Cork senior footballer, Donnacha O’Connor, is no stranger to the alley and as a native of the famed Cork handball district of Ballydesmond; he failed to escape the small ball calling.

On Saturday 5 December, he will pair up with one of the top players in the game, Tony Healy, for the GAA Handball Showdown at Croke Park, where they will take on GAA pairings from all over the country.

‘It’s great to be back in the alley,’ said O’Connor, who played his first competitive game of handball in the Munster Junior Interclub recently.

‘Handball is a fantastic game; it’s great for fitness and sharpening hand-eye co-ordination and most of all, it’s very enjoyable to play.’

In his youth, O’Connor was a talented handballer and collected three Munster Singles titles at U-12, U-13 and U-14.

All-Ireland glory soon beckoned for Ballydesmond when O’Connor took Féile honours.

Healy, who is a second cousin of the dynamic Cork forward, was a member of the team, along with Noel Tarrant, Michael Murphy and Danny Healy.

O’Connor then went on to take the U-16 Vocational Schools Doubles All-Ireland title with Tim Breen, but his attention turned to football when he made his way onto the Cork Senior Football panel.

‘It’s very hard to keep everything going and when I started playing with Cork everything else took a back seat, but I’m really looking forward to the GAA Handball Showdown and I think myself and Tony will be in with a good shot,’ said O’Connor, who is now a Games Development Officer in Ballydesmond.

The GAA Handball Showdown involves pairing high-ranked handball players, such as Dublin’s Eoin Kennedy and Cork’s Tony Healy, with athletes from other codes within the GAA.

Healy and O’Connor will be amongst the favourites to take honours, but there will be tough competition from the likes of Kilkenny’s Ducksy and Tommy Walsh, Mayo’s Andy Moran and Joe McCann, and Tipperary’s Ger Coonan and Shane McGrath, as Walsh, Moran and McGrath have all tried their hands at the perfect game.

The competition will involve pitting handballers against each other in a 10-minute singles match, while their novice partners from the same county will then play a six-minute match.

The total aces will be added up for each pair and the most aces progress to the next round.

O’Connor will also be seeking revenge against his Kingdom County neighbour, Darren O’Sullivan, who lifted the Sam Maguire following Kerry’s defeat of the Rebels in September.

The Showdown is not just confined to the men, and top ladies footballer, Mayo’s Cora Staunton and Dublin’s All-Star goalkeeper, Cliodhna O’Connor, will be in action, while Camógs, Derry’s Katie McAuley and Galway’s Aisling Connolly will fly the flag for the chicks with sticks.