Underage handball is thriving in Mayo in present times, with the county collecting no less than four All-Ireland titles at the recent 40x20 Juvenile finals in Ballinrobe. Ballaghaderreen had cause for great celebrations when Stephen Cooney, one of the most improved players on the underage circuit, defeated Tyrone’s Caolan Daly to take the U-16 singles title. Daly and Cooney are two of the up and coming underage players to watch in the game and the meeting of the pair produced some top-quality handball. Daly took the first game 21-9, but a determined Cooney bounced back to take the second 21-3. The tie-breaker proved to be a nail-biting contest, with Cooney edging out the Ulsterman by just a single ace to take final honours.
Ballaghaderreen made it a double as Amy Corrigan recorded an easy victory over Down’s Lorraine Havern in the U-16 girls singles. Corrigan proved why she is one of the best underage talents in the game with a 21-7, 21-4 demolition of her opponent. Mayo added a further two All-Ireland titles to their collection over the weekend, with Leona Ryder winning the U-15 girls final and the pairing of Lee Cummins and Ian McLoughlin taking the U-16 doubles honours. Ryder was clinical in the final, defeating Clare’s Orla Duggan on a 21-8, 21-6 scoreline. The boys pairing took on the same approach, and after a 21-10 win in the first, blasted through the second to take the game 21-5, and lift Mayo’s fourth All-Ireland title. This has been a highly successful year for juvenile 40x20 handball in Mayo, with many of the players now eyeing up 60x30 silverware.
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