All-Ireland Final agony for Laois Handballers
Laois handballers narrowly lose out in All-Ireland 40×20 Handball Finals
Croke Park played host to the 2026 40×20 All-Ireland Handball Finals with Laois represented in two of the finals. In the Girls U17 Singles Final, Annie Grant (St. Brigid’s, Monavea) faced a strong opponent from Tyrone in Kayleigh McCoole while in the Ladies Junior B Final, Orla Brophy (Cullohill) faced off against Ava Sweeney of Galway in what was expected to be a closely fought encounter between two very highly talented up and coming handballers.
Girls U17 40×20 All-Ireland Final:
Annie Grant entered into her final brimming with confidence after a superb performance in her All-Ireland Semi-Final. Facing a skilled opponent in Ciara Hallinan of Mayo, the Laois handballer knew she needed to be at her very best to book a place in the final and Annie duly delivered with a masterclass performance to defeat her Mayo opponent 21-08, 21-02 and book her place in the All-Ireland Final.
The All-Ireland Final was expected to be a close affair with both Annie Grant and Kayleigh McCoole producing some scintillating handball to reach the decider. The first game certainly lived up to expectation with both players battling for every ace. The Laois player played some brilliant handball in the opening game and very little separated both players throughout. Unfortunately, from a Laois perspective, it was the Tyrone player who won the crucial aces at the very end to close out the opening game on a 21-17 scoreline.
Having gained the initiative from capturing a hard-fought opening game, the Tyrone player made a fast start to the second game. Despite battling bravely, Annie wasn’t able to reproduce the handball she played in the opening game and the Tyrone player closed out the second game on a 21-04 scoreline to deservedly win the Girls U17 40×20 All-Ireland title against her very gallant opponent.
Despite the loss, Annie will take great heart from these championships. She produced some fantastic performances along the way to defeat strong opponents from Kilkenny and Wexford to win the Leinster title. Her success has certainly brought huge pride to the village of Vicarstown where she resides, and there is no doubt that as she continues to develop as a handballer that she will be competing at the business end of future championships.
Ladies Junior B 40×20 All-Ireland Final:
The Ladies Junior B All-Ireland Final was expected to be a thriller as it pitted two of the best young players in the country against one another. Orla Brophy was hoping to follow in her sisters’ footsteps and capture her first adult All-Ireland title having stepped up from playing juvenile handball just twelve months previously. In the final she faced a highly skilled opponent in Ava Sweeney of Galway.
The final proved an absorbing and evenly fought encounter full of drama, skill and excitement. The Laois handballer player played superbly throughout and she was matched all the way by her equally impressive Galway opponent. Having lost the opening game 21-14, Brophy responded brilliantly to win the second game 21-10 and take the final to a tie-breaker. It was impossible to predict who would prevail in the tie-breaker as nothing separated both players. The tie-breaker went as expected proving to be a nervy, tension filled nip and tuck affair. However, it was the Galway handballer who fortune favoured on this occasion and she captured the Ladies Junior B title after a thrilling contest 11-08 in the tie-breaker.
The Cullohill handballer played brilliantly throughout these championships and will take huge positivity from her performances so far in 2026. Having only stepped up from the underage grades, it was a massive achievement by Orla to reach an All-Ireland Final in her first year playing adult handball.