All-Ireland Wallball success for Tyrone players

TYRONE proved to be a force to be reckoned with at the weekend at the All-Ireland Wallball Championship Finals held in Kilglass, County Roscommon.

Celebrating great success throughout the grades Tyrone players secured two of the main prizes with Conor McElduff and Caislin Tracey claiming the Senior and Minor Ladies titles.

McElduff (Breacach) knocked out fellow Tyrone player Paul Donnelly to secure his place in the final after a very exciting game. He went on to face Armagh’s Fiachra O Duill in the decider.

The young opponent pushed Conor to the limits with some fantastic rallies, kills and retrievals from both, but McElduff stood strong to clinch his fifth All Ireland Wallball title in the tie break decider.

Greencastle’s Caislin Tracey showed great determination and skill firstly knocking out Katie Jordan from Kilkenny in the semi-final and then defeating Ava Sweeney in the Senior Final. The Galway girl almost pushed Caislin to a tie breaker, but Tracey prevailed and took victory after two games. Both Katie and Ava are representatives for Team Ireland in the Wallball section so this was a fantastic result for Caislin who is also a Team Ireland Rep in the 40×20.

Breacach’s Michelle Warren also retained her Ladies Masters title in a repeat of last year’s final, this time on her opponent’s home turf. Michelle faced tough opposition from Meath’s Joy Walsh in the semi-final when her experience proved key. It was the same against Sharon Grehan, her opponent in the final, as Warren dominated the game to emerge victor on a very convincing scoreline.

Sarah Devlin, also from the Breacach club, reached in her first Wallball All-Ireland final. Sarah seen off Longford’s Jenny Mahon in the semi-final and went on to play Sarah Walsh from Cork in the Ladies Junior B Final. Both girls fought hard and it went to a tie break decision, with the Tyrone player coming out on top.

Shea Munroe, from Carrickmore, was runner-up in the Minor category after losing out to talented Cian Dunning from Cork. Shea had a fantastic run to reach the final defeating Galway’s Gavin Kelly in the semi-final. Shea and Cian produced a brilliant game, and while it wasn’t to be for Shea this time it was still a fantastic achievement to reach the decider.

Loughmarory’s Clare Conway also narrowly lost out on an All Ireland title after pushing Leah Minogue from Clare to a tie breaker. Clare played brilliantly to secure her progress to the final defeating Margaret Purcell, from Kilkenny, in two games. Clare had to settle for the runners-up slot in the end, which adds to her recent 60×30 All Ireland success.

Paul Donnelly and Eilise McCrory both played brilliantly, but bowed out to eventual winners in the Mens and Ladies Open semi finals.

Tyrone players now continue to prepare for the World Wallball Championships to be held in two weeks time in Limerick. Everyone at their clubs wishes them all the best in their quest for success there.