thumb|Boys playing handball at a handball court in Ireland in the 1930s

Gaelic handball (known in Ireland simply as handball; ) is a sport where players hit a ball with a hand or fist against a wall in such a way as to make a shot the opposition cannot return, and that may be played with two (singles) or four players (doubles). The sport, popular in Ireland, is similar to American handball, Welsh handball, Fives, Basque pelota, Valencian frontó, and more remotely to racquetball or squash. It is one of the four Gaelic games organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). GAA Handball, a subsidiary organisation of the GAA, governs and promotes the sport.

Rules

thumb|upright=1.3|A typical Handball court

Handball is played in a court, or "alley". Originally, an alley measuring was used with a front wall, off which the ball must be struck.

A smaller alley was also introduced, measuring with a front wall high. The first alley of this size was built in Ireland in 1969. This smaller size is now the standard in the international version of the game, but both alleys are still used in the Gaelic game, with two separate championships run by the GAA in the two codes.

The objective of a game is to be the first to score a set total of points. Points are only scored by the person serving the ball. In other words, if a player wins a rally but did not serve at the start of that rally they only win the right to serve, and thus the chance to score after a subsequent rally. The serving player has two opportunities to hit the ball, from the "service area" (between the two parallel lines), off the "front wall" and across the "short line" (which is located exactly halfway down the court from the front wall).

Players take turns at hitting the ball off the "front wall" before the ball bounces twice on the floor of the court following their opponent's previous shot. Most handball games take place in a four-walled court but there are also three-walled and one-wall versions of the game.

History

Handball-like games have originated in several places at different times. Hieroglyphs in the temple of Osiris in Egypt portray priests taking part in a game very similar to handball, and civilisations Mesoamerica and South America had a handball-like game.

An early origin for the game in Ireland is supported by recent archaeological finds in the Callan and Mooncoin areas of Kilkenny, which may indicate a Celtic antecedent to the modern game was played in the area in ancient times. An ancient Celtic version of the game is supported by the existence of Welsh handball (), a similar sport, which has been attested in the literature of Wales since the ninth century.

In Ireland, the earliest written record of a similar ball game is contained in the town statutes of Galway in 1527, which forbade the playing of ball games [generic] against the walls of the town. The first depiction of an Irish form of handball does not appear till 1785. On the west coast of Ireland, Galway had many trading links with Spain, especially the Basque regions, where the similar game of pelota is played. According to Dublin Handball GAA "It is highly likely that one game is derived from or influenced by the other.".

Father John Murphy, a leader in the 1798 rebellion was one of the best handball players of his time and he frequently held rebel meetings at his local handball alley. It held its inaugural meeting on 27 January 1924 in Croke Park, County Dublin Prominent Irish republicans, Eoin O'Duffy and Ned Broy were members of this association, with O'Duffy serving as its president from 1926 till 1934. The association's work can be seen in corners of rural Ireland where there are many handball alleys in villages and small towns. However many are no longer used.

Prisoners detained in Gloucester Prison during the Irish revolutionary period played handball during their stay.

Taoiseach, President of Ireland and Irish revolutionary Éamon de Valera was a fan of the sport. He played it while interned in Gloucester Prison and also while held in Arbour Hill Prison. Austin Stack records in his diary (while in Arbour Hill Prison) that on 26 April 1924 "Dev [De Valera] beat me decisively a couple of times" at handball.

In 1925 the first All-Ireland Handball Congress was held and the All-Ireland Senior Softball and Hardball Championships were established

thumb|Open-ended school handball courts at [[Gort Na Móna Secondary School ]]

Types of handball

In Ireland, there are four forms or codes of handball. These include the two domestic codes:

  • Softball (also known as 'big alley' or '60x30' from the playing court dimensions) is a code played in a large four-walled court measuring , played with a small 'Softball' rubber ball (typically red in colour). The code is played between June and October. According to a 2018 report by the GAA Handball Provincial Councils, Munster and South Leinster were then "strongholds" of the softball code, while "Ulster's progress in the code is severely hampered by the limited courts in the Province". The ceiling is not used as an area of play within the softball code.
  • Hardball (can also be known as '60x30' interchangeably with the softball code), played in the same court as Softball, but as the name suggests, with a much harder 'hardball' ball. Hardball is recognised as a traditional code of the game. The code is more difficult to play due to the ball being much harder than any of the others used in the other codes. As a result, as of 2018, there were reportedly fewer players than in other codes (with, on average between 2013 and 2017, 34 entries between five grades (Senior, Minor, Intermediate, Junior and Masters Singles) nationally) and there were no grades offered in Ladies or Juvenile grades due to health and safety concerns. The code's simplicity to play, combined with the accessibility of building multiple court venues enables clubs & GAA Handball to host larger scale tournaments. The ceiling is used as an area of play within the 4-wall code. The 4-Wall code is regarded as the strongest code in Irish handball at present. It has a strong international dimension with the US Semi-Professional Tour and the World Championships, which are held every three years. As of 2018, Ireland had the top men's and ladies' Senior World Champions from the preceding five World Championships.
  • Michael (Ducksy) Walsh, multiple All-Ireland and World Handball Champion

See also

  • Gaelic Senior Softball Singles
  • Gaelic Senior Hardball Singles
  • Irish Collegiate Handball Association

Other modalities

  • American handball
  • Australian handball
  • Basque Pelota
  • International fronton
  • Pêl-Law (Welsh handball)
  • Valencian frontó
  • Fives

References

  • GAA Handball