Kells man claims National glory

Handball Gary McConnell join illustrious list

PAUL FITZPATRICK

Gary McConnell was the toast of Meath and in particular Kells on Saturday night as he became only the third man from the Royal County to win the All-Ireland Senior Softball Singles title in the 100-year history of the championship.

In inscribing his name on the Ducksy Walsh Cup, the 35-year-old right-hander followed in the footsteps of clubmate Tom Sheridan (2003) and Walter O’Connor (1998) in bringing the title back to Meath. McConnell had to overcome a formidable foe in 11-time champion Robbie McCarthy of Westmeath in the final in Abbeylara, Co Longford, but played superbly on the day.

McConnell, controlling the tempo and fly-killing consistently, cruised to a 21-8 win in the first game. McCarthy came out shooting in game two and quickly opened a 6-0 lead but McConnell came roaring back to lead 8-7, at which stage McCarthy (38) was forced to concede on an injury default.

After the game, McCarthy – who had been unbeaten in the softball code since 2019 - announced that he is to retire, bringing the curtain down on a remarkable career at the elite level in the sport.

But it was McConnell’s day. The Kells-based fire-fighter and personal trainer has been extremely successful in doubles and has won singles titles in other grades but this was his first All-Ireland Senior Singles title, the elite level.

“A fella said to me, and it really annoyed me, a couple of years ago, ‘you’re like Andy Murray’s brother in tennis, you only win in doubles’ and it really bugged me,” McConnell said.

“I was wondering if everybody thought that and it was definitely one of the things that really pushed me on this year.”

McConnell spent the early exchanges attempting to suss McCarthy out, he said, and gradually imposed himself on the game.

“It’s funny, I didn’t have a game plan as such. Robbie is one of these guys that makes you adjust, you just have to go in and bear with it for a couple of minutes, ease yourself into it,” he told the Meath Chronicle.

“That was the mindset we had talked about all week, what are you going to do. He always has something up his sleeve, you don’t know what he’s going to do.

“It was all about me, being in the right frame of mind. I’m a firm believer that if I show up on my game, nobody can touch me, especially in the ‘big court’,” he said.

Gary tapered off his training to be ready for the big day. He hadn’t been happy with his semi-final and quarter-final performances but he delivered when it was needed.

“I was hungry, I had my last training session on Tuesday so I was mad for a game of handball today. It was about performing as best as I could. Even if the game had gone to a tiebreaker, I truly believed I was coming out on top because I have done everything I possibly could to prepare this year, court work, mental attitude…

“I met Paul Brady (world champion and sports psychologist) a couple of weeks ago and I spoke to him for a couple of minutes, I just got a couple of words from him but it was really good, really beneficial coming into the quarter-final, semi-final and final, so I’d like to thank him as well.

“It was only a couple of minutes but I was really grateful and delighted to get some feedback off him. It really worked for me today.”

McConnell’s trademark fly kills, a very difficult skill require perfect timing, began to come off and he built on that, he said.

“If I can get a couple in around the corners, everything else starts coming. In the quarter-final, I was caught on the hop against a really good player in Cormac Finn and those shots just weren’t coming off. The more I tried, the worse they were getting.

“I just think if I could start getting those paddle kills going, everything else follows from there. They give me great confidence. It was around 2-all or 3-all and there was a really high one and I came under the ball and it floated in and I just said to myself ‘this is the start now’.

“I’d a good feeling coming in today, I really had.”

McConnell thanked the large support from Kells and clubmate Peter Reilly for his coaching and assistance. In an emotional acceptance speech, he also paid tribute to the late Jimmy ‘Noddy’ Black, a great supporter of handball in Kells who sadly passed away in recent weeks.