Belfast, Northern Ireland, WPH Press, 11/17/24
GAA Handball held its second ranking event of the 2024/25 season at the 36th St. Paul’s FonaCab Golden Gloves in Belfast, Northern Ireland. 215 players entered the various grades, with seventeen players entering the Men’s Senior (Open) Singles and eight ladies entering the Ladies Senior (Open) Singles.
Men’s Open Singles
Top-seeded and current World Championships finalist Diarmaid Nash narrowly escaped upset-minded Peter Funchion in the semifinals of the upper bracket, dropping game one 15-4 and facing match point in the second game before rallying to advance to the final.
David Walsh announced himself on the world stage at the 2024 World Championships, upsetting Robbie McCarthy in an 11-9 tiebreaker in the quarterfinals before losing to Nash in the semifinals. Walsh would earn a rematch against Nash at the Gloves, dispatching Dominick Lynch in the bottom bracket semifinals, ending the mid-forty something Lynch’s sensational run at the Gloves that saw Lynch defeat Daniel Relihan and Conor Mc Elduff to make the semifinals.
Unlike his Golden Gloves semifinal match against Funchion that saw Nash lose 15-4 in the first game, Nash dominated Walsh in the first game of the final, neutralizing the two-handed powerhouse to the tune of 15-2. Nash continued to dominate, leading 7-2 in the second. Walsh relied on his newfound experience after being outscored 22-4 to start the match, eventually catching Nash and taking the second game.
“Hard to say (what changed after dropping the first game 15-2),” Walsh would later say. “I guess from that point you just have to go for it a bit more and that probably worked in my favour. It was a big relief taking the second 15-13.”
Seeking his first GAA ranking tournament title, Walsh found himself receiving serve down match point in the tiebreaker, his hopes of his breakthrough seemingly slipping away. “The tiebreaker could have went either way,” Walsh would later say. “Diarmaid narrowly skipped a kill at game ball.”
Walsh would take the match after Nash’s near-miss, catapulting himself into the top two in the current GAA rankings.
“Unreal feeling (to win my first GAA ranking tournament),” stated an ecstatic David Walsh. “It’s nice to know that the work you’re putting in day in, day out is paying off! It was also nice to get the win after the disappointment of the World Championships losing to Diarmuid two weeks previous in the semifinal. That brings me up to No. 2 in the rankings also, a point behind Brady, so I’m really looking forward now to the 2025 season!”
Semifinals
Nash def Pet. Funchion 4-15, 15-14, 11-5
Walsh def Lynch 15-2, 15-2
Final: Walsh def Nash 2-15, 15-13, 11-10
See the Golden Gloves Men’s Open Singles draw HERE
Ladies Open Singles
Ciana Ni Churraoin entered the 2024 Golden Gloves as the top seed, coming off her defining moment just two weeks prior at the World Championships where she defeated Martina McMahon in a tremendous and emotional three-game final in front of a sold out gallery.
Ni Churraoin’s victory parade did not last long, as 2023/24 WR48 Rookie of the Year and current WR48 Player’s Championship finalist Niamh Heffernan ousted the reigning world champion in a tiebreaker in the upper bracket semifinals.
“That was my first time beating her,” exclaimed Niamh, who proudly advanced to her first GAA Senior final at the age of twenty-three. “Ciana is number one at the moment, so it was a big win for me. I played good, my kills were very good on the day, which is what got me through the second and third game.”
World Championship finalist Martina McMahon advanced to the final in the bottom bracket, defeating former WR48 #2 Fiona Tully in two games.
McMahon survived a close first game that saw Heffernan serve to take the first and dominated the second to win the 2024 Gloves without dropping a game.
“The final game was tough,” Niamh would later say. “My right low serve was coming off well. I got a shot to kill at 14 and I missed it, which would have given me the first game. That was sickening but it was probably the only kill I missed in the first game! Martina played well though and I’m looking forward to playing her again.”
Semifinals
Heffernan def Ni Churraoin (tiebreaker)
McMahon def Tully 15-4, 15-13
Final: McMahon def Heffernan 15-14, 15-6
See the Golden Gloves Women’s Open Singles draw HERE
For more on the 2024 GAA Golden Gloves and GAA Handball, visit GAA Handball HERE
To watch the 2024 Golden Gloves Men’s and Ladies semifinals and finals, visit the GAA Handball Facebook page HERE
Trophy photos courtesy of GAA Handball and David Walsh
Thank you to David Walsh and Niamh Heffernan for updates and reports from the 2024 Golden Gloves. Thank you to Seamus O Tuama, Sean McShane, Tony Caddell, Joe Boyle, Paul Graham, Charly Shanks and all of the tournament organizers and volunteers for making the 2023 Golden Gloves a huge success.
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer