Handball alley in Templeathea West, County Limerick

What is recorded here

Handball alley in Templeathea West overlooks the River Galey, giving a wild shot the chance to leave the parish altogether. There’s losing a point, and then there’s needing a fisherman to referee the appeal.

Freestanding former handball alley, built c. 1950. Having rendered enclosing walls to sides (south-east, north-east, south-west). Concrete paved court. Earthen bank and stone-faced abutments rear (north-west). Situated to the north-east of Athea, overlooking the River Galey.

A fine example of a twentieth-century handball alley that utilised the versatile material of concrete in its construction. The structure is situated, due in part to its large scale, on the outskirts of town. The sport of handball was once a very popular activity with handball alleys springing up around the country leading to many social events. Often overlooked, handball alleys are becoming an increasingly rare feature within the Irish landscape as they fall into disuse. This alley occupies a picturesque location overlooking the attractive River Galey.

From the Buildings of Ireland (National Inventory of Architectural Heritage) record 21834010

This does not grant access. Most recorded buildings are privately owned; view them only from public ground unless the owner allows entry.

Places near here

Photo credits

National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
jonleebotany, Wikimedia Commons · CC0
Garry Dickinson, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
Philip Halling, Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0
N Chadwick, Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0
No machine-readable author provided. Larsoner~commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims)., Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Unknown author Unknown author, Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Borvan53, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
Colin Park, Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0
Charles W Glynn, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
P L Chadwick, Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0