Handball in Clonduff takes its roots from the hours spent in the "alleys" at St Colman’s College (or Violet Hill). Everyone it seemed who went to Violet Hill spent some time in the Alleys. First thing in the morning, off the bus, the mid morning break, the lunchtime break, or if one was a boarder then it was hours in the evening. The surprise is that it took so long for Handball to take root in Clonduff. That it did is due almost entirely to the efforts of Paul McGreevy from Ballykeel, a former boarder at St Colman's and his dream of a handball court in Hilltown, was realised when the Newry and Mourne District Council-built facility was opened behind the Youth Club in 1989.

Clonduff competed in the Down League for a number of years with the juvenile scene tak­ing root around this time also. Clonduff's handball team at that time was made up of play­ers such as Andrew Carr, Mark Matthews, Gerry McEntee, Jim Harland, Tony Wilson and Gerry Brown. Gerry McEntee and Jim were both originally from Belfast where the game was traditionally strong and brought valuable experience to the Clonduff Handball scene.

It was during the late 1980s that the coaching began to bear fruit with Clonduff competing and winning against Downpatrick and Shamrocks at underage level. Clonduff won a vari­ety of singles and doubles titles from U12 through to U16. Tony Wilson collected the U18 doubles title partnering Oliver Mynes from Shamrocks in the 1987/88 season.
The game got a boost in 1989 with the completion of the handball court behind Clonduff Youth Club. Esteemed players such as Billy Si1cock and Stevie Madden were invited to the opening to play an exhibition match. Sean McEntee, a future President of Irish handball, presented the trophies on the day. It was a major occasion for handball in the club and could have heralded a new era but the structures within the club were not in place and conse­quently interest waned and the juvenile scene dissipated.
Individuals were still playing the game within the club but as with most of the county, apart from Downpatrick, the structures were not in place to take the game further.
It wasn't until 1992 that the juvenile scene returned. Players wishing to play had to travel to Downpatrick in the intervening years with Clonduff winning the Feile na nGael U14 competition, the first time in its history that it was won by any team other than Downpatrick. That team went on to compete in the Feile in Salthill, Galway, but were nar­rowly beaten in the 'B' Final by a Carrickmacross team based in the traditional handball stronghold of County Monaghan.
The boys who won the Down Feile were: Damian Smyth, Tom Grant, Paul Shields and Padraig Matthews. That year, Paul Shields won an Ulster U14 doubles title playing as a member of a Downpatrick based Down select, the first juvenile Ulster Title to go to the club.
Again the game went through a barren spell on the club front but enjoyed more success individually at underage and senior level.

The game received another much-needed boost with the arrival of Des McNeil into the parish in 1998. A native of St John's, Des devoted the necessary energy into re-establishing coach­ing structures within the club and putting in place procedures, which would see the even­tual re-opening of the handball court that had been closed for a number of years.

This saw the beginning of the most successful and prominent period in the history of the club. Des recruited lads who had previously played at underage level and those individuals who were looking for 'life after football'. This, alongside the established team, began the revival of Clonduff as a handball force.

In 1999 Tony Wilson won the Down singles title with Gary Morgan taking the Down Division 2 'B' title. The same year Paul Girvan, partnering Tony Wilson, won the Ulster Junior Doubles going on to reach an All-Ireland final losing narrowly. Tony also won the Junior singles making it a clean sweep for Clonduff at this grade. Two teams competed in the Down Division 1 League and the C team won the Division 2 title. The team consisted of Colin Shields, Gary Morgan and Paul McCusker. It was at this time that the club had its strongest playing population with Tony Wilson, Gerry McEntee, Paul Girvan, Colin Shields, Gerard McNeil, Niall Quinn, Jim Harland, Paul McCusker, Gary Morgan, John and Paul Murphy making up the senior selection.

With the Down League waning and clubs concentrating on the North Ulster League, it was felt that if Clonduff were to progress as a club, a team would have to be entered in the strongest league available. Clonduff joined the North Ulster League at Division 2 level having secured the Down First Division title in 2001. The team consisted of Jim Harland, Gerry McEntee, Tony Wilson and Paul Girvan. This team went on to secure a second season for Clonduff in Division 2 of the North Ulster League.

Clonduff underwent something of transitional period the following season but were boosted by the addition of Dona1 Armstrong (World 'B' Singles title holder), Martin Toner from Loughmacrory in Tyrone who was teaching locally, and Paul Shields.

Paul Shields claimed the Down Singles title that year defeating Niall McManus from Downpatrick in the final in Saval. Unfortunately Clonduff lost players due to emigration and other commitments and did not fulfil their Ulster League fixtures for that year. This was a major blow to the club as a lot of work had gone into getting Clonduff this far.
In 2003, Paul Shields won the Ulster Junior title in Gort Na Mona defeating Ciarán Cunningham from Downpatrick.
It was these successes and renewed interest that resulted in the formation of a Clonduff Handball sub-committee in January of 2004. The committee was as follows: Paul Shields (Chairman), Des McNeil (Secretary), Colin Shields (PRO), Sean McNally and Jim Harland (Treasurer). Additional members were Gerard McNeil, Tony Wilson and Paul McCusker. It wasn't until the 2004/2005 season that Clonduff re-entered the Ulster League again at Division 2. However, this year saw a renewed impetus in Handball and more players available to play. The team won Division 2 by the slimmest of margins beating Gort Na Mona 'B' into second place. The successful team was: Colin Shields, Eddie Clancy, Des McNeil, Sean McNally, and Paul Shields. 

Clonduff also achieved their first All-Ireland title this year with Des McNeil and Dan McCartan winning the Diamond Masters 'B' title in Mullingar, defeating Seamus O'Fatharta and Peter Mulryan from Galway. A tremendous achievement for a club with such a small playing population!

Clonduff had maintained their status as a Division 1 North Ulster League Club in 2005/2006 but unfortunately due to injuries and setbacks they were relegated in 2006/2007. Team: Paul Shields, Sean McNally, Colin Shields, Conall Gribben, Des McNeill and Eddie Clancy.

Juvenile coaching had re-commenced in the club in February 2004 with invaluable work being done by Colin Shields, Des McNeill, Eddie Clancy and Paul Shields. Clonduff again starting competing in Feile and Down Championships and with more experience it is only a matter of time before titles at underage start returning to the club. Saval have shown a model by which other clubs can follow and it is no coincidence that this has run parallel with their return to prominence at both senior and underage football.

Handball is a game played in the football 'off-season' and is a fantastic way of developing a player's sharpness, fitness levels and hand/eye co-ordination. It is our oldest Gaelic Game and therefore it's continued development should be of utmost importance. Players like Paul Brady (Cavan) and Tony Healy (Cork) have shown that it offers our youth an international element. Handball is a game that is spreading internationally but unfortunately, struggling in many areas in its 'homeland'. If we, as a club, are interested in providing the appropriate facilities for our youth then handball must be viewed as an integral part of this.
In 2008 Clonduff  won the Division II Ulster League and re-gained promotion to the elite division for the 2008/2009 season. In the Divisional Championship Final Clonduff played St. Paul’s III and were heavily handicapped to the tune of 30 points for the Belfast team but in a great team performance, Paul Shields, Eddie Clancy, Colin Shields and Sean McNally outplayed their opponents and won the title with 12 points to spare.