County Sligo Golf Club Breaking Points 29/04/2020 - The ...
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County Sligo Golf Club Breaking Points 29/04/2020
Members and Friends,
A Note from the Captain
This is the third edition of Breaking Points since our golf “lockdown” - hope you enjoyed the reads to date and thank you
to the many contributors. With no golf activities to report, Breaking Points now provides an opportunity to look back at
certain aspects of the Club’s history.
As we approach the month of May, our thoughts turn to teams-the theme of this edition of Breaking Points.
Inter Club team competitions are an integral part of our annual golf programme with 10 men’s teams and 4 junior boy’s
teams. Teams encourage competitive golf within the Club whilst also getting acquainted with fellow members. What an
honour it is to represent your club - win or lose- while aspiring to be part of a winning All Ireland – Green Pennant- team!
At this stage in the golfing calendar, following “The West,” team practices would normally be underway; team panels
picked with the first matches in May. Unfortunately, not the case in 2020 due to COVID-19.
County Sligo Golf Club has had many team successes over the years both in Connacht and All Ireland. In this edition of
Breaking Points we reflect on the these successes with shared memories from Gerry Mc Manus, Tom Ford and Shane
Flanagan- All Ireland Senior Cup Captains; Neil Gaynor-All Ireland Fred Daly Captain; Anton Murphy-All Ireland Mixed
Foursomes Captain and players Steve O’ Donovan-All Ireland Junior Cup, and Kevin Flanagan-All Ireland Barton Shield
and Senior Cup.
Our renowned junior golf development programme has also led to many team successes at schools; underage and
senior level. The introduction of the Bomore course was a “game changer” in achieving this together with the input from
Club Professionals, parents and volunteers.
Teams involve the input and commitment of over 160 members and I would encourage players to get involved where
ever possible. Many thanks to the Men’s and Ladies Team Captains for 2020 who graciously agreed to take on the
challenge for this year. Hopefully team golf, in some form, can be played in 2020!
Out on the links-the fantastic weather conditions over the past five weeks has facilitated the carrying out of essential
course maintenance and I wish to thank the many volunteers who involved themselves in this work. Looking forward to
getting back onto the Links again!.
Keep safe and well.
Regards
John Mc Hugh
Captain CSGC
Team Captains 2020 – Men’s and Junior boys
Team Captain Handicap Format
Team Co-Ordinator Niall Stafford
Senior Cup Kevin Flanagan Singles
Barton Shield Robbie Fitzpatrick Foursomes
Junior Cup Gary Reynolds not less than 4 Singles
Jimmy Bruen Simon Rooney not less than 5 Foursomes
Pierce Purcell (over 18’s) Aidan Doyle not less than 11 Foursomes
All Ireland 4 Ball (over 30’s) Sean Moylan not less than 15 Fourball
Jack O’Sullivan (over 18’s) Gerry Mc Manus not more than 20 Fourball
Connacht Shield Donal Cronin not more than 20 Foursomes
Fred Perry (over 55’s) Niall Stafford not to exceed 28 Fourball
Irish Mixed Foursomes Joe Keyes Foursomes
Irish Junior Foursomes Ivan McLoughlin Foursomes
Fred Daly Trophy Ivan McLoughlin Singles
U18 Interclub (Kenny Cup) Declan O’Brien Singles
U16 Inter-Club John Clifford Singles
Team Captains 2020 - Ladies Team Captains Team Co-ordinator Catherine Frazer Junior Foursomes Grainne Demmel Junior Cup Helen Clarke Intermediate Cup Carmel McGrath Minor Cup Carmel Hatt Challenge Cup Michelle McGarrahy Revive Active Deirdre Connolly Irish Mixed Foursomes Caroline Bradshaw
A Message from the Men’s Team Co-Ordinator We are into our second month of lockdown now and golf withdrawal symptoms are setting in but hopefully not for long. We should be in the swing of preparing our teams for the season ahead but unfortunately we will just have to wait and see what the weeks and months ahead brings. As for our teams in the past the club produced a number of national titles but this was all achieved by our youth and low handicappers which equates to a very small percentage of our members. With our large membership we should be competing on a stronger footing in the Jimmy Bruen, Pierce Purcell and the All Ireland 4 ball. So when team golf starts up again don’t be shy to put yourself up for selection in your handicap category it has been down to the same few regulars year on year to go and represent our club. You should be proud to represent this fabulous club and if a team captain asks you to join his panel you should be honoured that he thinks you are good enough and you should do your best to be a part of the squad. 2010 I joined the club and became a part of the Pierce Purcell squad 10 years later In can say I have made a number of life long friends all brought on by the team spirit we all shared. 2016 I captained the Jack O’Sullivan team and we made it all the way to the final. 95% of the team was made up from players who hadn’t played on any other club team that year and some of those guys still comment on the team spirit and the new friends they made. So stay safe everyone and hope to see you all soon battling for your places on your team. Niall Stafford Teams Co-Ordinator, 2020
County Sligo Golf Club Team Titles - Men’s & Juniors Teams Connacht Titles All Ireland Titles Senior Cup 25 5 Barton Shield 23 4 Junior Cup 13 2 Jimmy Bruen 2 0 Pierce Purcell 2 0 All Ireland 4 Ball / Cecil Ewing 1 0 Jack O’Sullivan 2 0 Connacht Shield 4 0 Fred Perry / Seniors 1 0 Irish Mixed Foursomes 7 2 Fred Daly Trophy (Junior) 2 Irish Junior Foursomes 3
County Sligo Golf Club All Ireland Titles Players as per GUI Connacht Year Book
Year Players Team Captain
Senior Cup – 5 Titles
1996 D. Dunne; K. Flanagan; S. Heavey; K. Kearney; G Patterson; T. Ford; G. Sproule Gerry Mc Manus
D. Dunne; K Flanagan; K. Kearney; S.McTernan; G Patterson; S. Heavey; T. Ford; G.
1997 Gerry Mc Manus
Sproule
2007 M.McTernan; K.O’Neill; G.McDermott; S.Heavey; D.Dunne; M.Durcan; S.Brady Tom Ford
G.McDermott; S.O’Hara; S.Flanagan; D.Reidy; M.Morrissey; S.Underwood; S.Brady;
2013 Tom Ford
D.Brady
D. Reidy; M Morrissey; T.JFord; R.O’Connor; D. Brady; C.Feeney; S.Underwood
2016 Shane Flanagan
A.Gaynor; GMcManus; S.O’Hara; E.Gaughan; A Hickey; M.Rooney
Barton Shield – 4 Titles
1995 D.Dunne; T.Ford; S.Heavey; K.Kearney; G.Sproule; A. McMahon Pat O’Gara
1996 K.Kearney; S.Heavey; D.Dunne; K.Flanagan Pat O’Gara
1997 D.Dunne; K Flanagan; K Kearney; S.Heavy Pat O’Gara
2006 D.Dunne; S.Heavey; K.Kearney; K.O’Neill; G.McDermott; D.Ford Tom Ford
Irish Junior Foursomes - 3 Titles
1991 G.Reynolds; G.Sproule; D.Dunne; J.McDermott; R.Keane Colm Gannon
1998 K.Butler; G.McDermott; M.McTernan; Terry Duffy
2011 D.Brady; T.Finnegan; D.Reidy; A.Gaynor; T.J.Ford; B Rooney; L.Armstrong Joe Keyes
County Sligo Golf Club All Ireland Titles Players as per GUI Connacht Year Book
Year Players Team Captain
Junior Cup – 2 Titles
1939 L. Howley; WJ.Fitzgerald; W.O’Connor; TF Jameson; T.C Mc Mahon
1971 K.Cunningham; L.Parkinson; S.O’Donovan; M Cullen; S Peterson; D Howley Eric Koss
Fred Daly – 2 Titles
2007 R.McNamara; T.McGowan; M.Durcan; S.Brady; T.McDaid; S O’Hara; G Finnegan Gerry Mc Manus
2012 S.Flanagan; D.Brady; C. McDaniel; TJ.Ford; R.Forkin; C Feeney; A Gaynor Neil Gaynor
Mixed Foursomes – 2 Titles
D & F Howley; S.O’Donovan & S Crowley; J.Mulligan & I.O’Donovan; K.Cunningham &
1984 Sean Sweeney
JMc Gonigle; A.Murphy& G.O’Reilly; D.O’Regan & M McElroy
P.Neiland & F Howley; T.Crowley & I.O’Donovan; T.Ford & G Demmell; K.Darling &
1987 Anton Murphy
G.O’Reilly; S & S Rooney
Links Update Just as things were falling into place with course preparation for the start of the season and of course the West of Ireland championship the world changed. As we all know the clubhouse has been closed since March 16th when restrictions announced by the Irish government saw all hostelries closed in advance of the St Patricks Day celebrations. Playing golf was permitted in the days that followed albeit with changed arrangements. There were no competitions, rakes were removed from bunkers and hole cups turned upside-down to eliminate the need to put ones hand into the cup to retrieve the ball. Gimmies became the norm and some personal best scores were reported! On March 24th CSGC followed the guidelines issued by the GUI and ILGU and closed both courses, practice facilities and car parks. At this point in time we know that these restrictions will remain in place until May 6th at the earliest as part of the effort to contain the spread of the Covid19 virus. During this period members have missed out on many events such as the winter league final, the West of Ireland championship while the club has lost out on the many visitors that usually walk the fairways at this time of year. One of the greatest concerns with the lockdown was how to prevent both courses from deteriorating at the beginning of the growing season with only the permitted skeleton crew. Greens and fairways cannot be easily retrieved if left unattended for days or weeks on end. Our course manager Mark and his deputy Oliver were tasked with doing the work of the full team, an impossibility in normal circumstances. However with no players “in the way” certain tasks could now be undertaken during the full working day. Some project work had to be postponed to allow a full focus on maintaining greens and fairways, cutting, verti-draining and over-seeding. Advice from the clubs agronomist STRI confirmed the most appropriate cutting heights to benefit the grasses and suitability for when a return to play is permitted. A number of local members volunteered support. Divot boxes were placed around the course and the volunteers undertook repair work on an ad-hoc basis while out for a walk. Pitch-mark repairs was also in focus. No groups assembled and social distancing rules were strictly adhered to. With the divoting work complete on both courses other tasks such as painting, hedge-cutting, removing weeds from greens was undertaken.
Links Update During these weeks our head greenkeepers Mark and Oliver were ably assisted by our general manager, David. In addition to carrying out his own duties, collecting subs and trying to retain and reschedule visitor bookings that are being cancelled on a daily basis, David made himself available to direct the volunteers and take a frontline role cutting fairways, dewing-off greens and assisting with over-seeding. This allowed Mark and Oliver focus on the more technically challenging work of cutting greens, watering, spraying verti-draining, seeding etc. I have learned that as golfers/members we are almost totally unaware of the challenges of course management and I thank all our staff for their commitment and diligence. In conclusion I am pleased to report that both courses are ready and waiting for a return to play. Some expect that golf, because of the nature of the game, will be one of the first sports to re-open albeit on a restricted basis initially. But we shall have to wait and see. The courses could be doing with some rain (don’t stone me!) which should probably fall during the night. I want to thank all the volunteers who have undertaken such a variety of tasks during this time and a special thanks to our three top employees David, Mark and Oliver without whom we would simply have no courses as we know them. I hope all our members are well and safe during this crisis and I hope we will see them all on the fairways soon. Stay safe everyone. Terry Brady. Links chairman.
Creating a Winning Team – by Gerry McManus When our Captain asked me to write up a piece for my experience of Captaining successful teams in the Club that I captained over the years I had no hesitation in doing so as they great times with very happy memories. Pierce Purcell In 1984 Brian Mc Dermot (R.I.P.) asked me if I would captain the Pierce Purcell team. The Club had never won a Connacht title in Pierce Purcell up until then. As this handicap section of members was very large he was very keen to do well. I am a believer that when you captain a team you should always do a post mortem on what went right or wrong. I had previously captained one team the famous Jimmy Bruen team that lost to Ballinamore in the 1st Round. I did a post-mortem at the time of that defeat with the late Sean Flanagan ( R.I.P.) and our conclusion was that I was influenced too much by the scores in the Trials rather than how they played etc. So I decided I would not be influenced by scores in picking Pierce Purcell but by how they played and practiced in preparation for competition. My final panel was John Quirke & John O’Sullivan, Eamonn Lynch & Kieran Darling, Tom Daly & Anton Murphy, P.J. Conway (R.I.P.) & Owen Carty, Pat Murray ( R.I.P.) & Michael Whelan, subs were Sean Mc Loughlin, Pat Mc Namara, P.J. Mc Dermott, Francis Howley. We have very happy memories of that campaign especially in Galway who we played in the Connaught semi- final. Galway G.C. at that time were nationally perceived as the kings of Pierce Purcell (All Ireland Champs 2 years previously) and we had a poor record. We lost 1 match at home and needed to win 2 of the 3 matches away and in front of large galleries we pulled it off and my abiding memory was the silence in the Clubhouse and on the course from the Galway supporters who were stunned as they had the All Ireland victory in their minds. We won out in Connacht and headed to Tramore for the finals. John O’Sullivan had to pull out and Pat Mc Namara took his place. We arrived in Tramore to stay in our Hotel to discover it was a Temperance Hotel which was a big shock to us all, as you may know alcohol is not served in a Temperance Hotel. The lack of alcohol for some team members presented a challenge!! We won our Semi- final comfortably and headed into the final against Leinster Champions, Dublin County the very short odds favourites and unfortunately lost to them 3/2. Post-mortem identified insufficient time in Tramore to acclimatise to course.
Senior Cup In 1994 our Centenary Captain Oliver Mc Donagh asked me to captain the Senior Cup Team in the hope that we would win it as the finals were being held in Rosses Point. Ken Kearney had arrived in the Club that year and strengthened the panel considerably. Unknown to us Shandon Park were making very special preparations that year to ensure they would get a chance to play finals in Rosses Point. Their Senior Cup players came out of retirement to compete. Shandon had a great record in Senior Cup with the Hoeys, David Long, and Neil Anderson down the years. We qualified for the All Ireland Final’s, we won our Semi- final to meet Shandon Park in the Final. We were beaten in the final 3/2 on the 18th by a very strong team. Lesson learned we need to expand our panel to give more options and we are not far off getting across the line. No Connacht Team ever won the Senior Cup and many teams got very close but never succeeded. In 1995 I was asked again to Captain Senior Cup. This year through very hard work on the practice ground and support from Club Professional Leslie Robinson we qualified for the All Ireland Finals in Portstewart. We qualified for the final against Portmarnock who had a great record in Senior Cup. We lost 3/2 losing one match on the 18th and another on the 19th. This was an improvement on the previous year but we needed more depth in the team. The same panel of players won the Barton Shield which was the start of a 3 in a row under the captaincy of Pat O’ Gara. Pat and I worked well together as we both Captained the Club in 1985 and 1986 respectively. Kevin Flanagan had travelled from Scotland to support us and indicated he would be available to us next year, which was great news. In 1996 I was asked again to Captain the team with the additions of Kevin Flanagan and George Patterson to our panel of Tom Ford, Ken Kearney, David Dunne, Serryth Heavey, Gerard Sproule. This was a very strong panel and as a group over the previous 2 years we learned a lot but we still had the belief that we could bring to Sligo and Connacht the Blue Riband of Irish Golf the Senior Cup. We worked very hard, 2 sessions per week plus competitive golf at weekend. We qualified for the All Irelands in Tramore. The expectation in the Club was ramping up and a huge number of members travelled with the team to Tramore. This time we did not stay in a Temperance Hotel but in an unusual guesthouse which added to the crack and atmosphere in the team. We won our semi-final despite our No. 1 & 2 players losing but the strength in the team showed. In the final our top 2 players won and the decider went down to the last match. The gallery was huge and the match was level after 18. The nineteenth hole between Kevin Flanagan and Mike Kemmy from Limerick will be forever in our memories as Kevin stayed cool and collected to defeat Mike and win the Senior Cup and make history for our Club and Province. The celebrations were unbelievable and the goodwill shown to the Club by all in Tramore is a treasured memory. We were welcomed back to Rosses Point with bonfires and an open truck driven to the village with hundreds of supporters lining our way to the Club. Pat O’Gara (R.I.P.) won the Barton Shield for a unique double in Irish Golf history.
Senior Cup Team
1997 I was asked to captain again to defend our trophy. With the addition of Sean Mc Ternan to the squad we were now in a stronger position as the panel was strengthened. We qualified for the Finals in Dundalk with the Barton Shield Team and Junior Cup Team. Arriving in Dundalk as Champions is a different experience, other teams were looking at a team who were in the final on the previous 3 years. We stayed in a guesthouse in Blackrock village across the road from a pub which became the Sligo pub for the week. We played Limerick in the semi-final a repeat of 1996 final, we got through this match to meet Portmarnock in the Final. The performance of Sean Mc Ternan against Noel Fox to lose on the 19th was a great start despite the loss. Thankfully, we won 3 more matches to achieve a memorable back to back victory along with the Barton Shield team for that unique double again. I remember the presentation when the sponsor Bulmers welcomed everybody to the ‘County Sligo Festival of Golf’ with our numbers of supporters in attendance it was a very proud moment for us all after 4 long years. When I look back over the 4 years I recall the huge commitment of the players, the leadership of Ken Kearney, the performances of Gerard Sproule in Portstewart, David Dunne in Co. Sligo, Kevin Flanagan in Tramore and Ken Kearney in Dundalk. The success of the Barton Shield team under the captaincy of Pat O’Gara with the support of Frankie Doherty both now deceased, we have great memories. ‘ASK NOT WHAT YOUR CLUB CAN DO FOR YOU BUT WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR CLUB’ The players sacrifices during those years is what winning for our Club is about
Winning the Double Double – by Kevin Flanagan I was lucky and privileged to have been part of the double double years in 1996/97 when CSGC won both the Senior Cup and Barton Shield. Indeed the Barton Shield had been won for the first time in 1995 in Portstewart during Declan Howley’s Presidency of the GUI and so we completed a terrific hattrick under the captaincy of Pat O’Gara ably assisted by Frankie Doherty. Pat was a very good player himself and was very competitive. Frankie lightened the atmosphere and gave very simple advice. However the one we all really wanted was the Senior Cup. We had gone close many times including in Portstewart when we lost in the final on the 19th to Portmarnock.
There were many ingredients in the perfect mix that saw
such success. Gerry McManus was the key. He was ably
assisted by John Gleeson and Aidan Anderson.
Gerry left no stone unturned preparing the teams from early
spring with competitive practice and team building. We
played and practiced a lot so we were match fit for the
games as they arrived.
Ken Kearney was living in the village and indeed won the
Irish Close in Westport while a member of our club. Ken was
so good and so influential. He gave all the squad an extra
10% which proved crucial.
David Dunne was also an International player at his peak. I don’t know
anyone more competitive on a golf course than David.
Serryth Heavey, Tom Ford, George Patterson, Gerard Sproule and myself
made up the panel with a 16 year old Sean McTernan joining the squad
in 1997.We also had caddies for every game and they included Joe Keyes, Tom
Gavin, Eugene Feeney, Robert Fitzpatrick and Niall Burgess.
In 1996 we made the breakthrough in Tramore beating Scrabo in the
semi-final and Limerick in the final. I was the lucky one to win the
deciding match on the 19th and the winning putt gets longer every
year.
We were met at the end of the village and an open top truck brought
us up the village to a bonfire reception at the club. It was wonderful. In
the Barton Shield we had beaten Cork on tie holes in the semi-finals and
beat Knock in the final.
In 1997 we won in Dundalk beating Portmarnock and Limerick again and this time Young Sean
had the honour of getting us over the line. In the Barton Shield we beat Shandon Park in the semi-
finals and Carlow in the final.
Winning brings confidence and getting over the line brought about a change in mind set in the
club. Our success in Senior Golf and at Junior level since 1996 has brought our reputation to an
elite level in Irish Men’s golf.
Thanks to all my team mates, close friends who caddied and stuck with the team and our
outstanding mentors and motivators. We did something very special.Senior Cup 2013 – by Tom Ford, Keith O’Neill
The team enjoyed success in 2013 winning the Green Pennant in Royal
Tara.
The real success was the enjoyment the group enjoyed together from
when we started the practice sessions in the build up.
First off, the panel consisted of David Brady, Stephen Brady, Sean
Flanagan, Mark Morrissey, Gary McDermott, Stefan O’Hara, Declan
Reidy & Shane Underwood.
We were very lucky to have Keith O’Neill looking after us for the practice
sessions and early on he introduced some short game competitions to sharpen
up the lads. They were a bit lax until we introduced a prize. And there was no
prize for the winner, however the bottom 4 of each competition hard to
perform a forfeit which we made up each evening.
There are a few examples in the attached video. From sprints around the
green to panel members Shane, Stef, David & Stephen marching single file
from the chipping green in through the front door of the clubhouse, they had
to walk up through the bar single file and out the side patio door and back.
Good humour and nobody wanted to finish the session with a forfeit.Senior Cup 2013 – by Tom Ford, Keith O’Neill We beat Rosapenna in the final but the other memory I have is the semi final. We were well and truly beaten going into the back 9 against a very strong Cork GC side. Gary Mc was our only player winning, Sean and Mark were being hit with a barrage of birdies (your welcome lads) and both Stef and Declan were behind. Gary closed out his match early, and Sean and Mark were closed out early, which left all eyes on Dec and Stef. Dec was one down playing 17 and birdied both 17 and 18 to win one up. Stef fought back from being 2 down early in his match to win 17 and go 1 up and halved 18 to win and pull us through to the final. So, from getting ready to pack our bags, we were staying another night in Royal Tara and preparing for a final. And luckily, we have a video of Stef holing the winning putt in the final against Rosapenna. Great times. Being a part of any team in the club is an honour and whether there is success or not, there are always great memories created Keith O’Neill put together the attached video of the 2013 journey which are recounted for decades. which I hope you enjoy. Click or tap the image above to play
Senior Cup 2016 – by Shane Flanagan
Senior Cup 2016 – by Shane Flanagan
Junior Cup 1971 – by Stephen O’Donovan Connacht qualifying took place at Co. Sligo in June. Leading qualifiers were Co. Sligo. Scores: Steve O Donovan 72, Leo Parkinson 77 , Ken Cunningham 78,Declan Howley 78, Soren Peterson 80. In the semi-final Co Sligo played Athlone and in a very tough match Soren Peterson was 2 down with 2 to play and won on the 19th for the team to get through to the Connacht Final. In the final we played against Strandhill. The first 3 matches were won early. Ken beat Frank Conlon 7/6 Steve beat Eugene Feeney 7/6 and Leo beat Paddy Watters 4/3.with 2 matches called in. We had got through to the All Ireland semi-final at Co. Sligo in August. In the All Ireland semi-final we were drawn against Ennis. This was a very tight match with Ken winning the deciding match on the 21st. We were now playing Masserene in the final. Michael Cullen replaced Declan for that match. This match was very tight early on but Co Sligo got in front on the back 9 to win the Irish Junior Cup for the 2nd time in our history. The celebrations then began in earnest. Svend Peterson our club Captain a gregarious man had champagne on ice and we did it justice!!, so much so that Eric Koss our team captain gave us a rendition of the Wests Awake in the office. As I write this we remember the people who have passed away since that great day. Svend Peterson Club Captain Cecil Ewing President Eric Koss team Captain, Johnny McGonagle our coach. Sadly Declan and Ken have left us as well , we think of them as fine golfers and teammates at this time. A special mention for Michael Cullen who played in the Final and was 4 Up when called in and caddying for Michael that day was our other member of our team Niall McManus.
Memories of the All-Ireland Mixed Foursomes win in 1987
(Don’t Count your Chickens!) – by Anton Murphy
The traditional approach in selecting the club’s mixed foursomes’ teams was to select the lowest handicapped men in the club, who
would play mixed, and match them with higher handicapped ladies to match the minimum combined handicap of 19. In 1984 the then
Captain Sean Sweeney took a very different approach by picking, as his base, the lower handicapped ladies and matching suitably
handicapped men to play with them.
In 1987, I took a similar approach and used the core ladies of ’84 – Irene O’Donovan, Felicia Howley, the late Gretta O’Reilly and Sheila
Crowley and bringing in the “new kids” on the block a very young Sheila Rooney and Grainne Demmel. The men I used to match up with
these great ladies were the youthful Simon Rooney and 21-year old Tom Forde together with Pat Neiland, Tom Crowley, Kieran Darling
and Gerry McManus.
That wonderful group of players eased our way to the Connacht final where we emerged 3 ½ to 1 ½ winners against a very good
Portumna side who were strong competitors in mixed foursomes in the 80’s. Some members would remember the anchor man for that
Portumna side, Connacht Inter-Pro and doughty “West” competitor Mick Harney.
The All-Ireland finals were held in Galway Golf Club and the team stayed in the up-market Ardilaun Hotel where Irene had negotiated a
great deal for the team’s stay and we were well protected given that Ian Bamford, then Secretary of the Ulster Branch of the GUI, and a
judge in Northern Ireland also stayed accompanied by 2 armed officers from the R.I.C.
Our semi-final was played against the Leinster Champions, Baltinglass GC, and we had a good comfortable win with a score of 3 ½ to 1 ½
avenging a defeat by Baltinglass in the All-Ireland finals in 1972 (not a lot of people know that!).
Our All -final opponents were the Munster Champions Bandon GC from Cork. From the get go their team captain jokingly made it clear to
me that we had only 1 Corkonian on our team compared to 12 on theirs!
As the match took shape with back and forth wins in all matches a pattern of Bandon taking the upper hand began to emerge. I
remember standing mid-way on the dogleg 15th hole just behind a fairway bunker with our 1st match and I was worried! We were well
down in 3 matches, halving a match and 1 up in the 5th match. I was looking for inspiration, start praying? Shake hands with Devil? Some
little miracle from above?Lo and behold! The Bandon Team Captain and Club Captain arrive and, I josh you not, but both offer their hands to me and commiserated with me. They said their team was on its way to its first all-Ireland pennant and how proud they were of their team. They acknowledged the performance of our team in getting to another All Ireland final but the better team was winning on the day and wished me well! I thanked them, turned away and smiled. Picking up my jaw from the bottom of the bunker, I now had my motivation. I then went out and explained to each team pairing that we should simply give up given that Bandon had, if fact, already won the match. I remember telling Grainne Demmel and Tom Forde, our 1st match out, and watching Grainne nearly going purple! I then repeated the message to each of our other pairings and watched the galvanising effect of the Bandon words. The next hour was as exciting as an All-Ireland golf final should be and, following some great birdies and many pars, thankfully we eventually emerged victorious on a 3-2 margin. I never did thank the Bandon Team and Club Captains for providing the inspiration for a great comeback and telling them that YOU DON’T COUNT YOUR CHICKENS BEFORE THEY HATCH! Our heroes that brought a pennant home to Co. Sligo Golf club that day were: Grainne Demmel & Tom Forde Felicia Howley & Pat Neiland Irene O’Donovan & Tom Crowley Gretta O’Reilly (RIP) & Kieran Darling Sheila Rooney & Simon Rooney Res. Sheila Crowley & Gerry McManus Anton Murphy Team Captain
Fred Daly Trophy All Ireland Winners 2012
Winning the Fred Daly Trophy 2012 - by Neil Gaynor (Team Captain)
County Sligo Golf Club have won the Fred Daly Trophy twice – in 2007 The final in the afternoon saw CSGC on top for most of the afternoon
and again in 2012. It is the main team competition for Junior Golf in however a Faithlegg fight back left the destination of the title very much in
Ireland and is hotly contested. No club has won it more than twice. the balance. Conor McDaniel had a big win (5/4) and this was quickly
Both our triumphs have taken place in Connacht, Westport (2007) – followed by a fine win for Alan Gaynor (3/2). David Brady then closed out his
Gerry Mc Manus Team Captain- and in Loughrea (2012). match in style to win (2/1) while Cian Feeney ran into some great golf and
was defeated. That left us 3-1 up, however all the other matches were in the
The 2012 win was unexpected by many. Although the club had lost the balance. Sean Flanagan, in the top match against Robin Dawson, had
All Ireland Final in 2011, the team was inexperienced at this level with been 3 up but went behind with only 1 hole to go. TJ Ford and Ronan Forkin
several players making their Fred Daly Debut. The Connacht were both level with a few holes to go, as nerve ends were frayed. Just as
Campaign began with a big win against Ballina. Further victories came Anton and I were getting anxious, Sean Flanagan made a made a fantastic
against Ballinrobe and Enniscrone. This put us into the Connacht Final birdie 18 to take his match to extra holes. TJ Ford finished his match all
against our big rivals, Galway Golf Club in early July. Most matches square (Both he and opponent birdied 18) and also went up 19. Ronan
against Galway are tight affairs and this was no different. CSGC won Forkin was still level in his match playing 18
the first leg 5-2 in Rosses Point but lost the second leg by the same
score in Galway. That meant a sudden death play off with Sean The tension was unbearable – I went with Sean’s match – Anton with TJ’s
Flanagan up against Ronan Mullarney. A large home crowd had game. Flanagan and Dawson had chances to win on 19, 20 and 21. A
gathered by that stage, but they were silenced when Sean won the fantastic struggle ended on the 22nd when Flanagan’s par was good
match with a par on the 20th. CSGC had another Connacht Title to enough to win and that precious 4th point was secured. Sean pipped TJ to
celebrate. the honor of the winning point. With the other matches called in the final
score of 5-2 was a little harsh on the Waterford team.
There was quite a long wait to the All- Ireland Finals (Winners of 4
Provincial Titles) which took place in Loughrea, Co Galway at the end There were jubilant scenes when all the players and spectators arrived back
of August. In the Semi Finals County Sligo met Castle Golf Club Dublin, at the Clubhouse. It took a while for it to sink in that we had won an All-
while Faithlegg Golf Club Waterford met Cairndhu, the Ulster Ireland title. I remember Kevin Flanagan, junior convenor at the time, telling
Champions. Castle were hot favourites, however the boys from Rosses me that this was some achievement. The Fred Daly Trophy is played off
Point thought otherwise and produced a stunning performance to scratch and is usually won by a team with all players very low in handicap.
defeat the Dublin side (4 ½ to 2 ½) Winners for CSGC were Sean For us to win it with handicaps ranging from 2 to 7 was exceptional. Lifting
Flanagan (3/1), Conor Mc Daniel (3/1), TJ Ford (4/2) and Ronan Forkin the Trophy and handing the Green pennant to club Captain Bryan
who birdied 19. David Brady and Alan Gaynor had narrow losses while Kilfeather, was something I will cherish for ever. Many people had
Cian Feeney was 1 up on 18 when called in. The other Semi- final was contributed to the success including team Vice Captain, Anton Murphy,
also a very close affair with Faithlegg winning 4-3, the deciding match Junior Convenor, Kevin Flanagan and Club Professionals, Jim Robinson,
going all the way to 18. Martin Mc Ternan and Keith O NeillMany of that team have gone on to represent the club at a higher level with Sean Flanagan, David Brady, TJ Ford, Alan Gaynor & Cian Feeney graduating to Senior Cup status in the past few years. David & TJ have represented Connacht, while Sean has made the full Irish team twice. He also won the Ulster Senior title in Portrush in 2016. The victorious team of 2012 were • Sean Flanagan (now Dublin based, Portmarnock GC, +2 Handicap) • TJ Ford (Sligo, CSGC, +2) • David Brady (Dublin, CSGC, 0) • Alan Gaynor (Sligo, CSGC,0) • Conor Mc Daniel (Sligo, Strandhill,5) • Cian Feeney (Luxembourg, CSGC, 2) • Ronan Forkin (Sligo, Tubbercurry, 6) Other Panel Members were Luke Armstrong, Ben Rooney, Conor Wynne, Tom O Hara & Cian Doyle. Some comments/memories from that year (Ones that could go to print) “Delighted to win my match first – TJ was not too pleased” – Sean “Sank an 80-foot putt to win on 19 in Semi Final” – Ronan “Alan, I want to go to Spain, do You?” – Sean “Everyone from the two tie hole matches converged and the celebrations were just unreal” – Anton “Telling all the Castle supporters who arrived for the “final” that eh – sorry ye lost” –Neiler This was a special group of young players who represented our club with distinction. They were very determined, worked extremely hard and displayed great courage and skill. We had a great panel. Most people will remember Sean winning play off matches in the Connacht and All Ireland Finals, however Ben Rooney’s win on 20 in the Connacht Final at home was highly significant. On a personal level it was extra special to have my son, Alan- Junior Captain 2012- on the team. Anton Murphy and I have both had the honour of being Captain of our great club and are obviously very proud of that accolade. However, we will remember this group for ever, who as Bryan Kilfeather Captain 2012 said, were just a great bunch of guys. The team went onto represent Ireland at the Home Nations tournament in Spain in 2013 (The story from that journey will have to wait for another day).
GUI Irish Schools Golf 2008 & 2009 – by Terry Brady In April 2008 and again in 2009 Sligo Grammar School recorded a schools' double double in winning and retaining the All-Ireland Matchplay and Strokeplay titles. In both years the Grammar Schools was represented in the 3-man strokeplay event by Barry Anderson, Stephen Brady and Michael Durcan. Anderson, Brady and Durcan were joined by Steffan O’Hara, Rory O’Connor and Darragh Higgins for the 5 man matchplay successes. Five of these players came through the CSGC junior programme while Higgins and team manager Mr. Pat Doherty were members of Strandhill GC. The 2009 Irish Schools strokeplay event had a unique entrant. The Realt Na Mara NS in Rosses Point became the first primary school to enter a team in the Irish Schools 3-man event. Although the youngest team in the event by some distance the team of Luke Armstrong, David Brady and TJ Ford acquitted themselves well finishing inside the top ten.
Ladies Minor Cup All-Ireland Champions 2013
Ladies Minor Cup All-Ireland Champions 2013
MINOR CUP FINAL
CO SLIGO 3½ - 1½ CAHIR PARK
Una Howley (24)
beat
Phil O’Connor (23) 4&3
Caroline Bradshaw (25)
beat
Margaret Gill (24) 4&2
Rita Walsh (25)
beat
Pauline Mulcahey (27) 5&3
Una Gleeson (24)
lost to
Patricia Brown (23) 4&2
Gay Hynes (24)
halved with
Ann McLoughlin (23) (called in)Seaside Golf by John Betjeman
A poem by John Betjamen, shared
with us by Denis O’SullivanYou can also read
