O'Connor back in the alley
Wednesday November 25 2009
Cork footballer, Donncha O'Connor, is no stranger to the handball alley and, on Saturday week, December 5, he will pair up with fellow Ballydesmond native Tony Healy for the GAA Handball Showdown at Croke Park.
"It's great to be back in the alley," said O'Connor.
"Handball is a fantastic game; it's great for fitness and sharpening hand-eye coordination and most of all, it's very enjoyable to play."
In his youth, O'Connor won three Munster underage singles titles as well as All-Ireland Feile honours. Healy, O'Connor's second cousin, was on that team, along with Noel Tarrant, Michael Murphy and Danny Healy.
"When I started playing with Cork everything else took a back seat, but I'm really looking forward to the GAA Handball Showdown and I think myself and Tony will be in with a good shot," said O'Connor.
The 'Showdown' involves pairing high-ranked handball players with athletes from other codes within the GAA. Healy and O'Connor will be amongst the favourites to take honours, but there will be tough competition from the likes of Kilkenny's 'Ducksy' Walsh and Tommy Walsh, Mayo's Andy Moran and Joe McCann, and Tipperary's Ger Coonan and Shane McGrath.
The competition will involve pitting handballers against each other in a 10-minute singles match, while their novice partners from the same county will then play a six-minute match.
Irish Independent
