Clare ladies in Munster line-up

THERE is a strong Clare involvement in the Munster team for the Women’s Inter-provincial championships ,which take place at Royal County Down from April 27 to 29 when Ulster will be bidding to retain the title. The Newcastle course is sure to prove a huge test for the teams.

The manager of the Munster team is Mary McMahon from Ennis and the team will include Sarah Cunningham (Ennis) and Sinéad Sexton (Lahinch).
The new format sees each of the four teams of eight players play one 18-hole stroke play qualifying round with six scores to count from eight. The provinces will then be seeded one to four on the stroke play results.
Last year, Ulster claimed the title for the first time in 21 years and broke Leinster’s run of six consecutive wins from 2004 to 2009 and they will start as favourites to retain the title.

Lahinch
IN the men’s singles Stableford competition at Lahinch on Saturday, Tiernan Doherty (16) was the winner with 40 points from Eoin Glynn (8) with 39 points and Greg Young (5) with 38 points. Jim Young won the gross with 33 points.
In the men’s quadrangular match on Sunday on the Castle course, involving Kilkee, Kilrush, Lahinch and Spanish Point, Leonard Mullane (12) and Pat Sheehan (16) from Kilkee were the winners of the fourball event with 45 points from Liam Ryan (14) and Jim Marrinan (17) from Spanish Point on 44 points with third spot filled by James McNamara (15) and Neil Higgins (15) (Kilrush), who also returned 44 points.
Spanish Point won the event with 209 points, beating Kilkee on the back nine with Kilrush in third spot on 203 points.

Lahinch Seaworld classic
LAHINCH Seaworld has been given access to the championship course at Lahinch on May 13. The competition is for teams of four with funds going to Lahinch Seaworld.
Lahinch Seaworld has supported 30,000 children in the Clare region to swim over the last 15 years.
Further information is available from Denis Creedon at 087 2351742.

Ennis
THE men’s committee trophy was played for at Ennis at the weekend when the winner was Seamus Bowe with 64 nett. He had a shot to spare over Niall Howard with Leo Herbert in third spot with 67. The gross was won by TJ Scanlan on 75.
The presentation will take place in the clubhouse this Sunday night at 9pm.
In the Friday open singles, Sean Heaney was the winner with 43 points from Ross Darmody on 42, Brendan Magill (East Clare) on 39 and John Hanrahan on 38. David O’Connor won the gross with 30 points.
The club development classic will take place this weekend while the Friday open singles continues. There will be a men’s fourball on Easter Monday.
In the ladies’ 18-hole singles, Eileen J Corry was the winner with 33 points. The ladies’ seniors’ competition last week was won by Mary Gardner, Pauline Parkes and Alice Darcy with second place filled by Susan O’Brien, Mary Walsh and Joan Murphy.
In the seniors’ team-of-three competition last week, the winners, with 51 points, were Paul Mockler, Dick Burke and John Stack. They had three to spare over Larry O’Farrelly, Dick Herbert and Brendan Colton. In third spot with 47 points were JJ Keane, Jim Scully and Jimmy McNamara followed by Tim McAllister, Tom Pender and Joe McMahon, also with 47 points. In fifth spot were Eamon Corry, Pat Cahill and Michael Finn and they also had 47 points followed by Denis O’Ceallaigh, Sean O’Gorman and Tom Fox with 46 while James Ball, Bernie Hoey and Michael Cummins also had 46 points.

Gort
MARTIN Flaherty was the winner of the Bob Forde Trophy at Gort at the weekend with a score of 40 points from Michael Moroney on 39, Gerry Broderick on 39 and Noel Ruane on 38. Jason McLynn won the gross with 30 points.
In the Monday open, Tom Sands won with 37 points from Jerry O’Leary (Mallow) on 33 and John Skehill on 33. O’Leary had a hole-in-one at the 16th.
There will be three open singles competition this weekend, the weekly open on Friday, the Saturday/Sunday competition and another on Easter Monday.
In last week’s ladies’ competition, Patricia Skehill was the winner with 37 points from Gabrielle Warnock who had 36 points and Kathleen Sands ,who also scored 36 points.
The ladies will have an 18-hole stroke competition this weekend with an 18-hole singles on Easter Monday.

Woodstock
JOE Davis (14) was the winner of the Wednesday singles at Woodstock with 39 points. In the Sunday medal, Jimmie Kelly (15) won with 67 nett from James O’Rourke (18) who had a similar score. Noel Mulcahy (9) was third with 68 nett.
Bernardo Kelly won the gross with 76.
This weekend there will be a two-person scramble on Saturday and Sunday with an open singles on Monday.
In last week’s ladies’ 18-hole Stableford competition, Joan Barrett was the winner with 32 points from Jenny McElhinney on 30 points.
The ladies will have an 18-hole medal stroke competition this Sunday with the draw at 11.50am.

Kilrush
KILRUSH Golf Club held a race night on Friday last to help fundraise for further course developments and in excess of €5,000 was raised.
The men’s open singles on Sunday was won by Noel McMahon (10) with 41 points. In second place was Limerick man John O’Mahoney (18) on 40 points and in third was Noel Thornton (17) with 37 points.
In the men’s seniors team event last Wednesday, the winners were Jim McSwiggan, Mick Hemmings, CP Walsh and Barry Taylor with 59 points from Tom Clarke, PW Glynn and Tom O’Dea with 52 points. In third spot with 51 points were Tom Coffey, Noel Thornton and Maurice Roche.
The ladies’ 18-hole competition played on Thursday was won by Annie Gallagher with 39 points from Mary McCarthy with 34 points and Ailish Lorigan with 33 points. The category winners were Margaret Clancy with 30 points, Mary Young with 33 points and Ursula Lineen with 28 points.
The inter-club GUI competitions are just around the corner with the Pierce Purcell on in Dromoland on May 7 and 8, the Jimmy Bruen in Ennis on June 11 and 12 and the Irish Mixed Foursomes in East Clare on June 18 and 19 June.
Any member wishing to go for trial for these teams may do so my placing their names and handicap on the noticeboards in the clubhouse,
The draw for the Paddy Shannon competition is on the men’s noticeboard.
Entries for the Glynn Cup Men’s Foursomes are now being taken and those wishing to enter may do so by placing their names on the noticeboard.
The Pat Geaney open singles will be the competition this Saturday and Sunday.

Spanish Point
LAST Saturday, the Spanish Point Munster Towns Cup team travelled to Castlerosse Golf Club to play Doneraile Golf Club in their first-round match of the championship. The previous (preliminary) round was won the week before and the panel didn’t have an opportunity to get in a practice round at Castlerosse, which would have been a help. The match was close and only decided on the 18th hole of the second last match for a final score of 4 to 2 in favour of Doneraile.
On Friday evening, the popular open nine-hole team-of-four scramble started for the current season and over 20 players entered. Winners were Michael Hehir (10), Brendan Sexton (14) with juniors Ross Burke (19) Darragh Moloney (28) with a score of six under gross. The open singles, played on Friday, was won by Niall McMahon (18) with 36 points. Continuing his good play, Ross Burke playing off (18) brought in 41points to win the singles’ competition and he continues his good progress, having lost eight shots in the past few weeks.
This Saturday and Sunday, the Easter hamper will be played for and a timesheet is available in the clubhouse. The outing for past captains and presidents of the club has been changed from Saturday, April 30 to Saturday June 4.
Martina Skerritt (21) won the ladies’ Easter hamper competition with a score of 34 points. The winner of the 18-hole stroke competition was Aoife Healy (13) with a score of 65 net. Val Ross (24) was second on a score of 71 net. Evelyn Kelly (24) was the winner of the nine-hole competition. The Easter egg competition will take place this weekend. A nine-hole competition will take place on Tuesday evening for lady members.

Portumna
IN the ladies’ Spring Cup 18-hole stroke competition at Portumna, Anne Cassidy was the winner from Carmel Cunningham with Maura Leenane in third spot.
Meanwhile, in the men’s 18-hole competition at the weekend, Mike Flanagan (10) was the winner with 40 points from Albert Kelly (10) who had a similar score. Dan Hogan (10) was third and he also scored 40 points. Sean Cleary (3) won the gross with 33 points while Pádraig Flynn (17) won the seniors’ section with 35 points.
In the open Monday competition, Ronan Nevin (13) was the winner with 36 points from Stephen Guilfoyle (9) who had a similar score. Brian Freeman (6) was third with 35 points while Sean Cleary (3) won the gross with 32 points.
There will be an open fourball this weekend and a timesheet will operate. 
The Felle Family will hold a charity classic in Portumna on Friday, June 3 in memory of the late Maura and Pauline Felle. The proceeds from the day will be in aid of Cancer Care West. Further details are available from Paraic Felle at 087 9775364 or Laurence Felle at 086 6084317.
The local branch of Ability West are holding an Open 3 Ball at Portumna in May from Tuesday 17 to Friday 20.
Over the past 18 years, the branch has raised much-needed funds for St Dympna’s.

Shannon
THE ladies’ competition at Shannon last week was an 18-hole singles which saw Caroline Fanneran victorious with 38 points. Caroline had two to spare from Hillary Park and Liz O’Sullivan both returning 36 points with Hillary capturing second place courtesy of a better back nine. The gross was won by Jean Murphy-Wright with 22 points.
The men’s Wednesday singles saw Liam Alford capture the spoils with 41 points. Turning with 18 points, Liam did not entertain thoughts of victory but a rock-solid back nine of just two over for 23 points, highlighted by a birdie at the 13th, saw him home by one from Philip McPhilips on 40 points. Jeremiah O’Connor was third on 38 points while Ed Hickey won the gross with two over par 34 points.
The men’s competition at the weekend was a fourball, which saw a combination of Mike O’Connor and Des McDonnell victorious with 48 points, winning by one from Pat Griffin and Dennis Bartley. In third place were John Gubbins and Liam Hogan on 46 points while Dave Meade and Declan Tracey were fourth with 43 points.
On Sunday, the Senior Scratch Cup made a welcome return to the playing calendar. When the dust finally settled on Sunday evening, +2 handicapper Eddie McCormack from Galway captured the spoils with a one under par total of 143. Eddie had one shot to spare from Pat Murray of Limerick. Tim O’Mahony from Mallow was third on 145 with Ciarán Molloy from Ardee edging out Darren Crowe from Dunmurray by virtue of a best second round, both returning 146 for fourth and fifth respectively. Ger Vaughan from Limerick captured the first 18 gross with Thomas Neenan from Lahinch capturing the second 18 gross. In the nett section, Lewy Halpin captured the honours with 142 from Damien Glynn from Galway with 143.
There will be an open team-of-four competition this weekend (any combination), while there will be a men’s open singles on Monday. The ladies will play for the April medal.

Doonbeg Links
THE lady president’s prize (Ita Mangan) was played for, in ideal weather conditions, at Doonbeg Links on Sunday. There was a big turnout and Liz Blake emerged as the winner with 37 points followed by Aoife O’Malley and Mary Arthur with 35 points each. Mary O’Sullivan was next with 33 points. Marianne McGough won the guest’s prize with 33 points from Anne Marie Russell on 30 points.

Doonbeg win
DOONBEG Links played the annual challenge match for the Links Challenge Cup at the weekend against Lahinch. The match was played on a sun-drenched Doonbeg course with a winning score of 3 1\2 to 1 1\2 in favour of Doonbeg. The game was followed by presentation and meal in the Lodge.
Doonbeg Links next outing is in the Pierse Purcell Shield when they will be away to Dromoland on Saturday on May 7.
The next competition is on Sunday, May 8 when the semi open of the four-ball competition will be played.

East Clare
IN the men’s 18-hole stroke competition at East Clare last week, Declan Hannon (18) was the winner with 62 nett. He had two strokes to spare over Mick Lambe (13) with Pat McKenna (11) a further two strokes back in third spot. Mike Whelan won the gross with 73.
In the men’s seniors’ competition, the winners were JJ Barton, Michael Drew and Batt Skehan from Michael Gough, John Farrell and Richard Keating with third spot filled by Charles Stuart, Terry Stevenson and Willie Roche.
In the Thursday open singles, Patsy O’Donnell (18) won with 41 points from Val Donnellan (10) who had 40 points.
In the ladies’ team-of-two competition, Breda O’Loughlin and Pauline Nugent were the winners in category 1 with 46 points from Mary Hogan and Deirdre Cooney on 45 points. The category 2 winners were Pauline Moloney and Jenny Ryan with 40 points from Noreen Ryan and Bernie Bohan on 39 points.
In the ladies’ open day competition, Tara Whelan was the winner with 43 points from Ann McInerney on 37 points and Breda O’Loughlin on 36 points.
There will be a team-of-three competition (any combination) over the Easter weekend while there will also be a men’s open singles competition.

Dromoland
IN the men’s fourball competition at the weekend, Jimmy McManus and Con Woods were the winners from Brian Sheedy and Killian Howard with third spot filled by Paul O’Brien and Aidan O’Mahoney. The junior winners were Ryan O’Neill and Ronan McCarthy.
The following juniors played in the Fred Daly Cup at Woodstock, Ryan O’Neill, Aidan O’Mahoney, Sean Shanahan, Edmund Moriarty, Aaron Duggan, Killian Howard and Ronan McCarthy.
This bank holiday weekend, there will be a Stableford player-of-the-year competition with re-entry.

Kilkee
IN the spring league semi-finals at Kilkee G O’Flynn lost J Murray; P Harte beat P Cronin; J Garvey beat D Gaffney, M Galvin beat L Owens; P Costelloe lost D McDonnell; B Harte beat M Mullane; L Mullane lost F Murnane; G Reidy beat E Murnane; T Carr beat D Garvey;C Clancy beat D Lynch and M Daly lost A Cronin.

Sixmilebridge
SIXMILEBRIDGE society will have an outing to Portumna on Saturday when the tee will be available from 10.30am to 11.30am.

Clare teachers
SHANE McCarthy was the winner of the Clare Teachers’ outing at Shannon last week with 38 points from Michael Kilmartin on 37 and John Doyle on 35. The category winners were Jim McMahon with 33 points, Áine Burke with 34 points and Mary Glynn with 35 points. The nines were won by Sean Daly and PJ Garry, both with 20 points.
The society’s next outing will be for the Hillery Cup and this will take place on Saturday, May 21 to East Clare, when the timesheet will be available from 9.30am to 11am. A timesheet will operate with details available from Joan at 086 3167365.

Bridgetown
TWENTY members of Bridgetown society played in their outing to Ennis last Saturday. The winner was Dominick McArthur with 36 points from Tony Fitzgerald on 31 and Francis Moloney on 31.
In category A, Eoin O’Brien was the winner with 28 points from Timmy Jones on a similar score. Barry O’Sullivan won category B with 27 points from Mike O’Brien on 23 while Mike Leonard won category C with 23 points from Tom Hannon on 19 points. The nines were won by Tom O’Shaughnessy and Tom Buckley, Francis Moloney won the prize for nearest the pin.
The next outing will be on May 21, when Roscrea will be the venue.

Daycare dementia unit
THERE will be a team-of-four classic (any combination) at Woodstock on Friday, May 6 in aid of the dementia unit at Clarecastle Daycare Centre. There are also some times available on Thursday afternoon, May 5. Full details are available from Ann Marie at 087 9020044.

Pitch and putt
TONY Clancy was the winner of last Sunday’s competition at the Clare Road Pitch and Putt Club with Denis McElligott in second place. Timmy O‘Sullivan won the gross.