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We left Galway
in the morning to travel east across Ireland toward Dublin.
Along the
way, we passed through some lush Irish farmlands,
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Irish farmland |
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then
stopped for lunch in Athlone, located on the Hodson Bay.
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Athlone, looking toward
the Bay |
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Athlone |
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More Irish
farmland |
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Locke's
Whiskey factory is no longer in use |
| We arrived
in Dublin in the middle of the afternoon. After being on a plane or
a bus for most of the past three days, a few of us were ready for
some handball action. So we packed our stuff, grabbed a cab and headed
across Dublin to the Gaelic Athletic Association's Croke
Park. This park features an 80,000 seat football stadium, an athletic
museum dedicated to traditional Gaelic sports, and a handball club.
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The club wasn't opened, but a cleaning lady was nice
enough to let us in when we explained we were from the US and had
traveled to play handball.
The club has one 30x60 court, and one 20x40. The 30x60
has a 30' shortline, a 30' front wall and no ceiling. Overall, it
feels a lot bigger than a 3-wall outdoor court and it's a blast
to play on.
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Roy Hennig and Vince Caruso try out the 30 x 60 |
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Both courts are exhibition courts, used for national championship
matches. They feature full glass back walls, right side glass, and
a large viewing gallery behind the glass.
They also have a small camera window in the front wall to get a
unique perspective on the game.
Irish handball clubs reflect the culture. Locker room and shower
facilities are spartan, at best. But, 2 of the 3 places we visited
had full-service pubs as part of the facility.
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Mike
Reilly drives a shot, while Skip Dixon gets ready to deal with the
glass |
George
Lehocky, Vince Caruso and Ralph Weil, from the front court glass
on the 20 x 40 |
| After playing for a couple
of hours, we headed back to the hotel for an evening of socializing. |
