The 2024 handball season presents a significant milestone in the sport's history - a century on from its official incorporation into the GAA.
Although included in GAA charters as a sport to be promoted from as far back as 1884, it was only in 1924 that Comhairle Liathróid Láimhe na hÉireann (the Irish Handball Council) was established.
Since then, the game has been sliding along a series of peaks and troughs - but rarely in its history have two such extreme movements come so close together.
Over the last five years it's been bust-boom rather than the other way about with genuine fears of a 'kill shot’ during the Covid pandemic before a startling recovery ever since.
In sunnier climates like Valencia and the Basque Country, various versions such as pelota rule, outdoor courts provided relief. Clubs in Ireland however, where the game is played indoors, suffered massively as restrictions limited access.
It was feared that some clubs may even fall away as the link was severed, but many new clubs have shot up in GAA areas while traditional hotbeds are enjoying a renaissance.
At present, there are approximately 10,000 members and just over 150 clubs operating.
It’s a Tuesday night at one of those, the Saval GAA club in County Down, when RTÉ Sport visits and the hall is a hub of activity with the two one-wall (or wall-ball) courts in the main hall constantly filled.
Brian ‘Muller’ Havern is there, as he always tends to be. A five-time national champion - four in one-wall (wall-ball) and one on the 40x20 (feet) court - Havern has been playing the sport since 1983 and is one of the most well-known faces in Ulster handball circles. The sport has opened up so many doors, including trips to play on the various courts on the continent.
His eyes come alive when providing a tour of the facilities, including two impeccably maintained 40x20 courts built in 1998 some four years after the complex was opened by then GAA President Jack Boothman.
The walls are adorned with pictures of years gone by, plenty of space kept for one of the club’s superstars, Lorraine Havern - brother of Down ace Pat - who has won numerous titles at the highest levels as a one-wall specialist. Like many playing on this busy Tuesday, she has had the opportunity to travel all over Europe to play the sport.
Some space will need to be kept on the wall for youngster Jack Turley, taking no prisoners on the court, and someone tipped to be the next big thing out of the club.
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Kevin McCarthy, a handball coach in the club and a recent Ulster over-35s doubles champion with Fergal McConville, is hoping that Turley can set an example for the younger members who, he hopes, will also fall in love with the game.
"We have five adult leagues going at the minute, four male leagues and one female league," said McCarthy.
"A couple of the younger players at Under-14, U-15 have now joined the adult leagues as well.
"We have a 40x20 league on the indoor courts and there was a one-wall league too; a lot more beginners are joining the one-wall because it’s an easier game to get into. There’s a wall in the primary school (St Colman’s) now too, which is great.
"It’s strong in Down at the moment, it seems to be growing. Downpatrick had a one-wall tournament for adults there, they’re pushing on. Mayobridge, Warrenpoint, Hilltown (Clonduff) and Carryduff and the likes are all going strong too. They're promoting the game and growing the numbers."
Think handball and some names instantly spring to mind. The great Michael ‘Ducksie’ Walsh of Kilkenny, winner of 38 senior All-Ireland titles before his death in 2016, Antrim’s Fiona Shannon and, of course, former Cavan footballer Paul Brady. Mike Tyson may have played handball in Las Vegas in 1987 but, for handball aficionados, there’s only one Ironman when it came to the courts.
It’s perhaps a lesser known name though that has had just as significant impact on the sport in Ireland, with those in the know pointing to David Britton’s appointment as head of GAA handball at Croke Park in 2022 as the shrewdest of moves.
A few months prior to Britton’s move to Jones’ Road, handball was integrated into the GAA’s national coaching and games development department – further proof that this is now a sport that is going to be taken even more seriously at the top level.
Within the last 18 months, over 300 different handball programmes have been delivered to nearly 20,000 participants.
Then there was the official opening of the national handball centre in Croke Park in July 2023 at a cost of €11.3m with government support. Located behind the Cusack Stand, it contains three 40x20 courts and one 60x30 court, and includes seating for 200 on the first floor, along with two additional one wall courts in the large upstairs hall. One of the 40x20 courts boasts amphitheatre seating for 500 people.
Speak to Britton and it’s clear to see why people are glad to see him at the top. He has a drive fuelled by both a passion for game and the acceptance that good governance is key to the sport’s continued ascension.
"No different than any sport, and especially any indoor sport, we were hit very hard by Covid and the restrictions that came with that," said Britton.
"I saw a report released by the Federation of Sport prior to Christmas that said that their analytics showed that volunteerism had shrunk from 12% of the populous to 9% post Covid - that’s a drastic drop.
"The more minute you are, the more you’re going to feel it. Handball probably wasn’t in the best place after Covid but in the last year and a half, two years there have been massive strides made.
"We have the centre up and running now, a place we can call home and be proud of - there’s no other facility like it in the world when it comes to handball.
"It gives people an aim and a goal, to get to Croke Park similar to the hurlers and the footballers.
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"We started to see a huge increase in the playing numbers through the programmes we have rolled out in schools; the initiatives we have with NEIC (North East Inner City) of Dublin has been a huge success as well.
"We have seen a drastic increase in the number of recreational numbers but also the participation numbers of those who are entering our competitions as well as an increase in clubs.
"This year alone we have noticed a 35% increase in the entry numbers in our juvenile nationals, that’s compared to last year, and all of the other codes are seeing a similar kind of trend - a 20% to 30% rise across all the codes."
Like the other core GAA sports, handball has had to get creative to appeal to all demographics.
Perhaps unlike those other sports, women haven’t had to cover as much ground to close the gap with their stars viewed on an equal footing, but there’s no standing still with programmes like ‘She’s Ace’ – a women’s championship for all levels with players ranked on their ability – proving popular, as is the mother’s and others handball social events.
It’s not all rosy on the courts though. The fact that players can compete for so long – Dubliner Ned Flynn won an over-70s national title last year at the age of 79 – means that people don’t naturally advance to administration roles as they would in football, camogie and hurling when their playing careers come to an end at a much younger age.
Those are surmountable issues though and expectations continue to rise. Currently, there are three regional development officers at national level and another two within Ulster. Their work with primary schools in particular will bear fruit.
It already is, and that will be evident in the second half of the year when the world wall-ball championships are held in Limerick in August before the four-wall worlds will be held in Dublin, Carlow, Kilkenny and Laois in October and November with O’Neill’s.com signing on as principal sponsors earlier this month.
Both will be streamed live by Spórt TG4 YouTube, two of the 14 events in 2024 to be shown by the Irish language station. Viewing numbers to date have easily exceeded expectations.
"We’re very proud and very honoured to be a member of the GAA family," Britton continued.
"We celebrate our centenary this year which is great, but we’re no different to everyone else, we’re vying for market space when it comes to sport.
"You have the big three (in Ireland), GAA, soccer and rugby and when people talk about GAA they’re talking predominately about hurling and football which are massive sports in terms of participation and from a volunteer perspective.
"We acknowledge and accept that, we are a very different sport, and if you include rounders we are the only individual sport in the GAA family. We are the only indoor sport in the GAA family.
"But we have very few barriers when it comes to playing the game. All you need is a ball and a wall, so it’s a very accessible and a very cheap sport.
"We’re non contact and we’re a cradle to the grave sport - we have five year olds playing and we have 80 year olds playing.
"While your main GAA codes cater for certain types, we also believe handball caters for certain types of people. We can and will cater for a wider market."
That market share is growing, the upcoming world championships will be a clear demonstration of that. The ‘kill shot’ delivered during those Covid years sailed too high.
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