Cavan’s Paul Brady accepted the 2006 Vodafone Handballer of the Year Award at a special ceremony in the Westbury Hotel, Dublin today (June 7th). The 27-year-old had a phenomenal season in 2006, where he claimed Irish, US and World titles, as well as making various pieces of history along the way.

Paul's achievements in handball are astonishing. He is the current World, National and US Open champion. He has won the last three All-Ireland 40 x 20 Senior Singles titles. Last year he defended his first World Open singles title in Edmonton, Canada and also won the US singles title, adding doubles glory with fellow Kingscourt clubman, Michael Finnegan.

Paul is again combining his commitments in the alley with his involvement with the Cavan senior football team. Paul is a previous winner of a Vodafone Handball award.

A brief look at Paul Brady…

• A member of the Cavan Senior Football team and Mullahoran club team who won the 2006 county title, Paul Brady also represented Ulster in last year’s Interprovincial Series. He is the current World Open Singles handball champion and a member of Kingscourt Handball Club.

• He won his first international title in Winnipeg, Canada in 1997, when he collected the 17&U singles. Since then he has travelled to the United Sates many times.

• In February of 2004 he won $50,000, the largest ever cash-prize in handball history at the Ultimate Handball Showdown in Seattle when he defeated American handball hero, David Chapman.

• He currently holds the 2007 All-Ireland 40 x 20 Senior Singles title which he also won in 2005 and 2006. This is in addition to his back to back world title, which he retained in Edmonton, Canada in August 2007, and the US title which he again captured in California in May of this year, having won the US singles and doubles (with Michael Finnegan) in 2006.

• He became the first Irish player to win the US Open Singles title in June 2005 in the 55 year history of the event. This piece of history-making also makes him the first player ever to hold Irish, US and World Senior titles at the same time, a record he has held for the past two years.


Paul Brady