Beragh, Co. Tyrone, IRE, WPH Press, 1/4/26 (Photos by Stephen Marken)
The Breacach Handball Club in Beragh, Co. Tyrone, IRE proudly played host to the GAA 2026 Mick Kerr Memorial, featuring a stellar men’s and women’s Senior singles draw in the first GAA ranking event of 2026 and third GAA ranking event on the 2025/26 GAA season.
Men’s Open Singles
Diarmaid Nash entered the 2026 Mick Kerr as the top seed in the stacked 36-man Mick Kerr draw that featured second-seeded Daniel Relihan, Colin Crehan, Race 4 Eight top 12 pros Mark Doyle and Jab Bike, and the return of 23-time Race 4 Eight champion Killian Carroll.
Carroll dominated the field at the 2026 Kerr to win consecutive Mick Kerr titles. Playing sparingly in the past few seasons, Carroll showed no signs of rust, winning his five Kerr matches without dropping a game. Carroll was especially impressive on Sunday, winning his semifinals and final matches by a combined score of 60-22.
Meeting his protégé Mark Doyle in the final just hours after Doyle scored one of his career-best wins against Diarmaid Nash, Carroll demonstrated patience, power, speed, and conditioning in the two-game final. Carroll punched Doyle’s best serves to the ceiling, tracked down a number of Doyle’s would-be kills, and waited for his opportunities to strike and converted.
“It’s a huge honor to be back-to-back champion at the Mick Kerr Memorial,” stated Carroll. “Niall (Kerr) forced me out of retirement. A big round of applause to all of the Kerrs, they do a fantastic job and should all be very proud of themselves. They put on a great tournament. It’s a fabulous tournament. Hard luck to Mark Doyle. (Mark) had a shaky start but made a hell of a come-around. (Mark) had a fantastic tournament.”
Round of 16
Nash def Daly 15-5, 15-11
McConnell def Buggy 15-14, 15-6
Kerr def Bike 15-12, 15-12
Doyle def Lynch 15-9, 15-13
Hedigan def Crehan 15-14, 15-0
Carroll def Coyle 15-4, 15-9
Grace def McElduff 15-8, 15-14
Relihan def Dunne 15-14, 15-4
Quarterfinals
Nash def McConnell 15-12, 15-11
Doyle def Kerr 15-9, 10-15, 11-6
Carroll def Hedigan 15-8, 15-6
Relihan def Grace 15-10, 15-12
Semifinals
Doyle def Nash 15-11, 15-11
Carroll def Relihan 15-4, 15-8
Final: Carroll def Doyle 15-4, 15-6
Women’s Open Singles
Ciana Ni Churraoin headlined the 14-player Mick Kerr Ladies Open field as the top seed, while current Irish Nationals Ladies champion Fiona Tully earned the second seed. Ni Churraoin and Tully were joined by WR48 #3 Clodagh Munroe, WR48 #5 Mollie Dagg, former WR48 #2 and current Irish Nationals finalist Eilise McCrory.
The top two seeds met in the final, as Ni Churraoin advanced to the final without dropping a game, including an impressive two-game sweep against Mollie Dagg in the semifinals.
Aiming for two GAA ranking titles in a row, Tully was equally impressive in the bottom bracket, defeating Eilise McCrory in a tiebreaker for the second consecutive event to meet Ni Churraoin in the final.
Tully’s quest to win back-to-back GAA ranking titles appeared to be within reach, as the current Irish National champion took the first game in the final. Ni Churraoin gained control of the match in the second game, finding her serve and keeping Tully off-balance with power.
After evening the match, Ni Churraoin dominated the tiebreaker, never allowing Tully into a rhythm.
“The first thing I want to say is that I would not miss the best tournament of the year,” Ni Churraoin would say after receiving her winner’s plate. “It means a lot to all of the players that you take care of us the way you do. I always love playing on this court and playing against Fiona I always know it’s going to be a tough one. She got one over on me at the Golden Gloves, so maybe that was to my advantage today, like Connor mentioned, that venom going into the tiebreaker. Looking forward to the season ahead.”
Quarterfinals
Ni Churraoin def Kelleher 15-8, 15-4
Dagg def Minogue 15-8, 15-4
McCrory def Byrne 15-5, 15-6
Tully def Burke 15-3, 15-3
Semifinals
Ni Churraoin def Dagg 15-12, 15-8
Tully def McCrory 15-3, 6-15, 11-2
Final: Ni Churraoin def Tully 8-15, 15-11, 11-1
“What an absolutely brilliant weekend of handball,” stated the GAA Mick Kerr announce team. “Huge thanks to the Breacach Handball Club for hosting us.”
GAA homepage HERE
GAA on Facebook HERE
Mick Kerr Memorial Handball Tournament on Facebook HERE
2025/26 GAA Ranking Event #1 Golden Gloves WPH recap HERE
2025/26 GAA Ranking Event #2 Irish Nationals WPH recap HERE
Watch the matches on the GAA YouTube channel HERE
Photos courtesy of GAA Handball – retrieved from GAA Handball on Facebook
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer