Mallow Town Council held an official reception last Thursday night in Mallow GAA Complex to honour the occasion of Mallow Handball Club winning 3 gold and 7 silver medals in the recent World Handball Championships. The event was attended by all the members of Mallow Town Council including the Mayor Mr. Noel O’Connor, as well as dignitaries from Mallow GAA, Munster Handball Council, and the Cork County Handball Board. Representatives of long standing sponsors of Mallow Handball Club were also in attendance including Mr. Pat Glennon – Manager of Papa Johns, Limerick Road, Mr. Joe Buckley of Joe Buckley Construction and Mr. Tom Cronin of Mallow Credit Union. Speakers on the night included the chairman of Mallow GAA Mr. Bartley Galvin, the chairman of Cork County Handball Board Mr. John Hedigan, Juvenile Officer of Cork County Handball Board Mr. Michael O’Keeffe and the secretary of the Munster Handball Council Mr. Brendan Falvey. Also in attendance to the delight of Mallow Handball Club was Ashley Prendiville, World Handball Champion. The Master of Ceremonies for the night was Mr. Michael O’Donovan.
The reception commenced with an address from the acting Chairman of Mallow Handball Club Mr. Michael O’Connell, who, after welcoming all present, gave a summary of the Club successes at the World Handball Championships. This was followed by an address from the Mayor of Mallow Mr. Noel O’Connor in which he congratulated Mallow Handball Club on the recent success at the World Handball Championship. The Mayor, in his speech, also commended the parents of the handball players without whom such success would have been impossible.
Mr. John Ryan, Treasurer of Mallow Handball Club, then took the stand and spoke about the late Eamon Murphy. He described Eamon’s dedication to handball and the positive influence he had on all the players which had brought Mallow Handball Club into one of the top three handball clubs in the world.
After the initial speeches, which included addresses from the club’s sponsors, there was the presentation of scrolls by Mallow Handball Club to honour all the players who competed in the World Handball Championships. During the presentation Mr. John Harkin, secretary, gave a summary of the medal winners’ achieve-ments, especially those of Killian Carroll.
Killian Carroll on behalf of the players thanked Mallow Town Council for honouring the club with an official reception and for being a continuous source of support. Killian went on to thank the parents of the members of the club without whom the younger players would not be able to travel each week to competitions.
There then was a presentation to the coaches by Ms. Irene Sheehan, Juvenile Officer, in recognition of their dedication and commitment to the younger players in the club. Mr. Don Carroll spoke on behalf of the coaches and dedicated the clubs recent success to the late Eamon Murphy. Don went on to comment on how proud he was of all the players from Mallow Handball Club who competed in the World Handball Championships, and described the lads as true sportsmen in and out of the handball alley at the championships. Don thanked the parents of the players and went on to praise the players to their parents saying that it was a pleasure to be involved with such a fine group of lads.
The chairman of Mallow GAA, Mr. Bartley Galvin, congratulated Mallow Handball Club on their achievements at the Worlds. Mr.Galvin commented that from an athlete’s perspective the work ethic and determin-ation that is required to compete at international level is immense and to bring back medals was just outstanding.
The chairman of Cork County Handball Board, Mr. John Hedigan, and the secretary of the Munster Handball Council, Mr. Brendan Falvey, addressed the floor and congratulated Mallow Handball Club on their recent success and wished them well for the future. They noted that handball was very much alive and kicking in North Cork and this was due in no small part to the enthusiasm and dedication of the members of the club.
There then was a presentation of an official scroll of recognition from the Chamber of Mallow Town Council on behalf of the Town of Mallow by the Mayor of Mallow, Mr. Noel O’Connor, to Mallow Handball Club. The scroll was gratefully received on behalf of the club by Mr. John Ryan.
After official photographs were taken, the Master of Ceremonies, Mr. Michael O’Donovan, concluded the proceedings with a synopsis of the club’s involvement in the 2012 World Handball Championships. Mr. O’Donovan went on to wish the club every success in the future and, in his final comments, praised the large number of young players present and thanked them for their attentiveness throughout the proceedings. Mr. Michael O’Donovan then directed all present to the buffet and informed the younger members that the indoor pitch was available to them thereafter.
News and Results
First round of the
Gerry Hallihan
Handball Tournament
Ryan Harkin and Pa Herlihy (Mallow) defeated Jerry Guiney and Philip O’Carroll (Ballydesmond) 21/1, 21/14; Dale Cusack and Ciaran Buckley (Mallow) defeated Dennis Quinn and Jack O’Shea (Ballydesmond) 21/18, 21/15.
Munster Primary Schools Handball Competition Four young players from Mallow Handball Club have succeeded in securing places on the Cork A Team which will compete in the upcoming Munster Primary Schools Handball Competition. The players are Anthony O’Connell, Cian O’Driscoll, Conor Walsh and Michael O’Malley, well done lads!