The 43rd Irish Open and 40th Arklow Open proved to be a fantastic weekend of racquetball, with a huge turnout, high-quality matches, and a brilliant atmosphere throughout the event. 
Players travelled from across Ireland and beyond to compete, making it a truly memorable tournament for all involved.
There was no shortage of thrilling action across the grades. In the Men’s Open Singles, Johnny O’Keeney (Fermoy) won a gripping 4-game battle against Mark Murphy (Kilkenny). 
In the Women’s Open Singles, Aisling Hickey (Rossmore) delivered a strong performance, defeating Arklow’s Antonia Neary in straight sets.
Arklow had plenty to celebrate across the weekend, with standout performances from Joseph Farrell, who claimed the Men’s B Singles title in dominant fashion, and Paddy Dodd, who secured victory in the Men’s C/D Singles. 
Tyler Young also impressed, winning the Men’s Novice Singles, and we are delighted to announce that this marks Tyler’s well-earned promotion out of the novice grade. A brilliant achievement and very well deserved.
Other notable winners included Daniel White (North Sligo) in the Men’s Novice B Singles, Robert Weber (USA) in a tightly contested Men’s 40+ final, Noel O’Callaghan (Fermoy) in the Men’s 50+, and Billy Walsh (Kilkenny) in the Men’s 60+.
The Junior final was an all-Arklow affair, with George Foley edging out Chris Neary in a thrilling 5-game match. George also went on to claim victory in the Men’s Novice Doubles alongside Ray Kehoe.
In doubles action, Johnny O’Keeney and Mark Murphy combined to win the Men’s Open Doubles after another 5-game classic, while Billy Walsh and Don Lawlor took the Men’s C/D Doubles title.
Off the court, the club was proud to host a civic reception to welcome three visiting international players: Robert Weber, Kelly Gremley, and Jessica Wei, whose presence added greatly to the tournament.
A special mention must go to Liam Og Cooke (Cavan), who was awarded the Michael Barnes Sportsperson of the Tournament Award, recognising not only his performances on court but his outstanding sportsmanship, attitude, and willingness to support others throughout the weekend.
We were also delighted to honour Mick Cunningham, who was formally inducted into the Racquetball Association Hall of Fame in recognition of his years of dedication, commitment, and invaluable contribution to the sport.
Finally, a massive thank you to the Arklow club whose hard work and organisation made the tournament such a success, as well as to our generous sponsors for their continued support.
Full Results

Congratulations to Mick Cunningham on his induction into the Racquetball Association of Ireland's Hall of Fame. The presentation took place during the 43rd Irish & 40th Arklow Open on Saturday, May 2nd.

To mark the occasion, Association President Susan Farrell presented Mick with a Mayo Crystal vase.

​A member of the Araglen club in Co Cork, Mick is highly regarded for his extensive administrative work, specifically in the areas of coaching and coach education.

A full resume of Mick's achievements will be published shortly in the Hall of Fame section of our website.

​Photo: Susan Farrell, President of the Racquetball Association of Ireland and Hall of Fame Inductee, Mick Cunningham

A great weekend of racquetball was had for the 60X30 All-Ireland Singles Championships which took place at the Wexford venues.
Paddy Boland from the Templeudigan club won his first 60X30 All-Ireland Singles title defeating his club-mate Sean O’Neill in an excellent final at Gusserane. 
Niamh Murphy(Templeudigan) claimed her third 60x30 senior title against an impressive and skilful Hannah Keating from Cloughbawn. 
Don Lawlor  from Clogh took the Men’s B final title this year in an outstanding final and impressive display against club-mate Enda Gannon. 
Well done to Noelie Kehoe who produced an impressive display in the Men's C Singles final against Paddy Whelan (Gusserane) in another great final at Gusserane. 
Bob Whitty(Cloughbawn) had an excellent 3-1 win against Jack Carroll from Clogh in the D Singles Final.
The Men's Novice singles was won by Jason O’Grady (Gusserane) who defeated Michael Kelly (Templeudigan) in a close final by 3 games to 2.
In the Women's competitions,  Annie Greene (Templeudigan) and Fiona Kyne played a thrilling final at Templeudigan with Annie taking the Ladies Intermediate title  on a scoreline of 3-1. 
The Novice Singles ladies final was very entertaining with sisters Amanda & Tracey Power, both from the Gusserane club involved. An excellent tie-breaker again with Tracey winning the title.  
Shane O’Dowd from Clogh who took the boys U16 title in a superb final at Ballyanne with a nail biting 12-10 tie-breaker against Joey Gaffney. 
Congratulations also to Sophie Kehoe(Ballyanne) on winning the U16 girls final against her cousin Aoife Ryan. 
45 players participated in the 60X30 All-Irelands over the weekend. Well done to all involved! 

Photo: 60x30 All Ireland Senior Singles Champions 2026 - Niamh Murphy(Templeudigan) & Paddy Boland(Templeudigan)

Double joy for Joseph Farrell

Rossmore's Aisling Hickey captured her 14th National Open Singles title at the 2026 All Ireland Singles & Doubles Championships held in Kingscourt Handball & Racquetball Club. The record breaking Tipperary woman defeated Antonia Neary of Arklow in the final.

The Men's Singles title was retained by Joe Dillon of Kingscourt. Playing at his home venue, Dillon defeated Kilkenny's Mark Murphy in a close final by 3 games to 2.

The only player to win two singles title was Joseph Farrell. The seventeen year old Arklow student won both the C Singles title and the B Singles title. He now becomes one of the youngest players to join the top ranks in Irish Racquetball.

The Women's B Singles won by Niamh Murphy(Templeudigan) who will play in the Open ranks next season. Promoted to the B  grade for her win the Women's C Singles is Abbie O'Meara from Fermoy.

​In the other Singles divisions, there were wins for Billy Nolan(Clogh/Moneenroe) in Men's D Singles while Fiona Kyne from Castlebar was the winner of the Women's D Singles.
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​The Novice divisions were highly competitive with Dan Coogan from the Clogh/Moneenroe club winning the title. Sophie O'Flynn (Fermoy) made up for her loss in the Novice Singles at last years Championships defeating the youngest competitor at the Championships 13-yerar-old Lucy Murphy(Castlebar)
All the Doubles division saw competitive matches and the full results of the championships can be viewed on R2Sports

Johnny O'Keeney wins at 33rd Mayo Crystal Castlebar Open.

Fermoy's Johnny O'Keeney won the Mens Open Singles at the 33rd Castlebar Open at the weekend. He defeated clubmate Noel O'Callaghan to  win 5 of the 7 Open tournaments held this year.

Other singles winner were Alan O'Meara(Mitchelstown) Mens B Singles, Billy Nolan(Clogh) Men's C/D Singles. Women's CD Singles was won by Hannah Noonan(Fermoy) while the Novice Singles in mens & womens went to Josh Lawlor(Clogh) and Belle O'Meara(Mitchelstown) who are now promoted to the D grade.

​40 players took part in the 33rd Open in courts at De la Salle and An Sportlann, Castlebar.
Full results on R2Sports 

Photo: Johnny O'Keeney(Fermoy), Noel O'Callaghan(Fermoy)

The All Ireland Junior Championships at even ages were held on Saturday 7th March in the Co Kilkenny courts of O'Loughlins Gaels Sport Centre, Kilkenny, Callan, Clogh, Galmoy and Tullaroan.
Congratulations to Joseph Farrell (Arklow), the Under 18 Boys Champion and the runner-up, Jack Carroll (Clogh/Moneenroe). Both earned places on the Irish panel from which a team to represent Ireland at the World Championships in Chile this October will be selected. 
Congratulations also to the Girls Under 18 Singles Champion , Hannah Noonan (Fermoy)  who will be included on the panel as will runner up Ciara Noona, also from Fermoy.
Seventy seven (77) junior athletes representing eleven (11) clubs competed in the Championships.
Our thanks to Tournament Director, Thea Coleman and her team who made the Championships special for every junior.  Full Results 

A successful Irish Womens Open was held in Wexford on Saturday 28th February with 33 competitors taking part.
The Open/B Singles division was won by Antonia Neary(Arklow), demonstrating some high-level racquetball throughout the day.
The Open/B/C Doubles was won by a new pairing of Elaine Murphy(Templederry) and Abbie O’Meara(Fermoy) in a competitive round-robin draw.  Further congratulations to Abbie O’Meara for also winning the C/D singles and getting promoted from C to C1.
Sophie O’Flynn(Fermoy) deserves recognition for winning out the  U18 Girls’ Singles competition and the D/Novice Doubles event with her partner Hannah Noonan(Fermoy). Silver medals went to Grace and Olivia Hearn(Ballyanne). The U18 competition featured a full Munster contingent with Hannah Walsh(Araglen) winning silver and Belle O’Meara receiving bronze.
Sportsperson of the Tournament went to the well-deserved Niamh Murphy from Templudigan. Niamh received this award due to her contribution on the day as both a player and a volunteer, keeping everything running smoothly. She also earned a silver medal in the C/D singles and played fantastic racquetball in the Open Singles and Open/B/C Doubles with her partner Fiona Kyne. Much thanks to her for running some of the Novice games on Friday night.
The highlight of the day was the top-quality Novice division which saw 16 entrants leading to an exciting draw. Laura Molloy (St James) and Olivia Hearn(Templeudigan) fought their way to the final with some close and exciting games throughout.
Congratulations to Elayne Beel(Ballyanne) and Amanda Kelly(Templeudigan) for reaching the semifinals in this division resulting in bronze medals. Laura Molloy was the winner on the day earning herself a promotion from Novice to D. The Novice plate division also had some exciting games with the eventual gold medalist being Hannah Walsh, the silver medalist was Sally Byrne(Cloughbawn) and the bronze medalists were Kayleigh Murphy and Karina Lillis(Cloughbawn).
Huge thanks to all volunteers on the day and the cooperation from all players. It was a very enjoyable day with lots of new players, demonstrating the growth of ladies’ racquetball particularly in the Leinster area. 
Photo: Women's Novice Singles - Olivia Hearn (Templeudigan) runner-up and Laura Molloy (St. James Ramsgrange) winner.

Fermoy's Johnny O'Keeney made it a four timer at the Kingscourt Ulster Open when he won the Men's Open Singles.  He followed up on his wins this season at the Galway, Ballinrobe and Fermoy Opens . In a close final at Kingscourt Handball & Racquetball Centre, O'Keeney defeated current All Ireland Champion and local hero Joe Dillon by 3 games to 2.

Consolation for Joe Dillon the the Open Doubles when he and former Irish junior international Daire Gargan (KIngscourt) making a welcome return to the sport winning the Men's Open Doubles.

Fifteen racquetball athletes contested the Men's C/D Singles with Joseph Farrell continuing his good form in defeating his club mate and fellow Arklow player James Smith by 3 games to nil in the final.

Jack Carroll, from the Clogh/Moneenroe club in Co Kilkenny won a very competitive Mer's Novice Singles in which 19 racquetballers competed in. He defeated Craig Young(Arklow) by 3 games to nil in the final and Jack is rewarded by being promoted to the D grade.

THe Men's C/D/Novice Doubles was won by Paddy Dodd and James Smith of Arklow while the Womens CD Singles was won by Niamh Murphy(Templeudigan)

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Photo of Sean Gargan, Tournament Director,
​Johnny O'Keeney & Joe Dillon