It was a memorable day for Armagh and the Doyle family from Whitecross in particular as father and son James and Fiachra (Ó Dúill) claimed the All-Ireland Masters Singles and Senior Singles wallball championships respectively back in October.
Rising star Fiachra, fresh from winning the Irish Collegiates, produced a stunning upset to dethrone defending champion Conor McElduff in the All-Ireland Senior Wallball final in Kilglass, Co Roscommon. The 20-year-old Whitecross player delivered the performance of his career, defeating the five-time winner on a remarkable 15-10, 15-0 scoreline.
The last four was an all-Ulster line-up, with Ó Dúill – the youngest player in the semi-finals in either men’s or women’s grades – excelling on the day.
Standing 6ft 4in, the powerful right-hander set the tone from the start, serving deep and attacking relentlessly in the front court. McElduff, 32, who has dominated the wallball scene for the past decade, struggled to find rhythm and was overpowered by Ó Dúill’s aggressive play. The Tyrone man had come through a gruelling semi-final tiebreak against his Breacach clubmate Sean Kerr, while Ó Dúill advanced with a straight-games win over Cavan’s Ben Devlin.
“I’d have to win about 500 titles to catch up with Conor,” Ó Dúill said afterwards.
“I knew I had to go for everything – you can’t beat Conor playing safe. Luckily, it came off today.”
The DKIT student dedicated the victory to his parents, James and Maighréad, for their constant support. The triumph capped a memorable fortnight for Ó Dúill, who also captured the Irish Collegiates Open Singles title the previous weekend.