Dublin and Meath pairings square up in ‘big alley’
The potential meeting of Dublin’s Eoin Kennedy and Carl Browne and Meath’s Tom Sheridan and Brian Carroll has been coming down the tracks since Browne transferred to St Brigid’s in Blanchardstown.
The prospect of an epic decider has caught the imagination of handball fans and a capacity crowd is expected as the doubles final returns to Dublin 3 after a six-year hiatus.
The context which adds that element of spice to the fixture is not just Sheridan’s return but also that Browne, a native of Kells who formerly represented the Royals, switched allegiance to the capital in 2013 and has formed a potent partnership with Kennedy, the greatest player of his generation.
They stormed to victory last year in their maiden season as a partnership, defeating Kilkenny’s Ciaran Neary and the late Ducksie Walsh in the final, but there was an asterisk beside it to an extent in that the Meath pair didn’t enter.
Carroll had a hand injury but it seemed that Sheridan – 48 years old and having first won this title, astonishingly, in 1992 - had decided to hang up his gloves anyway.
The sport of the chase is addictive, though, and he came back this year to aim for a 14th title.
His longevity is remarkable - surpassed only by Walsh, who was ranked no 2 in the country before his untimely passing back in May – and can be explained by a dedication to training and, moreso, a smart, economical style of play.
Sheridan, the greatest left-hander the game has seen, plays a ‘ground and pound’ game – he rallies and rallies, driving the ball back clockwise, until an attacking opportunity arises. Then, when the chance to shoot comes, he’s got ice in his veins and the temperament of an assassin.
His record of winning 13 times in this grade, with three different partners, will probably never be beaten.
Sheridan’s trademark soliloquies to the crowd and two-pistol, Robbie Keanesque celebrations, ensure that he is ‘box office’ in a sport which doesn’t produce the characters it once did.
Riding shotgun is 29-year-old Carroll, one of the quickest players in the game, and his duel on the right with former clubmate Browne will be electric.
Star man in the blue corner, though, is Kennedy (37), the nine-time singles champion and one of the toughest competitors the game has produced who showed in his singles loss to Robbie McCarthy three weeks ago that he retains much of the craft – and graft – that has made him a serial winner.
On the undercard, Wexford (Daniel Kavanagh and Anthony Butler) will be favourites to retain the Minor Doubles crown against Tyrone’s Sean Kerr and Turlough Clarke while Ollie Conway of Galway meets Kilkenny’s William Love in a close-looking Intermediate Singles final.
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