Handball is a fast-paced, highly skilful, hugely entertaining, and fully inclusive sport. The fitness benefits of the game are vast. Speed, agility, endurance, flexibility, and bilateral coordination all come in to play in the sport that once you play for the first time, you won’t ever want to stop. But what makes this game so great is that all you require to play is a ball and a wall….it’s really that simple… 

In Ireland, there are four codes of Handball: 4-Wall, Wallball, 60×30 (Softball and Hardball). The 4-Wall and Wallball codes are the two international codes, whilst the 60×30 codes are traditional Irish games. Having such a variety of codes is great in the sense that there are Handball competitions all year round, providing increasing number of playing opportunities for players. 

The primary aim of any Handball match is to make the ball hit the front wall and bounce twice before your opponent can return it. What varies between the four codes is a) the number of walls in the court, b) the size of the court, & c) the type of ball used. 

Handball can be played in Singles (1v1) and Doubles (2v2), with All-Ireland Championships in both Singles and Doubles in all our codes. Whilst the skills of top quality handballers are transferrable, there are unique differences between not only playing singles and doubles, but also between playing the different codes. 

GAA Handball is the governing body and organisational branch of Handball within the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) responsible for managing, promoting, and developing all forms of Irish handball. It oversees four main codes of the sport and supports both national and international competition.