Kilkenny legend encourages children to play handball in Clonkill

There was great excitement in the Clonkill GAA clubhouse last Wednesday evening with the presence of a modern-day hurling legend, Richie Hogan, the Kilkenny maestro obliging his friend, Clonkill and former Westmeath hurling star Eoiny Price, by formally opening the new handball club at the venue.

Hurling club secretary Declan Leonard acted as MC for the well-attended event and when Richie arrived, he was introduced to the appreciative audience by club chairman Oliver Scally as “a superstar who has come to open our facility”. Eoiny then took to the microphone and acknowledged that “it was so good to see such a great crowd assembled”.

In order to familiarise those in attendance with the game of handball, a brief exhibition game took place between a man better known as an outstanding Clonkill and Westmeath hurling forward, Niall Mitchell, and an St Oliver Plunkett’s panellist in their recent Westmeath intermediate title victory, Darren Carter, which the latter won by 15-12 in a very high-standard encounter.

Eoiny congratulated the two participants before going on to thank all those involved in progressing the project, his own brainchild in conjunction with the aforementioned Niall. In particular, he thanked Kilmurray’s Homeware Hardware in Mullingar for sponsoring the alley, and a range of local tradesmen and volunteers who gave freely of their time to get the facility ready for the launch, in addition to the backing of Loughegar National School principal, Niall Brennan, the local media, and all those who helped provide refreshments on the night. He also acknowledged the start-up grants received from Mullingar Credit Union and Sport Ireland. He went on to explain the various attractive membership options open to experienced and would-be handballers.

Richie got a great reception when he spoke, and the four-time All Star went on to deliver a fine speech. “I was delighted to get an invitation here from Eoin. The GAA is an organisation run by volunteers and I congratulate you all on your hard work,” he stated at the outset. “Hurling is the second game in Kilkenny as we don’t play much football,” he added, “and I started the game at the age of eight, and was coached by my very famous cousin, DJ Carey, who was a fantastic handballer as well as a fantastic hurler. I played the game for 15 years and was lucky to win a few All-Irelands.

“It is the only one of the Gaelic games that is truly international. Also, you can play it at any age, from very young to old. I would encourage all the local kids to get involved and play the game. I will be more than happy to come back to Clonkill in a couple of years to see how things are going,” he concluded to great applause.

Oliver Scally wrapped up the formalities as an array of young children, some wearing the famous black and amber striped jerseys worn by the ‘Cats’, lined up in an orderly fashion to get autographs and selfies with Richie, the winner of Liam MacCarthy Cup and Bob O’Keeffe Cup medals seven and ten times respectively, and Hurler of the Year back in 2014.

Refreshments were then served to round off a delightful social occasion, and handballs were given out freely to a plethora of children who went home with their loved ones dreaming of becoming the next Darren Carter, Richie Hogan, or even ‘Ducksie’ Walsh.

– Gerry Buckley