Parishioners make huge impact on South

THE best amateur golfers from all over Ireland and overseas have travelled to Lahinch over the years to take on the formidable challenge of the famous links in the South.
Many great golf personalities spanning different generations have featured as winners or challengers in the competition for the trophy presented by Alexander Shaw, the club’s co-founder.
Golfers and caddies from the local Lahinch-Ennistymon parish have made an indelible mark on the championship down through the decades.
“Locals have greatly enhanced the South’s proud history with their fine achievements,” said Fr Enda Glynn, Lahinch club historian, who edited the club centenary book published in 1992.
“The golden era for the parish was undoubtedly from 1928 to 1957. Over that remarkable 30-year period, there were six locals who shared 25 final appearances and 18 victories between them,” said Fr Glynn.

Burke’s 11 wins
The most famous of these was legendary John Burke, born near Lahinch village at Carrowgar. Burke won the title on his first attempt in 1928 and went on to win a record 11 championships, including four-in-a-row up to 1931 and six-in-a-row in the 1940s.
One of Ireland’s greatest golfers, John Burke also won eight Irish Close and six West of Ireland titles. He played 66 times for Ireland between 1929 and 1949 and was on the British and Irish Walker Cup team in 1932.
“One of the most memorable South finals was the meeting of Burke, then approaching the veteran stage, and emerging star, Joe Carr, in 1946. After a titanic struggle, Burke emerged victor at the 39th hole. Twelve-year-old local Paddy Skerritt, who later turned professional golfer, caddied for Carr on that day,” said Fr Glynn.
Brud Slattery, subsequently Lahinch club secretary, halted Burke’s winning sequence in the 1940s when he beat him the following year by 6 and 5. Brud reeled off an amazing six threes from the eighth to the 13th holes during that match.
Slattery came close to winning three other titles, losing to both Burke (1943) and Jimmy Carroll, Sutton (1949) by one hole and to another Lahinch native, Paddy Leyden, in 1955.

Leyden’s titles
Slattery’s conqueror in 1955, Paddy Leyden won four times after losing his first final in 1950. The remarkable thing about his final appearances was that Mick Power from Muskerry in Cork provided the opposition on four of the five occasions.
After losing by a big margin in 1950, Paddy came back to win in 1953, followed by three-in-a-row from 1955 to 1957. He was also a semi-finalist on three occasions.
The fourth prominent local in that 30-year period was Mick O’Loughlin, who won the title twice, in 1937 and 1938. He secured a notable victory over John Burke in the 1938 semi-final, before beating Rory Saunders from Killiney. Mick also figured in many winning Lahinch teams in Munster and national championships.
Rory Saunders was the man who defeated my uncle, Fr Michael Garrihy, in the 1935 final. From Carrowntedaun, Lahinch near John Burke’s birthplace, Michael was widely acknowledged to be the only person for many decades to drive over the famous ‘Klondyke’ fairway hill at Lahinch.
PJ Queally and Michael Walsh, who are steeped in the local golfing tradition, both recall how difficult it was to achieve that ‘carry’ of more than 300 yards with the primitive clubs and golf balls in use in the late 1930s.
PJ also recalled how his father, Tommy, caddied for Fr Michael’s brother, Fr Peter Garrihy, when he reached the final in 1942, losing to John Burke. Tommy was a prominent member of the ground staff at Lahinch for many years.

Last local win
The last local to claim the prestigious title was John D Smyth from Ennistymon in 1968. Recalling that win, John said the great golfing tradition built up in the parish over preceding decades contributed significantly to his success.
“One of my early mentors was Austin Skerritt, a member of the winning Lahinch All-Ireland Senior Cup team in 1959. Then, in the months leading up to the 1968 South, I learned a great deal from the wonderful golfing expertise of Brud Slattery, Paddy Leyden and Greg Young, while playing with them in highly competitive round-robin matches at the club.”
Ironically, John was to defeat Kilrush man Greg in the decider, after beating Billy Rice from Limerick in the semi-final. Beginning in 1965 when he lost to Rupert deLacy Staunton (for whom Joe Burke from Ennistymon caddied), Young was to lose five finals in all.
Other fine local players reached the concluding stages of the South over the years. Michael ‘Darkie’ Skerritt lost twice in the final, to Michael Guerin in 1962 and Bryan Malone 13 years later. He was also a semi-finalist on a number of occasions.
Darkie’s cousin, Peadar played in two successive semi-finals, in 1949 and 1950. In 1949, his brother Josie caddied for his opponent, Sutton’s Jimmy Carroll. Peadar had beaten John Burke both years in earlier rounds.
Local schoolteacher Christy Cullinan was a semi-finalist in 1948, as was Donie O’Loghlin in 1957. More recently, Martin Barrett lost out at the same stage in 1981 to John Carr, a son of three-time South champion, Joe.

Caddies’ role
Local caddies have made a unique contribution to the spectacle of the South and to the heritage of the club, which celebrates its 120th anniversary this year, as Enda Glynn points out. “For a number of decades, there were up to 100 caddies, many of whom were excellent golfers.”
PJ Queally and Michael Walsh are two of the finest exponents in this regard and both have many anecdotes to tell of great contests and memorable moments.
“I remember well,” said PJ, “caddying for Vincent Nevin from Ennis in 1959 when his opponent, Geoff Roberts from England, stopped playing on the 18th green until the Angelus bell had finished ringing in the local church. Nevin three-putted and Roberts sank a 40-footer before winning at the 19th.”
Roberts became champion that year, while Nevin later won two South titles.
One of the highlights for Michael Walsh was caddying for Bill Kelleher from Douglas when he beat John Nestor in the last 36-hole final in 1964. “Kelleher just needed a four at the last to be around in a fantastic score of 65, seven under par for the second 18.”
Michael’s uncle, Tommy was one of the early caddies at Lahinch, who owned two goats that made their home on the course and became famous as local weather guides.
Both PJ and Michael were excellent golfers. PJ was most unlucky to lose out to Greg Young in the 1972 South semi-final, when Young chipped in from a most unlikely position at a crucial stage to stay in the match. Michael, who won the Munster Boys’ title in 1955, lost out to eventual champions, Tom Cleary and Adrian Morrow, in the last 16 in 1979 and 1983.
All in all then, there is a great local golfing heritage to savour for competitors and spectators alike over the coming days on the Lahinch links.