Handball alleys in Dublin?

mbren

Hi all,

I have just relocated to Dublin for work commitments and i'm just wondering if anyone knows of any handball alleys on the southside of the city?

Thanks in advance

enda1

This is a completely ignorant question but are handball alleys and squash courts analagous?

mbren

There are 2 types of handball alleys, namely 40 x 20 and 60 x 30.

Handball alleys are bigger than squash courts and unlike squash courts, you can hit the ball as low as you want on the wall and you can use the roof (in 40 x 20).

Agus

Liathróid Láimhe Átha Cliath;

http://dublin.handball.gaa.ie/dublinalleys.html

megadodge

There are only two 60x30's in Dublin both Northside - Croker and na Fianna.

Southside there is one operational 40x20 in UCD and a private one in Goatstown. After that not sure. Best place to get games and meet other players is Croker.

Agus

megadodge wrote: »

There are only two 60x30's in Dublin both Northside - Croker and na Fianna.

Southside there is one operational 40x20 in UCD and a private one in Goatstown. After that not sure. Best place to get games and meet other players is Croker.

There are more than those according to the list I linked to above

megadodge

Unless things have changed recently, the Garda Depot is no longer in use.

Not sure how many of the others are actually used regularly.
My point still stands about going to Croker to get to know other handballers, join a club, enter comps, etc.

Kannon

unfortunately the alley in goatstown is now gone...

Deighric

I would like to find out more information about the handball alley that used to exist in Goatstown?

ArnoldJRimmer

Deighric wrote: »

I would like to find out more information about the handball alley that used to exist in Goatstown?

What I know about it is mostly hearsay, but here goes. Some lad who was huge into his handball built it pretty much on to the side of his house in the 50's/60's. When he passed on, his son, who had no interest in handball, kept it there as a memorial to his father, and allowed people to go in and play. Then at some stage in the late 2000's, the owner decided to sell the land, or just knock the alley, don't know which. It was a great place to play while it lasted, just needed change to keep the lights on from what I remember

Bonniedog

Used to be outdoor alleys in Isles and Good Counsel. Probably long gone. Isles one was used as hurling wall.

Stoner

Grangegorman ones are gone too, my old spot

Bonniedog

Stoner wrote: »

Grangegorman ones are gone too, my old spot

Last time I saw open alley was opposite Gaelic Park in New York.

Stoner

Yes I saw them there too, plus gangs playing it.

Bonniedog

Stoner wrote: »

Yes I saw them there too, plus gangs playing it.

It was weird sight indeed!

Okay New York story. Two boys were heading up to Gaelic Park and were mugged close to the ground. So they told people when they got there who caught the miscreants and took vengeance with hurls.

Irish NYPD officer who "treated" the muggers said they told him they had been attacked with people with giant wooden spoons

Tombo2001

Bonniedog wrote: »

Last time I saw open alley was opposite Gaelic Park in New York.

Thats true - way more likely to see a handball alley in new York than in Dublin.

The only one I know of in the city is the one on Capel Street, which is an odd shape.

I remember playing in some boarding school close to Swords that had a load of outdoor courts when i was a kid, am guessing they are gone by now.

There are a rake of courts that would not be widely used by the public, for example Phibsboro fire station has one. O'Connells school has or had two, St Vincents also I think.

Tombo2001

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEVmOPdgASc

This is a great video for anyone on how big handball is in New York.

In its glory days in Ireland, handball was always an outdoor sport; maybe the sport should go back that way, the outdoor game doesnt exist here anymore.

Bonniedog

Capel Street! Never knew that. Where exactly? Older clubs often had one.

The New York thing is fascinating. Only one of our games that non Irish people took to,

Tombo2001

Bonniedog wrote: »

Capel Street! Never knew that. Where exactly? Older clubs often had one.

The New York thing is fascinating. Only one of our games that non Irish people took to,

If you look at the park at Green St, you can see it in the corner.

https://www.google.ie/maps/place/Capel+St,+Dublin/@53.3494754,-6.2718358,234m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x48670e82768e2dfd:0x25fd9534a5d082aa!8m2!3d53.3484666!4d-6.2687446

The other interesting thing on the NYC handball is that this guy Timbo Gonzalez seems to be the dominant player in the same way Brady is for Four Wall. And yet I dont believe they've ever played each other.

Maybe it just genuinely is too different; like when the Americans used to play Top Ace and get routinely hockeyed in the big court.

Bonniedog

Tombo2001 wrote: »

If you look at the park at Green St, you can see it in the corner.

https://www.google.ie/maps/place/Capel+St,+Dublin/@53.3494754,-6.2718358,234m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x48670e82768e2dfd:0x25fd9534a5d082aa!8m2!3d53.3484666!4d-6.2687446

The other interesting thing on the NYC handball is that this guy Timbo Gonzalez seems to be the dominant player in the same way Brady is for Four Wall. And yet I dont believe they've ever played each other.

Maybe it just genuinely is too different; like when the Americans used to play Top Ace and get routinely hockeyed in the big court.

Watched them playing in the Bronx. Same scoring system but just the one wall. It would great international competition. Have vague memory that Irish players played against NY in 70s but like rest of my memory, probably wrong!

Sorry. Missed your reference to Top Ace.

Deighric

ArnoldJRimmer wrote: »

What I know about it is mostly hearsay, but here goes. Some lad who was huge into his handball built it pretty much on to the side of his house in the 50's/60's. When he passed on, his son, who had no interest in handball, kept it there as a memorial to his father, and allowed people to go in and play. Then at some stage in the late 2000's, the owner decided to sell the land, or just knock the alley, don't know which. It was a great place to play while it lasted, just needed change to keep the lights on from what I remember

I heard yesterday that the private alley in Goatstown was owned by the Jenning's family. The builder of the alley lived on Foster's Avenue?, but the alley was in Goatstown. The alley was knocked to build a house, Celtic Tiger etc.