Preview: oneills.com All-Ireland Senior Singles handball semi-finals

By Paul Fitzpatrick

The oneills.com All-Ireland Senior Singles Championships are coming to the boil with the semi-finals in the Men’s and Ladies grades down for decision tomorrow at the National Handball Centre, Croke Park (4pm).

First up is the meeting of Galway colleagues, and doubles partners, Ciana Ní Churraoin and Niamh Heffernan. World champion Ní Churraoin wasn’t at her best last time out against Kilkenny’s Amy Brennan – although Brennan is certainly a player to watch – but she still got the job done in straight games and goes in as favourite.

Claregalway right-hander Heffernan, who currently holds the number one ranking on the Race4Eight Tour in the US, came through a potentially sticky quarter-final against Tyrone citeog Eilise McCrory in the quarter-finals.

Heffernan grew stronger as that game progressed and will hope to repeat her win over Ní Churraoin from the 2024 Golden Gloves tournament – but the Connemara woman’s vast experience could give her the edge.

The other ladies semi-final sees former Roscommon footballer Fiona Tully from the famous St Coman’s club meet Kildare’s Mollie Dagg.

Tully was in devastating form in her quarter-final win over Clare’s Catriona Millane, putting on an exhibition of power serving and dominating throughout against a good opponent. Leixlip woman Dagg, for her part, received a walkover in the quarter-finals after Martina McMahon, the defending champion, withdrew in the round of 16 and Cork’s Carmel Kelleher opted to play the Intermediate grade.

Dagg, a former Senior Softball Singles finalist, is a very strong player but the extra game should stand to Tully, who has reached a lot of finals and will see this year as a big opportunity to add another major singles title.

The Men’s semi-finals have produced two intriguing ties. First up is the meeting of 2022 champion Diarmaid Nash of Clare and Kilkenny’s Peter Funchion.

Funchion is in the form of his life, having won his maiden All-Ireland Senior Doubles title last year alongside his brother Paddy and added the Irish Nationals Open Singles crown in November last. He came through Meath’s Brian Carroll and Corkmen Shane Hedigan and Daniel Relihan, all in straight games, to reach this point.

Nash has the edge on experience, having won all of the major domestic titles in singles and doubles as well as the US Nationals; the Scariff hurler also made the final of the World Championships in 2024, losing in a tiebreaker to Paul Brady, and he remains as hungry as ever to add more titles to his CV.

While he stated afterwards that he felt he had played relatively well in his quarter-final against Cork’s Michael Hedigan, which went the distance, Nash will know that improvement will be needed. However, the left-hander can generally be relied upon to produce the goods on the big occasion and while this is quite likely to be a long match, Nash deserves the favourite’s tag.

The last of the semi-finals sees David Walsh of Cork take on Westmeath’s Robbie McCarthy. The Mallow right-hander (26) is the youngest of the four remaining and arguably the most exciting to watch, with a penchant for low-percentage kills and spin serves.

After reaching the final last year, where he lost to Brady in three, Walsh’s form dipped a little but he is coming good again and will be hopeful of repeating his stunning 2024 Worlds quarter-final win over McCarthy.

The Mullingar maestro took some time out after the softball season, having intimated he was hanging up his gloves, but he has made a welcome return and has been moving very well. McCarthy’s legacy is secure whereas Walsh is still seeking a first senior title.

The clash of styles – McCarthy’s deft touches and clinical placement versus Walsh’s shoot-on-sight approach and blistering hop serves – should make for an enthralling match, with McCarthy arguably the safer bet. A Walsh win, however, would not rank as a seismic upset.

All four matches will be streamed live on the Spórt TG4 YouTube channel.