Ireland finding aces in the alleys as hands-on approach paying off

SOMETIMES they inch forward in awkward shuffles.

Often, they simply topple over with the gentlest push. Yet both are part of the reality of where the Irish Olympic handball team are at and besides, if you don’t start somewhere, you are going nowhere.

Back in October 2011, with Ireland heading south to play Andorra in a World Cup soccer qualifier, Lúcás Ó Ceallacháin decided he’d take the handball team on a similar journey. New to the role of general manager of the association, he hitched up in Catalonia and got talking to Xavier O’Callaghan, an Olympic medallist from 2000 and a key player in the sport within the Barcelona club.