By 
HANDBALL FEATURE
BREACACH Handball Club enjoyed a hugely successful Wallball season, beginning with the She’s Ace tournament in Claregalway- a ladies-only event that set the tone for an exceptional run of performances from its players.
Eilise McCrory claimed the Open title after a superb weekend of handball. Eilise faced Westmeath’s Aoife McCarthy in the final where she overcame her opponent in an exciting decider to take the top honour.
Michelle Warren also celebrated success at the event, capturing the Ladies Masters A title with a fine victory over Galway’s Veronica McEvoy.
The next major event on the calendar was the Wallball Nationals, which Breacach hosted alongside Killyclogher and Loughmacrory-with all finals held at Tyrone courts.
Eight Breacach players reach National Finals, highlighting the club’s strength and depth across all grades.
In the Men’s B grade, Ruairí Kerr finished runner-up after a thrilling tie-breaker against Armagh’s Adam Doris. Michelle Warren reached another final in the Ladies B grade, falling just short against the recently crowned She’s Ace Ladies B champion.
Eamonn McCrory also reached the Masters Final, finishing runner-up to the established champion, James Doyle, while Niall Kerr produced a dominant performance to take the Golden Masters title in straight games against Down’s Shane Kelly.
Sean Kerr battled past Mikey Kelly to lift the Men’s Open Plate, while Caolán McCartan impressed throughout the Men’s C grade, eventually overcoming neighbouring clubman Brian McAleer in a close final to claim the title.
In the Men’s Open Final, Conor McElduff continued his incredible record by defeating Ben Devlin to secure his seventh National title at the top level. Their final was an outstanding spectacle — a point-for-point battle filled with thrilling rallies, kills, and retrievals that left the crowd in awe.
Among the juveniles, Ciaran Corr and Kayleigh McCoole both reached National Finals after outstanding campaigns. Kayleigh produced some fantastic performances before losing out to the recent She’s Ace champion, while Ciaran went one step further, producing top-class handball to claim the National Juvenile title in style.
Ulster Championships
The Juvenile Ulster Championships were played at Clann Éireann, Lurgan, where both Kayleigh McCoole and Ciaran Corr again reached their respective finals — Kayleigh in the 16&U and Ciaran in the 14&U grades.
Kayleigh battled brilliantly but was denied the title by Cliona McGinley, finishing Ulster runner-up.
The Boys 14&U final was an all-Breacach affair between Ciaran Corr and Tiarnan Kelly. The match was a fantastic display of skill and determination, going the distance before Ciaran edged the tie-break to take the Ulster title.
Ciaran then carried his excellent form into the All-Ireland stages in Roscommon, defeating Eoin Grehan in the semi-final before facing Charlie Roche in the final. After another epic tie-break battle, Ciaran narrowly lost out, finishing a superb season as All-Ireland runner-up.
Adult Ulster and All-Ireland Championships
In the Adult Ulster Championships, Breacach once again made its mark. The Golden Masters Final was an all-Breacach contest between Martin Corr and Niall Kerr, with Niall taking victory in two games after a strong challenge from Martin. Niall went on to represent Ulster in the All-Ireland Semi-Final, losing out in a thrilling 11–10 tie-break to Galway’s Graham Casburn.
Michelle Warren represented the club in the Ladies Masters grade. She overcame her training partner Maria Hinds (Killyclogher) in the semi-final before defeating Máighréad Ní Raíbagh Ó Dúill (Armagh) to secure the Ulster title. Michelle continued her superb run at the All-Ireland Finals, where she defeated Agnes Hurley (Cork) in straight games to become All-Ireland Ladies Masters Champion for the second consecutive year and the first Tyrone player to win a Wallball All-Ireland title this season.
In the Men’s Open, cousins Conor McElduff and Sean Kerr both advanced to the All-Ireland Semi-Finals, meaning only one could reach the decider. The semi-final was a thrilling contest of power and precision, with Conor edging through in a tight tie-break to earn his place in the final.
Caolán McCartan continued his incredible season in the Men’s Junior B grade, navigating a tough draw to reach the final. After overcoming Monaghan’s Dylan McKenna in his second match of the day and then top seed Matthew McCartan in the semi-final, Caolán defeated World Runner-Up Conor McAuley in straight games to claim the Ulster title.
He went on to the All-Ireland stages, where he beat Galway’s Sean Maughan in a tight semi-final before producing a superb comeback to defeat Colin Quish (Limerick) in the final, 15–13, 15–7, earning his All-Ireland title and becoming the second Tyrone champion this season, alongside his mother.
In the Ladies Open Championship, Eilise McCrory faced Aoife McCarthy in a repeat of their memorable She’s Ace final earlier this season. Once again, the pair produced a thrilling contest, with Eilise showing great determination to edge both games and secure her place in the All-Ireland final on a scoreline of 15-13, 15-14.
In the final, Eilise met one of the sport’s top competitors, Martina McMahon of Limerick. Despite a strong and spirited performance from the Tyrone player, Martina proved too strong on the day, taking victory in two games. Eilise can, however, take great pride in another superb championship campaign and a well-earned All-Ireland silver medal.
In the Men’s Open Final, Conor McElduff faced Armagh’s Fiachra Ó Dúill in a repeat of last year’s decider, which famously went to a tie-break in Conor’s favour.
Coming off the back of his seventh National title, Conor entered the All-Ireland Final aiming to secure his sixth Wallball crown. However, the young Armagh player came out firing, clearly on a mission to dethrone the reigning champion.
Fiachra produced some outstanding handball, combining precision with power to open up an early lead. Conor showed his trademark composure and resilience to narrow the gap, but Fiachra finished the first game strongly to edge ahead. Carrying that momentum into the second, the Armagh man maintained his high level of play and sealed victory in style, denying Conor All-Ireland gold on this occasion.
It was another excellent season overall for Breacach Handball, with impressive performances across all grades. Well done to all club players, particularly those who captured National, Ulster, and All-Ireland medals.
Attention now turns back to the alley as players prepare for the start of the 40×20 season, where we look forward to seeing more success and continued progress for Breacach Handball.
