The Seville derby, according to Spanish daily sport newspaper AS, is more than football.
The Real Madrid v Barcelona El Clasico is the greatest show on earth. The Manchester derby is the battle of hoofing and parking the bus. Kilkenny and Cork in the hurling enhanced the greatest game to ever exist.
The Ryder Cup, albeit not a derby per say, showcases the greatest talent in golf in Europe and USA and also allows Patrick Reed a platform to declare it’s really a team game but my god, egos are the worst . . . just ask Jordan Spieth
And that’s the thing about derbies or rivalries. We all know about them, and we all have the stats dating back to time itself. Everyone has an opinion on the teams and every fan swears that derby day is the greatest day.
Or if you're like me you starve yourself due to nerves and lose count of how many trips to the toilet are made due the countless cans of Coke drank due sheer lack of energy, c'est ça.
But one derby or clasico you probably don’t know about is the most intense of all. Being from Duhallow and my mother being a regular listener to local news, we always knew Catriona Casey had talent. She was good at handball, but in the world of handball, Ballydesmond woman Casey was what Lionel Messi is to soccer and what Tom Brady is to NFL. According to a top handball promoter, Casey is the greatest ever female handball player.
In fact, I remember a few years ago when I heard about Casey playing with the men in America, I thought how cool and unprecedented her achievements were.
That same promoter who called her the greatest female handball player ever also declared not many men in America could beat her; in fact only a top handful or so could among the thousands of handball players.
But while domination was and still is Casey’s goal, she has had to endure an intense pairing with Martina McMahon of Limerick. Another chapter is about to be written in the story of meetings between Casey and McMahon, somewhat like the previous battles between Casey and Ashling Reilly.
Casey and McMahon are now the top pair in Irish women’s handball as they are constantly facing off. They met most recently in the World final when McMahon defeated favourite Casey to complete a hand-trick of World titles.
The rivalry is so intense, Casey has told the media she’s still not over the last defeat at the Worlds. McMahon also stripped Casey of the Irish 40x20 championship crown this year. The record books show that, in Irish competitions, the contest between the two has always resulted in an epic encounter – with Casey winning six times and McMahon winning five. But it’s noteworthy that McMahon has won the last three in a row.
Rare thing
So, over the course of the last weekend, handball’s greatest rivalry came to a head. Martina McMahon stepped up against Catriona Casey in the 60x30 All -Ireland final.
In the non-handballing world, it must be noted: the closest possible match there is in the sport is when a game goes to a 21-20 third game. That’s a rare thing in singles and doubles at senior level, it hasn’t happened too often in the last five years, maybe enough to count on one hand.
However, two of those were this year – in the 40x20 and the afore-mentioned 60x30 All-Ireland senior finals – and both occasions involved the same two players: McMahon and Casey.
McMahon was a camogie player with Limerick at underage and intermediate level but gave up the game to pursue greater achievements in the world of handball. Her style is incredibly aggressive and exciting, where she shoots the ball from deep in the court. Her rival, however, is viewed as more tactical and plays a percentage game.
The duo served up a show-stopping and mesmerising final, going all the way to a third game where they were level an incredible nine times. McMahon went 20-17 up with an unreturned serve but 2017 champ Casey wasn’t going away and drew level at 20-all. She had two chances to win it, but eventually, McMahon sealed the game with a right-corner kill. At the end of the game, the players were awarded a rare standing ovation from the attendance after yet another epic finale.
Regarding rivalries, this is up there with the best of them. All-Blacks and Australia, El Clasico and everything else in between. While handball is a minority sport here in Ireland, the achievements of Casey, McMahon and even Reilly are unprecedented.
The women have pushed themselves to outrageous levels, and one thing is for sure, this rivalry will continue to grow and reach standards that can only improve the future of handball.
