Great week for the Buggy clan
2009 IS proving to be a very successful season so far for Wexford handball, as Gavin Buggy made it through to the third round of the All-Ireland qualifiers and his father, Ned, and uncle, Martin, were among seven others to qualify for Leinster finals.
Gavin's second round qualifier last weekend in Abbeylara, Co. Longford, proved much easier than first anticipated as Owen McKenna from Antrim, whom he defeated two years ago in the Intermediate singles, was forced to retire at 14-6 in the opening game.
Next weekend Gavin will be joined by Paul Lambert as they go in search of the Leinster Senior doubles title. After two fantastic victories so far in the competition against Michael 'Duxie' Walsh and Timmy Clifford, and then top Dublin pair Eoin Kennedy and Egin Jensen, they will still go in as underdogs against the tough, hardhitting Meath men.
The Model county duo will fear nothing and have it well in their capabilities to capture the title. The action gets under way on Saturday next at 5.30 p.m. in Ballymore Eustace in Kildare, and the game will be followed by the Ruby Masters singles final where Martin Buggy will be hoping to be the second part of a purple and gold double.
Peter Hughes is Paul Lambert's wing man in the Leinster Junior 'B' doubles, and the St. Joseph's /Ballyhogue team are into the Leinster final after an explosive victory last week over Castlebridge pair John Roche and Malachy Whelan. The first-time partnership of Lambert and Hughes had too much in the tank and raced to a 219, 21-9 success.
Declan Hart secured his passage to the Silver Masters 'B' singles final last week as he continued his personal crusade on beating Kilkenny players. Seán Walsh was the victim this time as Horeswood native Hart fired home a 21-13, 21-8 win.
Tony Breen and Benny Doyle were the next cross-club duo to team up for Wexford success as the Templeudigan and Horeswood pair set a high tempo in beating Seán Ryan and Martin Clancy from Carlow. The Wexford duo pulled out all the shots in a 21-12, 21-18 success.
Ned Buggy was the second success story for the famous handball family last weekend when he fairly well hammered John Molloy from Dublin in the Leinster Diamond Masters 'A' singles semifinal. On his return season, Ned has been showing he has lost none of the handball but has recaptured the appetite for success and now has a Leinster final to look forward to.
His brother, Martin, made it a hat-trick for the Buggy family with a win in probably the best Leinster game played over the past week. In a nail-biting, high-octane game, Buggy somehow found more in the tank to eventually see off Paddy Lennon from Wicklow. After losing the opening set 21-20, Buggy re-grouped, re-focused and won through 21-7, 2119 to secure his Leinster final spot.
Jason Murphy and Jim Berry lost out in the semifinals of the Under-21 doubles when they went down 21-19, 21-6 to World 'C' doubles champion, Ciarán Neary, and his partner, Kieran Burke from Kilkenny.
Marguerite Byrne-Gore was also unlucky in the past week as she crashed out of the Junior singles in agonising fashion to Mary Therése O'Neill from Kilkenny (3-21, 2117, 21-5).
