Robbie McCarthy claims hat-trick of All-Ireland titles

An outstanding performance from Robbie McCarthy saw the Westmeath man seal a hat-trick of senior All-Ireland titles in emphatic fashion at Kingscourt, Cavan on Saturday.

Robbie McCarthy claims hat-trick of All-Ireland titles

It was all plain sailing for McCarthy — an Irish naval recruit based in Haulbowline, Cobh — as he ran out a 21-13, 21-7 winner over a game but out-gunned Charly Shanks of Armagh.

“It was always going to be about controlling the front of the court. Last year, I let him drive me back a bit — this time, I wanted to attack more, to serve and shoot. I missed a good few as well but I got a lot of good ones,” said the senior champion.

McCarthy has spent a lot of time at sea of late, limiting his court time, but he made the best of it. “I’m doing a lot of fitness training, I’m trying to strengthen up my leg because I had a bit of a problem with it over the last six or seven weeks. I laid off a bit on the handball training but it has left me fresher and it seems to be working.

“Next up for me? Probably the big alley [60x30 championships] or maybe the US Nationals in Minnesota in June, we’ll see.”

Meanwhile Cork star Catriona Casey battled to a gutsy second ladies senior singles success against world champion Aisling Reilly of Antrim. Casey, who had lost both the All-Ireland and World Championships finals to Reilly last year, was on the back foot for most of the first game but stole it 21-20 and recovered from a 4-21 second-game loss to win the deciding set 21-9.

“When I heard during the week that it was my fourth final in a row, it only dawned on me that to lose three in a row would be very hard to take. I tried not to over-think it but I was still nervous once the game started, but thankfully it worked out in the end,” said the 22-year-old Ballydesmond native.

Tyrone’s Sean Kerr defeated Tadhg O’Neill of Cork in straight games in the minor singles final.

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