McElduff will be star attraction at Lough Showdown

There’s still no bigger draw in the one wall handball code than Tyrone’s very own Conor McElduff and that was reconfirmed when he lifted a record breaking sixth Irish Nationals mens open title in Roscommon last week.

Despite his injury issues in recent months, Conor is still very much the elite player in the one wall game and he’ll be the star attraction in Loughmacrory again this weekend when more than 300 competitors and a similar number of spectators will be converging on the village for the annual Lough showdown.

The showdown entries are back at pre covid levels, cementing the Lough showdown as one of the jewels in the Irish handball calendar.

There will be players from all over the country taking part in the event once again with over 20 counties represented. Young stars from handball strongholds such as Cork, Wexford, Galway and Kilkenny will be arriving in force to treat spectators to a very high standard of handball at the edge of the lough.

On top of that, the UK and European star Luke Thompson is back to take on Conor McElduff again following their epic contest in last year’s men’s open final which resulted in a 25-24 win for the Tyrone star.

This time they’ll also have top Spanish star Lur Ziarrusto Intxaurtza to deal with as well and he’ll be coming determined to take the Lough men’s open trophy back to the Basque Country.

The men’s open field is as strong as it’s ever been with some serious players from around Ireland featuring, and the reigning champion can’t wait to get started. He’s been all over the world displaying his talents but the Lough showdown will always hold a special place in his heart.

“ I can’t wait for the Lough showdown coming up this weekend,” enthused Conor, “as it’s become the 2nd biggest Irish tournament of the year behind the nationals and it always attracts players from overseas too.

“ We have two of the top European players coming over to compete this year which will leave the men’s open very competitive,” he pointed out.

“ I’m really looking forward to it as last year turned out to be the best final anyone could have hoped for,” stressed Conor, “so I hope it brings the same entertainment and of course I will try my best to capture my 5th lough showdown title!

“ It meant a lot to me winning a 6th open title at the Irish nationals last week,” he reflected.

“ It was a dream to just win a county title back in the day but to have the all time record now for the most open One Wall titles in Ireland is something I can’t quite believe.

“ It’s something I’m very proud of and it also feels great to finally collect a major title this year.

“ Back playing in the 40×20 senior championship earlier in the year was a tougher transition than I had thought, I reached the All Ireland senior semi final but will be expecting to go even further next year!

“ For now I’ll be just playing one-wall until November.

After the Lough showdown I’ll be heading to the Belgium open on the 4th of November and then it’s straight back into the 40×20 for the golden gloves a few weeks afterwards,” he concluded.

Apart from watching the incredible skills of Conor McElduff in Loughmacrory this weekend there will be plenty of extra Tyrone interest in the men’s open with Cahir Munroe, Paddy McCrory, Paul Donnelly and Sean Kerr all ready for battle.

Sean made a spectacular return from injury at the Irish nationals and reached the mens open final with a sensational semi final win over Armagh’s Fiachra O’Duill.

Sean has been one of the finest handball talents that Tyrone has ever produced and it was wonderful to see him back competing on the big stage after being out of action for almost a year.

Eilise McCrory will lead the Tyrone challenge in the ladies open this weekend, backed up by Clare Conway and Aoife Kelly, with Down star Lorraine McNally and Wexford’s Jodie Keeling among the players bidding for the title.

In the underage categories there will be some of Ireland’s most exciting prospects taking part over the weekend, including Cork’s Cian Dunning, Galway’s Caleb Donnellan and Bertie Donohue and probably the most exciting juvenile handballer in Ireland, Kilkenny’s Anthony Clifford.

Loughmacrory will have their own young stars bidding for showdown glory with renowned national players such as Laura Duff, Lucy McCullagh and Ciaran McCrystal all set to challenge strongly in their respective categories.

It promises to be another huge weekend of handball in the Lough this weekend with high standards and brilliant entertainment guaranteed from Friday evening through to Sunday evening.