In the heart of Killarney, County Kerry in the southwest of Ireland, St. Brendan's College, a well-known secondary school established in 1860, has embarked on a remarkable journey in handball, known in Ireland as Olympic handball. From securing victory in the All-Ireland competition to participating in the international Partille Cup in Sweden, the school's handball team, has captivated the interest of many.
St. Brendan's College school's handball team made history by winning the All-Ireland competition, showcasing their hard work and commitment. This success led them to compete on the world stage due to the Olympic Handball Ireland invitation, proudly representing Ireland at Sweden's prestigious Partille Cup.
The Partille Cup, held in Gothenburg, Sweden, is one of the world's largest and most prestigious youth handball tournaments. Started in 1970 by the handball club IK Sävehof in Partille, a suburb of Gothenburg, it draws over 1,000 teams from around 50 countries, spanning ages 10 to 21. Matches are played at various venues across Gothenburg, showcasing intense competition on both indoor and outdoor courts.
More than just a tournament, the Partille Cup emphasizes cultural exchange and friendship among young athletes worldwide. It offers social events and cultural activities alongside the games, fostering bonds and unforgettable experiences. This event not only promotes handball but also celebrates diversity and sportsmanship among its participants.
We had an interview with one of the three teachers, Coramarie Kelliher, who shared the college journey alongside Margaret Ann Kehoe, Mairead Hodges, and the young athletes of St. Brendan's College. She recounted their remarkable path from local triumph in the All-Ireland competition to their representation of Ireland on the international stage. We'll explore their growth, challenges, and camaraderie as they navigated cultural differences and fierce competition abroad. Discover how passion, perseverance, and the pursuit of excellence converge to create an inspiring story.
As you have recently returned from the World Partille Cup in Sweden, could you share your experience there and how did the team find the competition?
"I think the experience was unlike anything they had experienced before. Many of our boys play native Irish Gaelic football, basketball, and soccer, but they weren't aware of the context of international handball. When they arrived, especially on the night of the opening ceremony, they were overwhelmed by the number of people involved and how welcoming everyone was. We knew going out that we wouldn’t win the competition, we just wanted to give the team the experience of fun and international competition. They were overwhelmed by the support from other nations and how much people encouraged them to do well. It was an experience where they saw how nice it was to meet people. They got along so well with the Swedish, Danish, and Spanish teams. In fact, when the Spanish team finished one of their games, they came over to watch ours, which gave us a little bit of support, and the boys were delighted with it.
So I think overall, we found that it was such a positive experience for them to be able to represent their country. We had a lot of under-14s and under-15s on that team, so they were on the younger side of the under-16 category. It was great for them to be a bit more social and a bit more independent from us coaches, and they were able to go and make friends and have conversations with different people and not be overly shy, which I found as we developed. They were much more confident in themselves when they realized that the tournament wasn't about winning all the time, it was more about making friendships, having conversations with different people, and seeing how handball was played by different nations as well.
They got used to the Danish and the Swedish being more defensive and slowing down the game. They were able to adapt quicker when they came in the second time versus the Latinos, the Spanish, who were a much quicker team. The boys were then able to adapt to them. As the week went on, the skill levels increased, and they were able to get used to other teams quicker, which was lovely to see.”
Considering the cultural differences in handball between Ireland and countries like Denmark and Sweden, which have a deep-rooted handball culture, how did these differences impact you as a teacher?
"It was an eye-opener. It was great for me because I played handball when I was younger, during community games here, and it wouldn't have been as physical. Then, when another teacher, Margaret Anne Kehoe, who was unable to come with us, said she wanted to set up a handball team in the school, I jumped at it because I just loved handball.
When I got out there and saw the physicality of it and how the rules were a lot different from when I was playing, it was an eye-opener. It was great for me because now all these boys, and a lot of boys who didn't try out for the team this year, want to start playing next year.
For me, it was a chance to gain more experience to coach them better and to see what they actually need to do. The simplest thing, like passing the ball, was different. They are all so used to passing a basketball with a chest pass that some of them struggled with the shoulder pass and dribbling. By just being there, I walked around during my free time, observing different nations and how they helped correct the little skills that will turn into big skills as they get older and help them win matches more effectively.
I found it a great help for me to improve as a coach and to be able to give more to the team. The atmosphere was so welcoming for us coaches and for the boys. It was great to be there and to be present to see it. The competition was very much a once-in-a-lifetime experience for us and for me personally."
You mentioned that you started playing handball a few years ago. Can you tell us exactly when you began?
"I think it was between 2004 and 2007 when I played. I was the same age as them, 14 or 15. It was actually quite big at the time in Kerry. It was expected that if you got out of Kerry in the community games, you would be able to win the All-Ireland handball competition because the competition in Kerry was so high. Actually, another staff member I work with coached those teams in another parish, and he always said that my parish was always in the top two or three looking to get out of Kerry.
It was great. I coached the girls then for two or three years afterwards when I was in my mid-teens, when I was 17 or 18, but there was never anything after that in Kerry. There was no club structure and such, so I gave up on it. I completely forgot about Olympic handball until Margaret Anne Kehoe got an email from Olympic Handball Ireland wondering if we would like to participate in the school competition. Then I remembered it, and I was like, "Yeah, I would definitely want to help coach this!"
We got an email in October, and they started to train in December, when the basketball and football in our school was quite down. A lot of children then were able to come to Olympic handball, so from December to only two weeks before, they trained. They've only really been together as a team in the last six months."
Considering that the children are involved in other sports, how did they manage to stay as a team with only six months of training?
“I suppose it worked to our advantage that they played multiple sports because they were all extremely fit, which helped. And because they played Gaelic football and basketball, their skill level was quite high anyway. It was really their enthusiasm to learn a new sport, to get used to a new skill set, and to adapt to what they had. That was quite easy.
The most difficult thing, as you've just mentioned, is trying to schedule training sessions when the players are also involved in other sports. We conducted training during lunchtime at school because that was the only time they were available. Additionally, we aimed to train at least once, maybe twice, after school, although we often didn't have a full squad of 19 players. Sometimes we only had 10, six, or maybe 12 players, but we decided it was better to hold at least one after-school session, giving them an hour and a half. This allowed us to work with them individually. We could never prevent them from participating in other sports, which they loved as well, so we didn't have to focus exclusively on their fitness.
They were all able to do a full hour's match with no problems, so we worked between the two. We conducted training sessions to help develop and adapt their skills. By allowing them to come after school, they could participate in their other sports and keep their fitness up. It helped us as well, but their enthusiasm for the whole thing was vital. St. Brendan's College is a very sporty school, so they are always enthusiastic about learning something new when it comes to sports. They also have a great mentality: “We won’t be able to win if we don’t enter the competition,” so they approached it one game at a time.
In Ireland, we actually had one under-15 team and two under-18 teams. I was in charge of the under-15 team because I knew all of them, and my colleague Mairead Hodges was in charge of the under-18s. The under-18s actually had to play each other in the semi-finals of the under-18 competition, so we couldn’t help them coaching-wise. However, it was great to see them work together and figure out their game plans independently. They adapted and became leaders while playing. One team ended up having three of the boys who went to Sweden in the under-16 team. It was great because we had students from second year, third year, and transition year on the team. It was lovely to see how they interacted with each other. They've been very helpful and positive towards each other.
I know that when you have a range of ages in a team, some people can be more dominant than others, but they've all been extremely supportive of each other. I can’t say enough about their sportsmanship and teamwork. It was great that some of those under-18s were able to move down to the under-16 team and represent Ireland as well."
How many teachers are actually helping you, and how many teams have you managed to form so far?
"There are three of us involved. The teacher who started it didn't come to Sweden because she's pregnant. She was very disappointed not to be able to come because she was the one who began it, and I just kind of tagged along. Then there's Mairead Hodges, she started with Margaret Anne Kehoe. Both of them were new teachers at the school this year, so they wouldn't have known many of the boys as well as I did. When I heard they were setting up the team, I volunteered to help because I knew the boys a bit more and knew who was who. That's how the three of us ended up involved.
It was great that there were three teachers because that meant we had over 14 boys being coached. We had the two under-18 teams with over 20 players, and then we had an under-16 team with another 15 boys. So there were 54 boys being taught Olympic handball on Friday lunchtimes. By having three of us, we were able to separate them out and do a lot of fieldwork with them.
After the final in Ireland when we found out that the under-16 team was set up, it did reduce the numbers down to about 18 of them. But by having us three teachers, we were able to rotate and put on training when it suited at least two of us. It would have been harder if it was just me doing the training. I wouldn't have been able to be as flexible as having three teachers. So between the three of us, we were able to work around other training sessions. Because we are all in an all-boys school, we all had supervision hours during lunchtime and were able to rotate training sessions around supervision hours. This way, the boys were constantly able to come over and work on their skills, and we were there to help them with it. So between the three of us, I think we've done a great job."
Why did you choose the under-16 team to represent Ireland in Sweden?
"Olympic Handball Ireland just wanted one team to represent Ireland, and they asked because our under-16 team was a bit younger and would probably be a better choice than our under-18 teams to compete at a good level in the Premier Cup. The under-18s were extremely good, but we know, and I suppose you know that those British and Danish teams all play Olympic handball from a very young age. We felt that if we brought our under-18 teams, we wouldn't have enjoyed the experience as much because the level of competition would be higher than for the under-16s. So, Olympic Handball Ireland decided that the under-16 team would be a better choice. I think they were right because the boys were able to play in the competition without too much emphasis on winning, but more about participating, improving their skills, and making friendships."
How about the organization? How difficult or how much help did you get in creating good organizational management to bring the team abroad?
"Well, where we're from in Ireland is called Killarney. It's a town, and a lot of the boys are from Killarney, or small villages outside of the town. When Olympic Handball Ireland asked us if we would like to represent Ireland, we actually only had six weeks left in school. I cannot express how much the community of Killarney and the school supported us. We did a huge fundraiser, and the local community donated a huge amount of prizes for us. They advertised it for free to try and get as many people to come, or just to donate money. We set up a crowdfunding page, to help with the cost of it because it was expensive.
Because we only had six weeks, and some of them were doing their exchange exams, it was a very busy time for us. The support we got from Killarney, from businesses, and from people who had passed in school was overwhelming to see. It was brilliant to see how much our school means to Killarney and how many teachers and boys that work and get taught in the school were just delighted that we got chosen to represent Ireland.
Our Physical Education Department (PE) consist in only one Sports hall, one Astro pitch, a 400m track and an outside Basketball court for 900 boys. This hasn’t stopped our school from achieving in a range of sports. Without the help of the teachers in the PE department for lining out the handball court, sorting goals, we would have struggled with coaching the students in the limited 40 minutes of lunch time. The PE Department helped us out every time when Olympic Handball Ireland came down to coach us during school time. They moved their classes into the hall when we needed the Astro pitch and vice a versa. Without their help, we probably wouldn't have been able to do as much training as possible. So between the school, the PE department community, and the wider community, we got huge support. Without their support, we would never have got through it."
So, Olympic Handball Ireland helped you with the training. Did they also help you with the organization, or how did the overall process go?
“Organization-wise, Olympic Handball Ireland sorted all the administrative part of the Partille Cup. Our primary goal was to do the fundraising for our flight and to train the boys, but they were great in organizing everything related to the Partille Cup, transfers, and logistics. They visited us three or four times to assist with coaching the boys.
The boys understood that these training sessions were more than just for fun, but to give them a sense of responsibility. We needed to train so that, when we represented Ireland, we would do so to the best of our ability. João and Caroline were brilliant with that as they brought another level of enthusiasm to the boys that helped them improve.
At the Partille Cup, since Mairead and I had limited understanding of the competition and coaching skills, João and Caroline took charge of coaching during the games. This was great because it allowed us to observe the boys without the pressure of managing game plans. It was wonderful to watch them see how respectful and willing they were to listen and do whatever was necessary."
Returning to the All-Ireland competition, how was that part for you? You’ve said that just in December you started to train the boys. How did you see it?
“The competition in Ireland is limited. We thought we would have a regional final playoff before we went into the All-Ireland series, but we were the only team in Munster region to ask to participate in the competition, so we did find that difficult. They didn't have much competition before entering the All-Ireland tournament, so we found that challenging.
Now we started thinking since the boys have done so well, a lot of the schools in Kerry are getting in contact with us wondering how we set this up and how they could win this competition. Hopefully, next year we'll have more match time with local schools. The competition itself was a one-day affair and we played against teams from Sligo, Galway, Dublin, and Belfast.
It was a tough day, especially because I think none of our schools had played a competitive match against another school until that day. So we did find that hard, especially because the boys found the rules tough and little things that they weren't used to. They made a lot of small mistakes in their first match and were constantly asking what they had done wrong and how they could improve. We actually enjoyed this, as it showed enthusiasm not only from our boys but from the other schools as well.
I was chatting with other schools, and they all took up handball because it can be played anywhere with just a ball and a pair of goals. Some of the schools, like ours, have limited facilities. They were interested in Olympic handball because it requires minimal equipment and facilities. What's the best sport? Probably Olympic handball, as it requires only a ball and goals.
The under-18 teams we brought didn't realize the physicality involved in handball. They could attack, hold their tackles, and defend more aggressively, something I hadn't introduced much before due to concerns about injuries. With a limited number of students, we couldn't afford injuries before the matches. However, on the day, they adapted and realized they could play harder than they had been in practice over the past two weeks.
We started matches in county Meath in the eastern part of Ireland, and we were down in South Kerry, in the southwestern of the country. We started that day at half-past three in the morning to arrive by nine o'clock and played until four o'clock in the afternoon. It was a very early day but at the end they were able to win so they didn't mind as they said to me, "We didn't mind the early start because we knew we would win!" They had great belief in themselves after training together for just a few weeks, feeling confident they could compete."
Is your college the only one that plays handball in Killarney town?
“No one plays handball in county Kerry anymore. A few years ago, my colleague was training teams, but Olympic handball was removed from the community games about three years ago. It's only now starting to make a comeback this year.”
May I ask you how many children have registered or showed interest for Olympic handball so far?
“We have over 900 students in the school. Out of those 900, we have 54 registered this year. However, many of the students who didn't try out for the team or only attended one or two training sessions have now expressed interest in playing. I think we may have over 100, possibly 120 boys interested in playing Olympic handball next year. We might end up having a team per year group to accommodate all of them, so we could easily have 120 or more players. We did not expect to have so many interested, but there has been keen interest.
To be fair, the boys we took to the Partille Cup have also said they want to come back next year and that they need to try out again. The enthusiasm built from this competition is likely to be a huge driving force for others to get involved next year.
A lot of the boys we have, their brothers either above them or below them, are the ones coming into first year. They've just heard how well these teams have done, and they want to try it now. So, we've been getting a lot of interest from people, especially since we're in a school with 900 boys. As you know, team numbers are limited in sports. Olympic handball gave boys who might not have made the football or basketball team a chance to represent their school.
Initially, they just wanted to represent their school, they never expected to represent Ireland. It gave some boys who didn't make it onto another team, whether because they missed training or weren't interested, a chance. Like all sports, they might not have had the skill to be on the football team, but with Olympic handball, the skill level is different.
For example, we have one boy who we never thought would go into goals until João came down. He is a very slight boy, only in second year, so he hasn't had his growth spurt yet. João came from Olympic Handball Ireland and said, "He has great speed and agility and his reaction time is excellent. I think we should put him in goal." He would never have made the football team as a goalie because of his lightness, but he has lit up the goals. So, we now have two goalies, and both are exceptionally good. Both mentioned they could have played outfield in football, but they wanted to try a new skill. With João's help and encouragement, they have been scoring goals and thoroughly enjoying it. It's given them a chance to do something they probably wouldn't have done on another team.
Olympic handball has provided boys with an opportunity to try a new sport and earn a spot on their school's team. Representing Ireland has been an additional achievement for them. Their main goal when they come into school is to try and represent the school in a positive manner, be it in sports, science competitions, or any other competition.
While boys can get frustrated and sometimes take it out on each other, these boys didn't do that due to their mutual respect. We saw this during the Pernelle Cup, where the absence of winning pressure allowed them to interact more positively. If a fellow lost the ball, no one scolded him, they just said "That's fine, we'll get the next one!" It has been great for portraying boys in such a positive light.”
Can you share any plans or aspirations for the team's future competitions?
“With Caroline and João from Olympic Handball Ireland, we're hoping to do a refereeing course and a coaching course for some of these boys. As we've mentioned to them, if we want Olympic handball to take off in Kerry, we're going to have to really look at the younger boys coming up, not only the older lads. Our hope is that these boys on the team will do a coaching course and a refereeing course with Olympic Handball Ireland.
Because schools are so close, we want to give them the responsibility of going over to the primary schools and coaching the younger kids, with the hope of having a blitz at our school. This would be something the youngsters would love, as they enjoy coming into secondary schools, meeting new people. We hope our boys will be able to encourage younger boys, and girls, to play and teach them the skills. Hopefully, in a few years, they'll be more skilful and knowledgeable.
That's kind of the hope for next year, to try and get more younger lads and girls to play, using the boys we have now as role models and members of the handball team in the school.”
St. Brendan's College's journey from the local triumphs in Ireland to their international debut at Sweden's Partille Cup is a testament to the dedication and passion of all involved—the teachers, the community, and especially the children. Their success at the All-Ireland competition paved the way for an unforgettable experience on the global stage, where they not only competed but also embraced the spirit of camaraderie and sportsmanship.
Congratulations are in order for St. Brendan's College teachers Coramarie Kelliher, Margaret Anne Kehoe, and Mairead Hodgins, who dedicated their time and expertise to nurturing the team from its inception to international representation. Their commitment as coaches and mentors has been pivotal in shaping the boys' remarkable journey in handball.
Recognition also goes to Caroline Nerbas and João Ferreira for their coaching contributions and encouragement. Their expertise and support have not only enhanced the team's skills but also enriched the players experience and their devotion to the sport.
The support from the Killarney community has been outstanding. From fundraisers to moral support, the entire town rallied behind the team, demonstrating the power of community spirit in fostering young talent and supporting educational initiatives.
Furthermore, the students themselves have shown remarkable dedication and enthusiasm. Despite their limited training time, their passion for learning and competing in a new sport has been inspiring. Their experience at the Partille Cup, where they interacted with teams from around the world and experienced different styles of play, has undoubtedly broadened their horizons and deepened their passion for handball.
As St. Brendan's College looks forward, plans are already underway to expand handball's reach within the school and the broader community. The future looks bright for handball in Killarney once again, with hopes of establishing a lasting legacy of sportsmanship, skill development, and international participation.
The journey of St. Brendan's College handball team exemplifies the transformative power of sports and community support. It's a story of triumph, resilience, and the pursuit of excellence that can inspire generations to come. Here's to many more successes for St. Brendan's College handball and their bright future ahead.
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