Shannon progress to North Munster mixed foursomes final

Shannon’s Irish mixed foursomes team has reached the North Munster final following a great win in Dromoland on Sunday.  In difficult conditions on Saturday, the team played exceptional golf, beating both Woodstock and Doonbeg.  The final against Ennis on Sunday was a close-fought affair, with Shannon eventually winning out.  They will now play Adare in the North Munster final in the coming week.

Jason O’Donnell and Mary Flynn were three and two winners in Sunday’s area final. Mike O’Connor and Mary Sheehan were six and five winners. James Corry and Maura Mulcahy won five and four. Bryan Power and Claire Duggan were two up through 14 holes when they were called in while Jim O’Grady and Hilary Clein were one up through 13 when they were called in.

A large number of members played in the captain’s (Michael McInerney) prize on Friday and Saturday.

The winner with 68 was Noel Purcell (16) and he had a shot to spare over Jason Hogan (10), with third place filled by Jim Ryall (16), also with 69. They were followed by Terence O’Neill (13) with 70, Jason Casey (9) with 71, JP Meaney (13) with 71, Declan Heffernan (10) with 71, Dermot Glynn (14) with 71, James Morrissey (15) with 72, Pat Madden (15) with 72, James Bullman (16) with 72 and Sean Flynn (20) with 71.

The gross was won by Lewy Halpin Junior (3) with 74 from Bryan Power with 75.

Other prize winners were Joe Walsh (11) with 73 (past captain), Gavin O’Reilly (18) with 74 (junior prize) and Martin McInerney (18) with 71 (guests).

The captain’s prize for the ladies’ 12-hole competition was won by Debbie Reddan with 25 points from Lynn Kelly with a similar score and Rose Doyle with 24 points.

In the intermediate scratch cup on Sunday the winner was Joe Barriscale (14) from Slievenamon with 79 from Kieran Carmody (14) with a similar score. Declan Coyne (12) was third with 80 followed by Michael Hallinan (12) with 81. In the nett category, Gerard McCarthy (18) from Slievenamon won with 69 from Maurice Lynch (13) from Dromoland, also with 69, Mark Keane (14) with 70 and Peter Stringfield (15) from Rathbane with 70.

Meanwhile, in the men’s open singles on Wednesday, the winner was Robert Young (17) with 42 points from James Mulqueen (13) with 41 points and Paul O’Neill (scratch) with 40 points. Ed Hickey (scratch) won the gross with 37 points.

Dromoland
The men’s competition at Dromoland at the weekend was a men’s singles Stableford event. The winner was Stephen O’Mullan with 39 points, from Gerry Barrett with 37 and Declan Devitt with 37. Kieran Shanahan won the category for handicaps 18 and over with 35 points while the junior winner was Tadhg Shanahan with 37 points.

Ennis
Ennis seniors’ group held a team-of-three competition last week when the winners, with 53 points, were  Terry Hughes, Frank Sheedy and Michael Carmody. In second place with 52 were Peadar Cosgrove, John Joe Keane and Tony Coote followed by Pat McInerney, Tom Pilkington and Aidan Guilfoyle with 52,  Michael Culliney. Michael Kenny and Tony Kehoe  with 52,  Johnny Cullinan, Luke Coote and Tom Fox with 52 with sixth spot filled by Pat Cusack, Pierce Cahill and Paddy Cahill with 51.

In the ladies’ bogey cup competition, a versus par event, the winner was Claire Kennelly with four up from Mary Glynn on one up, Eileen Corry on one up and Phil Butler, also on one up.

The winner of the ladies’ Friday open singles was Mary O’Halloran with 33 points from Sinéad Hegarty on 32.

In the ladies’ seniors, the winners were Mary Leahy, Phil Butler and Monica Gallagher with 60 points from Susan O’Brien, Oonagh Fitzpatrick and Bernie Brooks with 58, with third spot filled by Carmel Cummins, Loretta Torpey and Anne Kehoe, also with 58.

Woodstock
The winner of the open singles at Woodstock last week was Jason Considine (6) with 43 points.

In the club singles on Sunday, the winner was Colm Mullen (5) with 40 points from Brian Logue (17) with 39 and Gary O’Mara (18) with 38.

In the ladies’ monthly medal on Sunday, the winner was Maura Umlawski.

The Holmpatrick Cup in aid of the National Council for the Blind will be the competition this weekend and this is a fourball event.

The mixed scramble continues on Thursdays, with the tee available from 5.30pm to 6.15pm.

The draw sheet for the lady captain’s (Margaret Ann Killeen) prize is on the notice board in the ladies’ locker room. The competition will take place on Sunday, June 30.

Spanish Point
The winner of the Tuesday men’s open singles at Spanish Point was Patrick O’Boyle, with a score of 41 points. The winners of last weekend’s 18-hole modified scramble were Diarmuid Whelan, Brendan McCarthy, Noel and Niall McMahon with a score of 92 points.

This weekend, there will be an 18-hole singles competition and the usual timesheets are in operation by calling the clubhouse on 065 7084198.

The president’s (Tom Mernagh) prize will be played for on Saturday and Sunday, June 29 and 30. This will be an 18-hole singles Stableford competition. As part of the festivities, there will be a mixed scramble at 6pm on Sunday, June 30 for all interested. 

The Friday evening scrambles are going very well and are proving to be hugely popular.

The Pierce Purcell team, captained by Eoghan O’Loughlin and Michael O’Connor, has qualified for the Munster semi-final after beating Charleville in Shannon last Thursday evening.

Kilkee
The winner of the singles competition at Kilkee on Saturday was Len Owens (18) with 31 points.
In Sunday’s competition, the winner was Tom Carr (18) with 34 points from Michael Hemmings (16), with a similar score.

East Clare
In the men’s singles at East Clare, the winner was Tony Stuart (13) with 66, from Paul Hayes (10) with 68 and Redmond Walsh Junior (5) with 68.

In the yellow markers competition, the winner was Eamon Mulhall with 41 points ,from Kevin Mannion, with a similar score.

The winners of the men’s seniors competition were Ger Shortt and Kevin Grimes from Willie Roche and Chris Davis, with third spot filled by Jim Greene and Seamus O’Dwyer.

In the ladies’ singles competition, Noreen Doyle was the winner from Catherine Minogue, with Mary Brennan in third spot.

The winners of the ladies’ 14-hole team event were Bess Fennessy, Marie Moloney, Pat Williams and Kathleen Reddan from Sue Casey, Phil Burke, Frances Gaffney and Michelle Wood.

This weekend, the men’s captain (Derek Kenny) prize will be played for and names must be submitted to 061 640044 or 061 921322.

The festival of golf is on all this week from Monday to Friday.

Lahinch
The ladies’ invitational day team-of-four on the championship course at Lahinch last week was won by Val Shannon (8), Jenny Cagney (15) Lahinch,  Lorraine Beavers (15) and Vera Tierney (17) Tralee with 95 points.

In second place were Margaret Lacheiner (17), Pat Ramsey (22) Lahinch, Maura Ryan (19) Ennis and Monica Finnerty (16) Ennis, with 90 points. Third spot was filled by Angela Cullinan (13), Mary Murphy (16) Tralee, Catherine McCarthy (18) Tralee and Goretti O’Connor (22) Tralee, also with 90 points, followed by Olivia Lucas (6), Elayne Hickey (7), Lahinch, Shirley Real (6) and Gwynn Walsh (17) Castletroy, with  85. Fifth prize went to Mary O’Mahony (16) Lahinch, Mary Byrne (13) Castletroy, Mary Ryan (16) and Ann McCarthy (18) Castletroy, with 82.

The winner of the men’s spring matchplay was Bernard Whelan (8), who beat Christy McCaw (18) in the final. The beaten semi-finalists were John Skerritt (12) and Kieran Daly (7) while the leading qualifier was Don Dillon (12).

In the men’s open singles on Thursday, the winner was Martin Moroney (12), with 32 points from John Lyons (15), with a similar score, while third place was filled by Sean Silke (16) with 31 points.

The men’s singles Stableford 3Ts qualifier on Saturday was won by John Gilmartin (8) with 33 points.

The Frank O’Brien Cup, a men’s singles Stableford competition, was played for on the Championship Course on Sunday when the winner was Bob Loftus (2) with 43 points from Tom Holly (19) with 40 and Michael Waters (8) with 38. The gross was won by Ray Hennessy with 37.

Kilrush
The winners of the ladies’ fourball at Kilrush last Thursday were Marion Brennan and Anne Hogan with 41 points from Margaret Donnelly and Geraldine Burke with 40 points.

In the Friday fourball, Finbarr McMahon and Leo Harvey won from Fergal O’Shea and Noel Thornton.

In the Fr Pat Malone memorial singles, vice-captain Finbarr McMahon won with 40 points from Michael Studdert on 38. Carmel Lillis won the ladies’ section with 36 points.

In the June men’s singles Stableford, John Stapleton was the winner with 40 points, from Mike Ryan, on a similar score, with Billy Clarke third on 39 points.

The vice-captain’s mixed competition will take place on this Friday, with the draw at 6.15pm. The vice captain’s prize will be played for and a timesheet is in operation. The presentation will take place on Saturday night in the clubhouse. There will be a singles competition on Sunday and a ladies’ singles next Thursday.

Gort
The men’s open 18-hole singles competition at Gort on Sunday was won by Sean Hanbury (13) with 47 points from Philip Dunne (22) with 43 points and Pádraig Burke (17) with 41 points. David Quirke (4) won the gross with 34 points.

In a similar competition on Saturday, Eamonn Grimes (14) was the winner with 38 points, from Patrick Giblin (13) with 37 and Jack Beakey (6) with 35. The gross was won by Gerry Bond (8) with 26 points.

There was an 18-hole team-of-four scramble on Friday when the winners were John Williams (15), Pat Ryan (14), Pat Curtis (13) and Michael Ryan (18), with 58 net, from Joe (9) and Colm Beakey (11) Paddy Prendergast (13) and Jack Beakey (16) with 58.1. In third spot were Ann Marie Cradock  (30) Sean Cahill (10) Robert McDonagh (6) and Enda Cradock (scratch) with 59.4.

In an open 18-hole singles on Thursday, the winner was Eanna Melville (8) with  39 points from Sean Cahill (10) with a similar score and Joe Beakey (9) with 38 points. Enda Cradock (scratch) won the gross with 38 points. 

There was also an open singles on Wednesday when the winner was Robert McDonagh (8) with 45 points from Brian Murtagh (6) with 41 and John G Ryan (18) with 39. Enda Cradock (scratch) won the gross.
Tuesday’s singles was won by Colm Beakey (12) with 41 points from Robert McDonagh (8) with 40 and John Williams (16) with 39. For the third time in the week, Enda Cradock (scratch) won the gross.

In the ladies’ competition at the weekend, the winner was Josie Cummins (19) with 42 points, from Bernie Browne (34) with 38  points and Marion Ruane (28) with 38 points. Bernie Diskin (13) won the gross with 23 points.

In the midweek singles, Ann Nolan (30) was the winner with 41 points from Ruth Naughton (19) with 37 points and Christina Daly (22) with 36 points. Siobhán Forde (12) won the gross with 24 points.
Bernie Browne (35) was the winner of the Tuesday ­singles with 41 points from Ruth Naughton (19) with 39 and Margaret Whelan (28) with 39 points. Maura Hanrahan (11) won the gross with 27 points.

The lady captain’s prize to the men will be played for this week. The ladies will have an 18-hole singles competition this week while the weekly nine-hole mixed scramble will continue on Friday at 5.30pm.

Portumna
Suzanne Corcoran’s centenary president’s prize competition was played over 36 holes.

In the men’s section, the winner was Eoghan O’Hare (12) with 83 points, from Michael Coniry (17) with 80, Philip Madden (19) with 75, James Porter (12) with 73 and Basil Kennedy (8) with 73. JP McLoughlin (scratch) won the gross with 73, from John Cleary (4) with 60 points. The leading qualifier was John Lyons (8) with 39 points while Dan Hogan (12) won the seniors’ section with 72 points.

In the ladies’ section, the winner was Anne Fahy (16) with 77 points, from Marie Kelly (35) with a similar score, Caroline Carr (28), also with 77, Carmel Cunningham (15) with 72 points and Mary McElroy (24) with 72 points. The gross winner was Anita Carey (13) with 43 points. The leading qualifier was Birget Degenhardt (22) with 38 points, while the seniors winner was Geraldine Feeney (18) with 66 points. Brigid Broderick won the past president’s category.

The men’s 18 hole Stableford competition on Sunday was won by Martin Quinn (20) with 41 points, from  Jamie Conboy (5) with 40 points and Liam Salmon (17) with 40 points. Brendan Naughton (8) won the gross with 30 points.

In the ladies’ 18-hole competition last week the winner was Judy Craig, from Nenagh with 37 points from Suzanne Corcoran with 35 and Mary McDonagh (22) with 34.

The 3Ts ladies’ and gents’ qualifying competitions take place on this Sunday.

There is a men’s open singles every Monday and a senior men’s singles every Wednesday.

Éire Óg classic
One-hundred-and-forty-eight played in the Éire Óg GAA Club classic at Ennis last Saturday, when the winners, with 93 points, were Ronan Cooney, Liam Behan, Frank Neville and Eugene Morrisroe from Noel Normoyle, Pat McHugh, John Dempsey and Pascal Looney, who had 90 points.

In third spot with 89 points were Ollie O’Loughlin, Tony Crowe, Kieran McDermott and Bernie O’Brien, followed by Micheal Glynn, Stephen Keane, Seamus Mann and Noel O’Donnell with 87, Noel, John and Aidan Mulcahy and Kenneth Fielding with 87, with sixth spot filled by Ross Darmody, Eoin Glynn, David McCarthy and Gary Flynn with 86 points. Ronan Cooney won the long drive while David Grimes was nearest the pin.

Sixmilebridge Society
Sixmilebridge Society members had an outing to Nenagh recently, when the winner was Ian Mulready from Brian Casey and Jason Twomey. The nines were won by Phil Browne and Ruairí Walsh while the category prize winners were Jackie Conlon, Dessie McDermott and John McInerney.

Local interest in Irish Close
There will be a number of Clare golfers in the field for the Irish Women’s Close Championship, which gets underway in Ballybunion this Thursday.

Sinéad Sexton from Lahinch will tee-off at 8.10am along with Lisa Maguire (Slieve Russell) and Emma O’Driscoll from Ballybunion.

Valerie Hassett will be on the tee for 9.30am, with Valerie Shannon from Lahinch beginning her challenge at 9.40am. Gort’s Siobhán O’Connor will play at 10am.

Meanwhile, Sarah Cunningham will begin her rounds on the ninth tee at 8.10am, Lisa O’Shea (Shannon) will start at 9.20am, with Pamela Morgan (Lahinch) starting at 9.30am and Maura Hanrahan (Gort) at 10am.

Munster boys
The Munster Boys U-15 Championship will take place at Macroom next Thursday. Four Clare players are included on the timesheet for the event.

Gordon O’Neill from Dromoland, Kevin O’Connor (Ennis) Anthony Leacy (Lahinch) and Conor Ferns (Shannon) will all be hoping to do well.