Handballers honor Chicago’s Kelly

The Irish Handball Council recently presented a Special Achievement Award to Eamonn Kelly of Chicago at their annual Waterford Crystal Awards banquet in the Cusack Club at Croke Park, Dublin.

The award was given in recognition of Kelly’s work as liaison officer

to the Irish contingent at the World Handball Championships in Des Plaines,

Ill., last October. Kelly was the only overseas recipient among the 11 awards presented.

When the Chicago Organizing Committee in charge of the World Championships had confirmation that 200 Irish players, along with relatives and other supporters, the largest group outside America, planned to attend the tournament, they decided to appoint a member of the committee to act

as liaison to the Irish. They chose Kelly because of his involvement with the Irish community in the Chicago area and also because of his long devotion to the sport of handball as a weekly player.

Kelly is a native of Dublin city who emigrated to the U.S. in 1958. He has had a lifelong commitment to Gaelic Games and for the last seven years has been public relations officer on the North American Board of the GAA.