Ennis to face East Cork in JB Carr final

ENNIS take on East Cork in the Munster final of the JB Carr seniors’ competition this weekend. The match is being played over two legs with Ennis travelling to play their opponents at their Midleton base this Friday. The Cork side will return to Ennis for the second leg on Monday.
The competition involves five pairings representing each club in a scotch foursomes format.
Meanwhile, Ennis seniors held a three-ball scramble last week which attracted an entry of 69. The winners were Jimmy McNamara, Michael Nunan and Pat Cahill with 45.5 from Frank White, Michael Barry and Tony Kehoe on 46.4. In third place with 45.7 were Bill Leacy, Andy Cregan an Tim McAllister. They were followed by Pat Cusack, Mairtin Concannon and Tim Ryan with 47.2, Pádraig Ryan, Matt Flynn and John Keane with 38, Noel Pilkington, John Keane and Ned Ryan with 48.3, Aidan Lynch, Seán Fitzpatrick and PP Cahill with 48.5.

East Clare pipped

IN the Minor Cup, Youghal pipped East Clare at the Cork club’s course last week.
It came down to the final match and this went to a tie hole before the teams were separated.
Youghal’s Amanda O’Neill Coyne went up the 18th one-up on her opponent, Trish Browne, only to lose the hole. At the first tie hole, the Youghal lady showed nerves of steel in front of a big home crowd to win the hole and the match for her club.
Mary Beatty and Breda O’Loughlin were the East Clare winners while Terry Mulvihill and Mary Brennan lost out to their opponents in the earlier matches.

Lahinch

DOMHNAILL O’Mahony was the winner of the men’s singles Stableford competition at Lahinch last Saturday with 39 points. He won by one from Stephen Hennessy with Ian O’Grady a point further back in third spot. Peter Hennessy won the gross with 32 points.
Sunday’s men’s fourball Stableford competition was won by Paul O’Connell and Michael Kearney with 45 points from David Whelan and John Murphy on 41 points.
In the ladies’ singles Stableford competition on the Castle Course on Sunday, Brenda Fitzgerald was the winner with 39 points.
Domhnaill O’Mahony (11) won the men’s singles Stableford competition on the championship course on Saturday with 39 points from Stephen Hennessy (3) with 39 points and Ian O’Grady (15) with 37 points. Peter Hennessy won the gross with 32 points.
Paul O’Connell (9) and Michael Kearney (15) won the men’s fourball Stableford competition on Sunday with 45 points from David Whelan (13) and John Murphy (13) on 41 points.

Kilkee

IN sunny but blustery conditions, Kilkee played Castletroy in the second Wally O’Donoghue Memorial Trophy. Kilkee were anxious to erase last year’s defeat and did so with a 10-point win, 196 to 186 with the first four home coming from Kilkee. Kevin and Katherine O’Connor (41 points), Mike Mullane and Elaine Lyons (39 points), Ger O’Flynn and Carol Phelan (39 points).
In the seniors’ ceannaire’s prize, Michael O’Flanagan (15) was the winner with 35 points from Gerry Casey (13) on 35 points and Michael Smyth (19) on 33 points.

Ennis

PETER Cosgrove was the winner of the president’s (Vera Madden) prize at Ennis last weekend with a score of 41 points. The Éire Óg and former Clare footballer pipped another former Clare footballer, Noel Normoyle who had a similar score. Ollie Kenneally was third on 40 points followed by Martin Daly on 40, Pat McCarthy on 40 and Philip Brigdale on 40. John Fitzpatrick won the gross with 32 points from Michael Kearney on 31. Michael Connolly was the winner of the past presidents’ section while the category winners were Gerry Bredin with 39 points, Fergal Gallagher with 39 points and Paudie Guerin with 38 points.
The president’s (Vera Madden) prize to the ladies was won by Kitty Morris with 37 points form Helen Gallery on 36, Joan Barrett on 36, Margaret Cooney on 35 and Monica Finnerty on 35. Maura McNicholas won the gross with 33 points while the nines were won by Bernie Browne and Valerie Hassett.
In the ladies’ August medal competition at Ennis, Valerie Hassett won the silver division with 72 from Maura McNicholas on 73. The bronze division was won by Gerry O’Reilly with 74 from Bridie Keane on 75.
Last week’s ladies’ seniors’ outing was won by Carmel Verling, Mary McMahon and Mary Gardiner with 47 from Claire Ruane, Mary Colton and Patricia O’Donnell 48 with third spot filled by Bridget Hoey, Anne Kehoe and Jean Considine on 52.
In the Friday open singles, Anna Marie Darmody was the winner with 36 points from Joan Barrett on 35.
The winner of the men’s open singles was Eoin Glynn with 42 points from Ross Darmody on 40, Mark Roche on 39 and Kevin Toner on 39. Diarmuid O’connor won the gross.

Shannon

LYNN Kelly has been nominated by Mary O’Brien as her vice-captain for 2011.
Mary O’Brien’s vice-captain’s prize saw Colette Colleran capture the spoils with 41 points to win by one from Mary F O’Connor. Incoming vice-captain, Lynn Kelly, was third with 38 points. The back nine was required to separate Caroline Fanneran and Lisa O’Shea, both returning 37 points while Liz O’Sullivan was sixth with 36 points.
The gross was captured by Michelle Pyke with 26 points.  
At the weekend, one of the highlights of the ladies’ calendar the men’s president’s (Bernie Ryan) prize to the ladies was played for and Lynn Kelly was victorious with 70 nett. Lynn had two shots to spare from Pauline Kilmartin on 72 nett, who just edged out Mary Flynn by virtue of a better back nine. Debbie Reddan captured the gross with 87. Eleanor O Brien was fourth with 72 with Nollie McCarthy, fifth, with 73 nett and Mary O’Brien was sixth with 74 nett.
In the men’s competition, 315 members took part and Cratloe man, John Boyce, captured his first major with his 42 points proving too good for the rest of the field. John returned 21points for each nine. In the end, he had one to spare from Patrick Griffin. Tony Connolly was third with 40 points while Dermot Egan won the gross with 35 points. In fouth place with 40 points was Joe Robbins with Eamon Fanneran, fifth, on 39 and John Gubbins, sixth, also with 39.
Joe Finlay had a hole-in-one on Sunday in the president’s prize at the fourth hole.
The Wednesday open singles was played off the championship markers and Mike Williams proved to be a runaway winner with an excellent score of 45 points – the highlight of Mike’s opening nine which yielded 22 points was a birdie at the eighth. A steady back nine of five over, resulting in 23 points, followed for a grand total of 45 points which left him with five to spare from Liam O’Mahony. William Flynn was third with 39 points while Ed Hickey won the gross with 34.
This weekend the Jim O’Donnell Memorial will take place while the ladies will play for the September medal.

Woodstock

IN the Wednesday singles at Woodstock, Jason Considine (13) from Ennis was the winner with 40 points from Matthew Kearney (19) with 39 points and Mike Kelly (16) with 38 points.
Tony Nugent (5) won the junior scratch cup on Sunday with 74 from Aidan Mulcahy (6) on 75 and Gerry Kelly (8) on 76.
Noel Moloney (13) won the intermediate scratch cup with 77 from Eugene Conroy (18) with 81 and Joe Cronin (12) with 82.
Kieran Patton (19) won the minor scratch cup with 87 from Aaron Donegan (20) on 89.
John Dempsey and Michael Hayes won the Shanaway Cup last week.
This weekend, members will play for president’s, Jimmie Kelly, prize and a timesheet will operate.

Spanish Point

UNDER the guidance of Tom Mernagh assisted by Paddy Cleary, Kieran Madigan, Aoife O’Malley, Kathleen Twomey, Rick Salzer and other members, the junior section was very well supported during the season with a big increase in membership.
The introduction of lessons for July and August and, in particular, the use of the new practice nets made these sessions very enjoyable for the youngsters. Competitions were well supported and some of the results are as follows. President’s prize: 1. Niall Hickey (16) 39 points; captain’s prize over 18 handicap: 1. Eoghan Sheehy (27) 42 points: U-18 handicap: 1. Cathal Whelan (11) 39 points; matchplay winner: Sarah Kyne, runner-up Ross Burke; golfer of the year: Eoghan Sheehy. Open day finale: 1. Paul Downey (24) 40 points; 2. Colm Beakey (22) 40 points; 3. Niall Hickey (16) 36 points; 4. Cathal Whelan (11) 34 points; 5. Stephen Cunningham (28) 33 points; 6. Rory Sexton (24) 32 points; 7. Ross Burke (24) 32 points; 8. Brendan McCarthy (12) 32 points.
In this week’s men’s senior open, the winner was Dermot Waldron (10) with 40 points from John O’Sullivan (16) with 37 points. Tony Crowley (17) was third with 33 points.
In the weekly open, Niall Duggan was the winner with 39 points from Cathal Whelan (11) on 37 points and Eamonn McMahon (17) with 37 points.
The nine-hole scramble was won by Rory and Brendan Sexton, Dave Fitzgerald and Bernie O’Halloran from PJ Kyne, John Moore, Keelan Sexton and Diarmuid Whelan.

Dromoland

LADY captain, Mary Arthur, vice-captain, Sandy Smyth, and Dorothy Brennan returned terrific scores in Lahinch recently to win the Munster Senior Cup for the first time in the club’s history.
Maria Nolan was the winner of the president’s (John O’Brien) trophy last week from Siobhán Dyar, Mary O’Donnell and Angela White with Suzanne McConway winning the gross.
The winner in the men’s section was Seamus Mungovan with 58 from Patrick Kelly on 60, Declan O’Leary 59, Liam Murphy Junior 57, Brian Sheedy 56 and Dermot O’Neill 56.
Both Patrick Kelly and Declan O’Leary who had the best scores are junior members and could not win the top prize.
Mark Reynolds won the gross with 33 while the nines were won by Declan Murphy with 25 and Tony Murphy with 22. Paul O’Brien won the past president’s category with 33 points while Frank Travers was the winner in the 18 and over handicap section. Eoin Garrihy was the winner of the president’s prize for juniors with 39 points.
There will be a four-ball competition this weekend. The club’s open week commenced this Wednesday and details are available in the clubhouse.

Portumna

IN Sunday’s 18-hole singles Stableford competition at Portumna, the winner was John O’Donnell (17) with 45 points from Gary Boyle (21) with 42 points, Ger Power (10) with 40 points and Dan Lynch (20) with 38 points. The gross was won by Shane Murphy with 29 points.
The club will host a ladies’ and gents’ 18-hole open singles this Saturday and Sunday in aid of cancer research. 
Portumna ladies won the Minor Cup over the weekend in Donegal where they beat Bundoran.
The team captain is Carmel Cunningham and the members are Loretta O’Grady, Mabel Conroy, Audrey McGrath, Mary McDonagh, Brid Kelly, Marie Kelly and Mary McElroy.
In the Monday open, the winner was Martin Hanrahan (18) with 49 points from Ryan Hanrahan (28) with a similar score. Ronan O’Meara was third with 30 points and the gross was won by John Harte (6) with 33 points.  
A special general meeting of the members will be held in Portumna Clubhouse on Tuesday, September 7 at 9pm.
The Three-ball Winter Spring Team Open will run this year from September to April with the winners from each month going forward to a grand final in May 2011.

Clare Footballers

THE second annual classic organised by the Clare football support group and Bord na nÓg Peil to raise funds for a coaching programme was held at Kilrush recently and proved to be another great success.
The winners with 97 points were Michael O’Sullivan, Liam Whitney, Seán McGurk and Pat Moynihan. They had three to spare from Cratloe GAA, whose team comprised Liam Carroll, Joe McGrath, Vincent Loughnane and Danny Chaplin. In third spot on 93 points were St Senan’s GAA Kilkee with George Roche, Barry and Kevin Harte and John Garvey and they were followed by the Clare Oil team of Christy O’Brien, Liam Meehan, Ollie Kenneally, who recorded two eagles in his round and Eamonn Corry and they also scored 93 points.

Bridgetown

THE Bridgetown Society held an outing to Ballykisteen last Saturday when 25 members participated. Francis Moloney was the overall winner with 38 points from Tom Buckley on 36 and Tim Jones on 34.
Tom O’Shaughnessy won category A with 32 points from Tony Fitzgerald on a similar score. Mike O’Brien won category B from Philip Duggan while Mike Leonard was the winner of category C from Pat Duggan. Joe McArthur and Paul Mason won the nines while the overall winner, Francis Moloney, won the long-drive and near-the-pin competitions.
Roscrea will be the venue for the society’s next outing which will take place on September 25 when the tee will be available from 10.30am.
This society will be used as a fundraiser for the senior citizens’ Christmas party.

Clarecastle

INCOMING Captain Joe Green was the recent winner of the Clarecastle Society’s outing at Shannon. John Casey was in second place with Colin Higgins coming in third. The respective nines were won were Gerry McMahon and Niall Geraghty. Jason Considine won the guests’ section.

Lifford AFC

LIFFORD Soccer Club will hold a classic at Ennis on Saturday, September 25 in aid of the club’s pitch development fund. The winners will receive the Frank Flaherty Memorial Cup. The competition will be a team of four with the best two scores to count at each hole.
A timesheet will operate and details are available from club chairman Ferdie O’Donoghue at 086 3289041 or secretary John O’Neill at 087 7550169.
Speaking this week ahead of the classic, chairman O’Donoghue spoke of the role Frank Flaherty played in the club and he urged members and supporters to take part in the upcoming event.

Pitch and putt

GABRIEL Kerin’s captain’s day took place at the Clare Road Pitch and Putt Club last Sunday when the winner was Niall Seery from Martin Brown and Gareth Kerin. Kenneth Kerin won the gross and the final 18 was won by Declan Sheedy.
The winners of the scramble were Denis, Joseph and David McElligott while the gross was won by Declan Sheedy, Christy O’Riordan and Gabriel Kerin.
Christy O’Riordan won the visitors’ prize while Teresa Fitzgibbon won the ladies’ prize. Tony Clancy won nearest the pin and he also won the putting competition while Denis McElligott had a hole-in-one.
This week the club’s scratch cups will be played for.

Gort

VAL Donnellan from East Clare won the open singles at Gort last week with 38 points from Ronan O’Dea on 37 and Pat Mc Claskey on 37.
The winner of the ladies’ open was Siobhán O’Connor with 40 points from Josie Collins on 33.
This Friday evening, the final of the president’s prize will take place.
There will be an 18-hole four-ball for men this Saturday and Sunday with an 18-hole stroke medal competition for ladies on Sunday.

East Clare

THE president’s (Kevin Mannion) prize will be played for on this weekend. In the senior scratch cup last week, Cathal O’Connor from Woodstock was the winner with 68 from Norman  Molloy (East Clare) and Tony Cleary (Dromoland) on 69 and Kieran Cunnane (Woodstock) on 70.
Eoin McGuinness won the junior scratch cup with 76 from Dermot O’Donoghue on a similar score. Derek Kenny was next with 77 followed by Tom Milea on 77.
There will be a club scramble and presentation of prizes on this Friday evening. The first draw will be at 5.30pm.
Tara Whelan represented the club in the girls’ inter-provincials in Roscommon last week. This was her first Provincial cap and she is East Clare’s first representative at this level.