The Irish Wallball Nationals is a wallball/one-wall handball tournament held annually in Ireland in early July. The tournament is the main wallball/One-wall handball on the Irish handball calendar.
Events and venues The Nationals feature men's and women's singles; with Senior/Open, B, C, 23 and under (23&U), 19 and under (19&U), Masters and Juvenile grades. Since 2009, the games are normally held in a 5-court venue in the Sports Arena at Breaffy House Hotel in Castlebar. For 2022, the Irish Wallball Nationals were planned for Roscommon venues as the Breaffy House Sports Arena was unavailable.
Management The Irish Wallball Nationals is managed by GAA Handball, formerly the Irish Handball Council.
History The event was first played in County Meath in 1997 before moving to Sligo where it was hosted for several years before moving to its current, multi-court venue, Breaffy House Hotel in County Mayo in 2009. The 2022 Nationals were scheduled to take place across three Roscommon venues - Kilglass GAC, Strokestown CS, and the Convent of Mercy Roscommon, as Breaffy House Arena is unavailable to host the tournament this year. The three-court venue in Kilglass was set as the main venue for finals / premier grades.
Champions Men's Open:
Year Champion County 1997 P. Hall Dublin 1998 R. McCarthy Snr Westmeath 1999 D. King Carlow 2000 D. Keegan Mayo 2001 D. King Carlow 2002 D. King Carlow 2003 C. Browne Meath 2004 D. Keegan Mayo 2005 D. King Carlow 2006 R. McCarthy Westmeath 2007 C. Shanks Armagh 2008 P. Brady Cavan 2009 C. Shanks Armagh 2010 C. Shanks Armagh 2011 H. Mendez Puerto Rico 2012 R. McCarthy Westmeath 2013 H. Mendez Puerto Rico 2014 C. McElduff Tyrone 2015 C. McElduff Tyrone 2016 M. Mulkerrins Galway 2017 C. McElduff Tyrone 2018 C. McElduff Tyrone 2019 M. Mulkerrins Galway 2020 The competition did not take place in 2020 due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. 2021 The competition did not take place in 2021 due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. 2022 C. McElduff Tyrone
Women's Open:
Year Champion County 1997 F. Mee Roscommon 1998 L. Doolan Roscommon 1999 No Competition 2000 No Competition 2001 No Competition 2002 No Competition 2003 No Competition 2004 M. Kennedy Galway 2005 F. O'Reilly Limerick 2006 M. Rushe Roscommon 2007 A. Prendiville Kerry 2008 M. Rushe Roscommon 2009 M. Rushe Roscommon 2010 L. Havern Down 2011 K. McConney United States 2012 L. Havern Down 2013 L. Havern Down 2014 M. McMahon Limerick 2015 C. Casey Cork 2016 L. Havern Down 2017 M. McMahon Limerick 2018 M. McMahon Limerick 2019 C. Ni Churraoin Galway 2020 The competition did not take place in 2020 due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. 2021 The competition did not take place in 2021 due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. 2022 C. Casey Cork
See also European 1-Wall Tour Handball International Championships GAA Handball United States Handball Association Valencian Pilota Federation (Fedpival) Gaelic handball American handball Basque pelota Pêl-Law (Welsh handball) Valencian frontó
References