All-Ireland Senior Softball Doubles Championship commences
Kilkenny's Ciaran Neary.
By Paul Fitzpatrick
The All-Ireland Senior Softball Doubles Championship got underway on Sunday, July 6th, with Round of 16 ties staged at Crinkle, Offaly, and Garryhill, Carlow.
At the Crinkle venue, the Mulkerrins brothers from Galway, former finalists in this competition, were made to work hard for their place in the quarter-finals. They trailed Tipperary’s Ger Coonan and James Prentice by 16-3 in the second game after dropping the opener but showed their class to turn things around and claim victory on a 12-21, 21-16, 11-2 scoreline.
In the opening tie at Crinkle, Galway’s Seamus Conneely and Conor Noone, like the Mulkerrins’ fresh from their Inter-Club senior success with Moycullen, advanced without hitting a ball after receiving a walkover from Wicklow’s Michael Gregan and Chris Doyle.
Kilkenny’s Ciaran Neary and Kyle Jordan, meanwhile, were in dominant form as they brushed aside Mayo’s Niall Joyce and Paddy Murphy, 21-6, 21-3. Left-hander Neary and his partner Jordan, a former Intermediate Doubles winner, never looked troubled against last year’s Intermediate Doubles finalists Joyce and Murphy from Claremorris, who also reached the Senior Doubles semi-finals in 2024.
Elsewhere, Wexford’s Joe Devereux and Galen Riordan also progressed without having to play after receiving a walkover from Sligo.
Over in Garryhill, Carlow, Wexford duo Gavin Buggy and Mark Doyle edged past Tipperary’s Jerome Cahill, All-Ireland-winning hurler, and Rory Grace in a tight two-game battle, 21-14, 21-20.
Westmeath’s Robbie McCarthy, the reigning Senior Singles champion, teamed up with Cork native Colm Jordan to produce a commanding 21-2, 21-7 win over Waterford’s Anthony Fitzgerald and Philip Butler. The final game in Garryhill saw Dublin’s former champions Eoin Kennedy and Carl Browne advance via walkover against Tipperary’s Kevin Dempsey and Ned Reilly.
RESULTS
All-Ireland Senior Softball Doubles round of 16
Venue: Crinkle, Co Offaly
Galway (Conneely & Noone) dft. Wicklow (Gregan & Doyle) W/O
Galway (Mulkerrins & Mulkerrins) dft. Tipperary (Coonan & Prentice) 12-21, 21-16, 11-2
Kilkenny (Neary & Jordan) dft. Mayo (Joyce & Murphy) 21-6, 21-3
Wexford (Devereux & Riordan) dft. Sligo (Finn & Finn) W/O
Venue: Garryhill, Co Carlow
Wexford (Buggy & Doyle) dft. Tipperary (Cahill & Grace) 21-14, 21-20
Westmeath (McCarthy & Jordan) dft. Waterford (Fitzgerald & Butler) 21-2, 21-7
Dublin (Kennedy & Browne) dft. Tipperary (Dempsey & Reilly) W/O