On the morning of the 27^th of February, our four Olympic Handball teams boarded a bus bright and early with Kildavin as our destination. We had two junior teams and two senior teams.

On the day, we would face competition from Carlow ETNS and Grange NS. Some of the children were making the Olympic Handball debuts for Ballyconnell while others were taking part in their second Olympic Handball tournament after last year’s in Castletown.

The standard of competition was extremely high with goals flying in from all angles. Our senior girls team tried hard but found the going tough against Carlow ETNS before pushing Grange NS hard in their second game.

Our junior girls team played really well against Carlow ETNS and knew that a win in their second game would get them a place in the final. They took the lead against Grange NS with a Caoimhe Murphy goal but Grange came back in the second half to take the win.

Our junior boys’ team played some lovely handball and were very close in both games with Jack Dempsey hitting two goals in a narrow 5-3 defeat to Carlow ETNS.

Our senior boys’ team really shone beating both Carlow ETNS and Grange in the group stage while playing some sparkling handball. This meant they faced off against Carlow ETNS in the final. The winners would be crowned Carlow Champions for 2025 and advance to the Leinster Finals. The boys’ level of performance didn’t drop in the final. They rained shots down on the Carlow ETNS goalkeeper who had the game of his life, stopping shot after shot. The final whistle sounded with Carlow still one goal clear. Disappointment for the Ballyconnell boys but when the disappointment fades, they’ll still have their shiny silver runners up medals to remind them of their great day out in Kildavin. Well done to all the Ballyconnell NS children who took part. Míle buíochas to Joao and Caroline from Olympic Handball Ireland for organising the tournament. Beidh Baile Uí Chonaill ar ais!