Handball: Catriona Casey on final revenge mission

Ballydesmond handball star Catriona Casey will be on a revenge mission when she serves off in her third All-Ireland senior singles final today — and she is determined not to slip up this time round. 

Casey has lost just one singles handball match in the last 18 months, hoovering up trophies at an astonishing rate in the interim. Unfortunately for her, the one game she lost was the 2014 All-Ireland senior final against this afternoon’s opponent Aisling Reilly, an experience Casey says she will never forget.

“There’s a bit of deja vu there now because I played Maria [Daly, Kerry] in the semi-final last year as well but it’s very easy to stay motivated, because I lost the final last year and I’ve had that in the back of my mind all year.

“I’ll probably never forget it, to be honest, but hopefully I can go one better this year. It will be a tough challenge.”

That 21-11, 21-13 defeat has haunted Casey since.

“I have watched it back but I think I won’t watch it again. I’m not sure what went wrong, Aisling was just by far the better player on the day. There was no aspect of my game really that I was happy with, just that I didn’t give up, I suppose, in the second game.

“I’ll just put that game behind me. I think I’ve come a long way in the last year and picked up more experience as well. Hopefully there won’t be a repeat and I’ll give a good performance.”

Meanwhile, defending champion Robbie McCarthy (Westmeath) meets Armagh’s Charly Shanks in the men’s senior final, with Mayo’s Niall Joyce and Tyrone lad Sean Kerr clashing in the minor final.