next play Dublin’s Eoin Kennedy and Carl Browne who defeated Mayo’s Joe McCann and Vinnie Moran in a third game in the other semi-final. Mayo took the first 21-16 but the Dubs forced a third game as they won the second 21-14.
They were then in control during the rubber match, as their superior fitness levels came to the fore and they secured a 21-5 victory to advance to the final in two weeks' time.
In the Adult All-Ireland Doubles semi-finals, between Ulster and Connacht, Red Hand partnerships won 10 of the 15 fixtures
