Emerald Masters All-Ireland glory for Naughton and McCarthy

Having progressed through the 2022 Championships, Mick Naughton of Multyfarnham Handball Club and Robbie McCarthy Snr of Mullingar Handball Club travelled to Kingscourt on Sunday week last for the much-anticipated All-Ireland EMAD 40X20 final. The duo took to the court at 10am to compete against Mayo’s Tom Sweeney and John Coyne.

Game one was back and forth with no real telling of who was on form, and with some long rallies and amazing skill the game reached a 12-10 lead to Westmeath. Westmeath then pulled away with the same strong serves full of speed displayed in the semis and managed to come out on top in game one.

Game two commenced with few flat rollouts in the maroon and whites’ favour, but the Mayo pair still managed to come on the scoreboard. Naughton and McCarthy changed up the strategy to include the tiring roof shot in almost all rallies until they had the perfect opportunity to roll out the next. The pair came out on top, winning the gold on a 21-12, 21-10 scoreline.

Massive congratulations are extended to the pair who have fought some tough battles along the way to the final and have many obstacles with courts and injuries throughout the championship. Resilience was key for the Westmeath duo who were set on winning the title.

A huge thanks also goes to the amazing supporters who have travelled to their matches throughout the Championship and who were cheering them on in Kingscourt last Sunday week.