This article is from page 104 of the 2009-10-13 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 104 JPG
THE father of Clare handball, Pat Kirby, has hailed the achievements of the latest world champions to emerge from the storied Tuamgraney club in east Clare — the old seat of the game in the county.
Kirby’s endorsement comes in the wake of the stunning triumph of Barry Nash and Ciaran Malone who won the Boys Doubles in the 15 and Under category in Portland, Oregon, over the weekend.
The Tuamgraney club duo stormed through the top half of the draw to tee up a west of the Shannon battle in the final against Michael Lalor and Donal Wrynn from Galway. Their toughest game on the way to the decider was against Martin Mullins and Ryan Harkin from Cork in the semi-final, when they were pushed all the way before getting home by 21-18, 21-17. The final proved to be much easier as they coasted to world glory on the back of a 21-3, 21-12 tri- vueeheee
“Tt’s a brilliant achievement for the two boys,” said Kirby, who put Tua- mgraney handball on the world map when winning his first world title in Croke Park in 1970. “I was repre- senting America back then because I was exiled in America and nearly 40 years on it’s great that Tuamgraney is still turning out world champions. It makes me very proud that this con- veyor belt is there,’ added Kirby.
And the Tuamgraney success story didn’t end there — Nash just failed to pull off an historic double after he was edged out in the Boys Singles 15 and Under category, going down by 21-18, 21-19 to Padraig McKenna in WeCom EUITAUE
Elsewhere, the Coughlan _broth- ers from Clooney, Fergal and Ger- ard were other Clare finalists — they reached the Men’s Doubles 35 and Over final, but were edged out by the US/Canadian partnership of David Vincent and John Bike.