Passing the Torch: Michael Maloney on 30 Years with Irish Handball

As Olympic Handball Ireland celebrates 50 years of growth, resilience, and community, few people have witnessed its evolution quite like Michael Moloney. Stepping onto the board in 2008 after decades as a player, Michael helped steer the association from its early volunteer days into a professional governing body. This reflection captures the spirit of a 30-year journey—from school hall victories in Tallaght to building a lifelong game for future generations.

By Michael Moloney, Secretary General OHI & Ex-International Player

The Spark

In the mid-1980s, I lived 400m from Tallaght Community School, where handball was born. I played, but didn’t feel like I was very good, so by secondary school I’d drifted to basketball. 

But then came my final year. Word went out that a team was being put together for a national handball competition. A mismatch of candidates duly assembled. We trained hard, headed down to Navan and against all odds … we won. That victory opened a door. In 1992 - pre-Ryanair - we boarded a ferry to France to represent the International Schools Federation. Coming back to Ireland riding high, we founded the club that is now Lughnasa.

Great craic, good fun - and hard work

The years that followed were packed with memories that money can’t buy. From playing Greenland U21s in ’95, to camp trips to the Isle of Man. Those trips were legendary - play hard, party hard, but everything fueled by support from all the clubs attending. What we lacked in skill, we made up for in work ethic, put our heads down, trained as hard as we could, and in our final two years, we won it. 

I hung up my playing shoes at 38. Coming to the sport as a talent transfer made me realise just how tough the high-performance bar is, especially when you’re competing against players who’ve been coached since the age of three. But win or lose, whenever an Irish squad traveled abroad, our spirit and culture spoke louder than any scoreline.

What makes me proudest isn’t what happened on the court

It’s what Ireland has contributed to the game over those decades. Internationally, handball has Irish fingerprints everywhere:

Guys like Eoin Murray, who didn't touch a handball until he was 18. He’s now an internationally renowned coach for the Australian’s Women’s Team. Fintan Lyons, our Chairman, has become a vital advocate for smaller nations within the EHF and is well known and respected within that organisation. The likes of Tomas O’Brannigan, Dave Bregazzi, and Chris O’Reilly who became the first to commentate European games in the English-language, bringing the sport to new country audiences. 

Figures like Andrea Ongaro who came to Ireland to study in the '90s, made it his home, gained citizenship, and since became a Master Coach and EHF delegate who continues to take his expertise across Europe. We’ve always been passionate about grassroots connections - people like Susan Maloney can be thanked for international trips that sparked a long-standing international exchange partnership. We’re small, but we’ve always made ourselves known.

Professionalising things as much as we could

In 2008, I was voted onto the board of OHI (or IOHA as it was!) A team sport trying to reach high-performance status on limited funding is an uphill battle. But we’ve still come so far. When I first got involved, it was practically one person on one computer. Today, as I prepare to step off the board after two decades in governance, we have a CEO, a dedicated team on the ground, deep-rooted school programmes, and a structure that has earned genuine respect across the EHF.

The Dream: A Lifelong Game

What has kept me dedicated for 30 years? The desire to hand over the sport in a better place than I found it. I want a four-year-old in Montessori to pick up a ball, progress through a structured club pathway, represent their country, and eventually play in a Masters’ League in their fifties … finishing a match and heading straight to a club BBQ for a beer with lifelong friends (which is what I’ll be doing after my retirement!)

The torch is being passed to safe hands, the foundation is solid, and the future of Irish handball is brighter than it’s ever been.