Shannon through to North Munster final in Bruen Shield

Shannon emerged victorious in the Clare area competition in the Bruen Shield, which was played at Shannon last weekend.

 

On Saturday, they had a 3 ½ to 1 ½ win over Kilrush to get their campaign underway. Doonbeg Links received a walkover from Spanish Point, Woodstock were 3-2 winners over Ennis and Kilkee had a 4-1 victory over Lahinch.

In the afternoon, Shannon beat Doonbeg Links 4-1 while Kilkee knocked out Woodstock on a 3-2 scoreline.

In Sunday’s area final, Shannon were 3-2 winners over Kilkee. The decisive match was on the 19th by PJ Moroney and Vincent Scully, who were two down after 16. They won 17 and 18 to take the match up the 19th, which they won to capture the Clare area title. Philip Purcell and Seamus Doyle lost on the 15th (four and three),  Kieran Considine and Maurice Hartery won on the 18th,  Jim McNamara and Robbie Corry were beaten on the 15th (four and three) while Maurice Murphy and Fintan Ward won on the 16th.

The Shannon team is managed by Noel Morgan and they will play Charleville in the North Munster final.
Meanwhile, the winner of the men’s open singles on Wednesday at Shannon was Adam McMahon with 41 points from Jerry Keohane (Tipperary) on 36 and Brendan Healy, also with 36. Dermot O’Donoghue from East Clare won the gross with 31.

The Bank Holiday Monday open singles was won by Donal O’Gorman with 41 points from Mike Shinners with 40, Fergus Murphy with 39, Michael Casey with 38 and Thomas O’Dea with 38

Lahinch
The Great Irish Links Challenge took place last week in very windy and sometimes wet conditions at Lahinch, Doonbeg and Ballybunion. Golfers from USA, Canada, Australia, England, Scotland and Germany experienced difficult Links conditions.

In the Visitors cup, a men’s singles Stableford competition played on the Old Course last week, the winner was Donal Vaughan (7) with 40 points from Peter Hennessy (4), who had a similar score. Kieran Shanahan (21) was third with 39 followed by Hillary Haydon (13) with 39, Mark Ryan won the gross with 35 points.

In the ladies’ scotch foursomes on the Castle Course, the winners were Dervla O’Neill (22) and Sheena Mannion (25) with 44 points from Patricia O’Donnell (27) and Anne Kirby (27) with 42 and they were followed by Mary O’Meara (11) and Frances Wood (15) also with 42.

The monthly medal for men was played for on Sunday on the championship Course and resulted in victory for Fergal Costelloe (4) with 75 from Niall Shaw (5) with 78 and Jimmy Condon (13) with 79.

A men’s singles Stableford competition on the championship course on Sunday was won by Bob Loftus (2) with 32 points.

Dromoland
The winner of the men’s singles competition at Dromoland at the weekend was Ronan Mullane with 40 points from Brian McNamara with 39, and John O’Grady with 38. Noel Stapleton won the section for those with handicaps 18 and over when he returned 36 points. The junior winner was Dale Foley with 26 points.

In the ladies’ NBCRI outing, the winners were Maire McMahon (Shannon), Anne Marie Darmody (Ennis), Sandy Smyth (Dromoland) and Maeve McMahon (Dromoland) with 92 points.

In second place with 87 points were Mary Ann McInerney, Mairéad Twomey, Leslie O’Flynn (all East Clare) and Tina McGuire (Dromoland). Third place was filled by Suzanne McConway, Yvonne Shanahan, Cora O’Toole and Dolores Fox (all Dromoland) with 85 points.

In the competition for the Deirdre Fitzpatrick Trophy, the winner was Tina McGuire with 38 points from Yvonne Shanahan with 34, Majella Cotgreave with 32 and Mary O’Donnell with 29

Kilrush
In the ladies’ seniors outing last week at Kilrush, the winners were Maura McSwiggan, Majella Deere, Doleros Reidy and Tessie Garry from Claire Pyne, Margaret Griffin and Margaret Clancy, with third spot filled by Lucy Blake, Bernadette Eastham and Marion Brennan.

Inclement weather last week led to the cancellation of the men’s seniors outing on Wednesday and the ladies’ singles on Thursday.

The Friday mixed was won by Michael Ryan, Anne Hogan and Ailish Lorigan from John Stapleton, Michael Hogan and Maeve Murphy.

The winner of the weekend singles was Noel Thornton with 36 points from Colm Murphy with 34.

The club’s Jimmy Bruen team lost out to Shannon on Saturday morning.

The weekly mixed will continue this Friday. The Flynn Trophy, a men’s singles competition, will be the attraction this weekend.

Ennis
Ennis seniors held a team-of-three competition last week when the winners, with 50 points were  Joe O’Brien, Michael Butler and  John Guilfoyle from John Guinan, Matt Fanning and Ned Ryan, who had 47. In third spot with 47 points were Jim McEnery, Sean O’Gorman and Ollie Kenneally followed by Tom Pilkington, Noel Conellan and Larry O’Farrelly, also with 47, while fifth spot was filled by Michael Culliney, Kevin Leyden and Michael Kenny with 45.

In the ladies’ 18-hole Stableford competition, the winner was Mary Lenihan with 34 points from Suzanne Deane with 34, Bridget Hoey with 32 and Yvonne Keohane with 32.

Woodstock
The weekly senior’s competition at Woodstock was a team-of-three scramble over 15 holes, with two scores to count at each hole. Due to an odd number of members participating, the last team had four players. It was decided that, in turn, one of the four would not compete at each hole, which reduced the team to three players. The winners, with 71 points, were Bobby Burke, Tony Morgan, Willie Thompson and John Dormer.

The club singles winner at the weekend was Alan Markham (9) with 36 points.

The May monthly medal will be played for this weekend.

Meanwhile, entries are being accepted for the Woodstock Cup, a singles matchplay competition and the draw for this competition will be made this Sunday at 8pm.

Outstanding matches in the current round of the Kelleher Shield must be completed by this Sunday.

East Clare
Last week’s ladies’ singles at East Clare was won by Catherine Minogue with 69 nett from Sheena Mannion with 70 nett. The category winners were Eileen Donnellan, Bess Fennessy and Phil Burke.

In the men’s singles, the winner was Tomás Costelloe (17) with 42 points while Joe Carey (16) won the competition off the yellow markers with a score of 36 points.

East Clare’s Jimmy Bruen team were playing in the North section in Charleville at the weekend. They were successful in the morning against Rathbane when all five pairs won their matches.

However, in the afternoon game, they were defeated by Castletroy on a scoreline of four games to one.

The singles and fourball matchplays are now in full swing, with the first round completed in the singles matchplay.

This weekend, there will be an 18-hole singles competition for men.

Spanish Point
Nuala Kilroy was the winner of last week’s ladies’ competition at Spanish Point, with a score of 34 points from Lucia Cronin on 31. The Granard foursomes competition will be played for this Sunday and the time sheet is available in the clubhouse .

The winner of the Tuesday men’s seniors open was John Fitzgerald with a score of 38 points. On Saturday and Sunday, the winner of the 18-hole singles was Gerry Gallagher with a score of 39 points and second was Tom Mernagh with 38 points. This weekend, the annual David McCarthy memorial scramble, a nine-hole re-entry open competition, will take place.

The Gathering weekend on the June Bank Holiday is proving to be a huge success and very popular with past and present members. Persons wishing to take part must have their details given to the organising committee before Saturday, May 25. Names can be given by calling the clubhouse on 065 70-84198.

Gort
The winner of the open singles at Gort on Friday last was Brian Murtagh (5) with 40 points.

There will be a similar competition this Friday, with an 18-hole fourball competition on Saturday and Sunday.

The Connacht past captains’ competition will take place on Thursday, May 23.

In the Ladies’ Club Cup competition last weekend, the winner was Emer O’Rourke (18) with 73 from Bernie Diskin (13) with 74 and Maura Hanrahan (12) with 75. The gross was won by Siobhán O’Connor (10) with 86.

In the Australian spoons competition, the qualifiers were Teresa Gill (17) and Maureen Brennan (18).

There will be an 18-hole singles Stableford this weekend with a nine-hole scramble (any combination) on Friday at 5.30pm.

Doonbeg
Last Sunday’s singles  at Doonbeg was won by Michael Conway from Timmy Killeen, with Martin Griffin in third spot.

Doonbeg were beaten by Shannon in the semi-final of Jimmy Bruen at weekend.

Doonbeg and Lahinch played their annual match for the Challenge Cup  in Doonbeg recently. Lahinch were victorious on the day.

This Sunday, members at Doonbeg Links will play for captain Nigel Dillon’s prize, for which the timesheet is available in the Pro Shop.

Portumna
Portumna held its second centenary medal competition last Sunday, when the winner was JP McLaughlin (1) with 70 from  Leslie O’Meara  (8) 71 and Enda Quigley (14) with 71. The gross was won by Bernard Murtagh (6) with 82 and the seniors’ winner was Pete Gibbs (13) with 75.

The winner of the ladies’ competition was Catherine Dunne with 79 from Mary Jo Kelly with 80.

On Saturday and Sunday, May 25 and 26, the club will host an open scotch foursomes cup.

The Ladies’ Senior Cup team retained the Connacht title at Galway Bay at the weekend. They will now play in the All-Ireland finals at Portumna on the weekend of August 16 and 17.

Castletroy Scratch Cup
The Castletroy Senior Scratch Cup (Major HK Murray), which was first played for in 1948, will be held for the 65th time on Saturday, May 25. Club officials believe it is the oldest scratch cup still being played and interest in the event is still very high.

Castletroy Golf Club redesigned the course in 2006 to bring it up to modern championship standards. It measures almost 7,000 yards off the back sticks and with the water features from 11 to 14, the course offers a huge challenge to any golfer. In 2011, the club was ranked at 63 in Ireland and has now climbed to 59 and officials are hopeful that with the continued development, it will get into the top 50 in the 2013 ratings.

The role of honour in the scratch cup includes such names as John Bourke, Jimmy Breun , Mick Power, Tom Craddock, Liam Higgins, Joe Carr, Des Smyth, Dr David Sheahan, Denis O’Sullivan and Eddie Power. Limerick winners have included Billy Rice, Jackie Harrington, Vincent Nevin, Ivan Morris, Michael O’Kelly and the home club Castletroy have had winners in, Nicholas Hayes, Paddy O’Looney, Tom Corridon, John Kavanagh, Peter Sheehan and Eamon Haugh.

In the last few years, Niall Gorey and  Mark Shanahan have added their names to the list of winners.

The Munster interprovincial selectors use the competition as one of their five scratch cup venues to assist them in selecting the team for the year. Last year, the venue was used to select the final place on the panel and the winner, Alan Thomas, made the team that went on to win the interprovincial championship in 2012.

Players can call the club on 061 335753 to put their names in the draw. The competition will be a gunshot tee-off at 9.15 am and 2.30pm on the day. Handicap limit is four and the competition is confined to the lowest 64 players who enter the event.

Éire Óg GAA
Ennis will be the venue for the Éire Óg GAA Club classic on Saturday, June 15 and entries are being accepted for this team-of-four event.

Sixmilebridge
Sixmilebridge Society held an outing on Saturday last to East Clare, where the winner was Fergie Cooney from Joe Joe Murphy, with Colm Murphy in third place.

The winners of the nines were Phil Browne and Mike O’Halloran, while the category prizes were won by Adam Merriman, Dessie McDermott and Danny Reddan.

Clare Teachers
The Clare Teachers’ Society will hold an outing to East Clare this Saturday. The format will be 18 holes singles and the tee time is 11am.

Éire Óg Society
The annual general meeting of the Éire Óg Society was held last week when Colum Flynn was elected as president with Des Neylon as captain. Other officers are Tom Corbett (secretary) Declan Coote (treasurer) and Pat Daly (PRO). The society’s next outing will be on July 6 to Galway Bay.

Pitch and putt
The winners of the two-ball scramble at the Clare Road on Sunday last were Noel Cuddihy and Michael Kerin.
The Clare Road Club’s scratch cups will be played for on Saturday, May 25 when the tee will be available from 9am to 1pm.