Memorable occasion in north Longford as Abbeylara Handball Club celebrates centenary of 60 x 30 Outdoor Alley

Abbeylara Handball Club hosted a festival of handball activities to mark the centenary of the 60 x 30 Outdoor Handball Alley in the north Longford village. 

The outdoor alley was originally built in 1924 by local parishioners and handball players, it was then extended and restored in 1997. 

The centenary commemoration on Saturday, October 19, commenced with a competition involving Juvenile players. The weather was fantastic which allowed for use of both the outdoor and indoor alleys, along with the adult doubles tournament in the afternoon. 

Local juvenile players that participated included U12 rising star Fiachra O’Connor. Fiachra progressed to the U12 semi-final where he lost out to the eventual winner MJ Corr from Ballyshannon. Local U16 star Thomas Finn won the U16 final and Marc Galligan won the U16 plate final against Finn Lynch of Dublin. 

In the afternoon, the Doubles Adults tournament commenced, with players competing in the John Carthy and Patrick Hyland Memorial Cups, Senior and Junior One Wall Doubles Tournament. 

The tournament took a break in the afternoon and the club were delighted to have Fr Simon Cadam in attendance to lead a blessing and prayers at the outdoor alley. 

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The pairing of Niall and Darren Flynn dominated the first and second rounds to reach the Patrick Hyland Cup Final. Darren and Niall battled their way through meeting tough competition along the way, including doubles pairing Fintan Creamer and Emmet Quinlan in the semi-final. They then met the Abbeylara and Mayo pairing of Matt Finn and Ollie Cassidy in the final, and following a titanic battle of handball claimed the 2024 Patrick Hyland Cup. 

In the John Carthy Cup final, Donegal/Tyrone duo Martin Corr and his partner Geroid Corr were a strong pairing, winning the 1st and 2nd rounds to reach the Plate final. They fought off competition from the Abbeylara pairing of Maria Gilligan and Craig O’Connor to reach the final. Their opposition was sibling duo Jenny and Jonathan Mahon who also reached the final after defeating Dylan Stenson and Aishling Cosgrove from Mullingar Handball Club in the semi-final. Following an exciting final the Donegal duo proved too strong for Abbeylara and they ran out the comfortable winners to claim the 2024 John Carthy Memorial Cup. 

Also read: Longford parish indebted to the dedication and vision of late Fr Michael Campbell

Abbeylara Handball Club have had huge success this year including two Provincial titles and one Juvenile title. Successes at the O’Neills World Wallball Championships in University Limerick in August including the Finn brothers, Thomas and Adam in U16 Doubles. 

Mick Conlon from MMC Productions was on site all day to bring the tournament to a National and International audience through his commentary and livestream. He was fantastic at providing such a platform to showcase GAA Handball and Abbeylara HC are very grateful for all his support, dedication, patience and expertise in the field of media, camera and video production. 

Another expert in her field was Photography by Lissette Carcamo from Granard. Lissette was on hand to capture amazing photos and memories which the club will treasure forever. Her ability to capture detail through a lens is commendable and her patience, dedication, and work ethic contributed to a very successful day. 

Also read: Well that’s ace! Longford handball duo savour Leinster championship success

Following the presentations to winners and runners up, a minute’s silence was observed and speeches were given to honour the great work, legacy, commitment and devotion that Fr Micheal Campbell P.P (RIP) gave to Abbeylara Handball club.  He was a great advocate for the sport and without his knowledge, devotion, commitment and expertise, Abbeylara would not have the thriving club that it is today. 

Abbeylara Handball Club wish to express thanks to Abbeylara Tidy Towns, Nikki’s Restaurant Granard for the lovely food, Geraldine’s Cakes Granard and Marquerite Gore (RDO -GAA Handball Dublin). Thanks to all the bakers and people who helped out on the day.

On behalf of Abbeylara Handball Club, Jenny Mahon thanked all their sponsors who without them, the day would not have been a huge success. 

“Massive thank you to Charlie Burns Agricultural Consultants for sponsoring our new centenary jerseys. Thank you to Maura and Micheal Newman (New grove Bog), Abbeylara for sponsoring the medals and trophies. Thanks to Pat the Baker Granard for generously donating bread for the event. David Sheridan (Matt Reilly Cakes) for taking care of us with lovely treats and cakes.  Thank you to Paddy and the staff at SuperValu Granard for providing sponsorship towards the event. Thank you to Fresh Today, Granard for all providing support towards the tournament. 

“Thank you to Cllr Padraig McNamara and Longford County Council for fixing the paths prior to the event, this ensured the safety of all our players and visitors.  And finally thank you to a very hardworking committee, members and players who put in extensive work to ensure the event was a huge success. We look forward to welcoming everyone back to Abbeylara for the Annual Wallball Tournament in 2025.”