Sinéad on Irish girls’ team

LAHINCH Golf Club member Sinéad Sexton has been named on the Irish girls’ team for the home internationals, which will take place in Gullane, Scotland from August 3 to 5.
It is an eight-person team, which includes Chloe Ryan from Castletroy. The Irish girls’ international team will play against England, Scotland and Wales.
Sinéad’s selection is recognition of her progress over the past few years, which includes several provincial titles, scratch cups and an outstanding matchplay record at girls’ and ladies’ levels.

Woodstock march on
IT was a good weekend for teams representing Woodstock. In the Junior Cup, the John O’Connor and Mike Kelly-managed side beat Castletroy in the area final at Ennis on a 3-2 scoreline. The team members were Joe Collins, Nicky Ryan, Conor Brennan, Aidan Mulcahy and Brian Ahern. Their next opponents will be East Cork and this match will take place in Clonmel next month.
Meanwhile, the club’s Pierce Purcell team won the Munster final of the Pierce Purcell Shield at the weekend at Limerick Golf Club. In the semi-final, they defeated Kanturk 3/2 before scoring a 3.5 to 1.5 win over Ballykisteen in the final.
The semi-final pairings were Jimmy Kelly and Declan Coote; Martin Dormer and Tom Hehir; Liam McInerney and Mike Kelly; Micheal Talty and Shane Fitzgerald and Frank Doherty and James McMahon.
In the final, the pairings were Jason Considine and Brian Mulcahy; Martin Dormer and Tom Hehir; Declan Coote and Michael O’Brien; Liam McInerney and Mike Kelly and Micheal Talty and Shane Fitzgerald. The team is managed by Robbie Dormer and Eoin O’Loughlin. The All-Ireland finals will take place in Derry in September.
In the weekly seniors, played over 16 holes at Woodstock, Brendan Arthur was the winner with 37 points from Tom Dormer.
In the Simon O’Donnell seniors’ matchplay, the quarter-finals are down for decision this week and must be played by Saturday.
In the open singles last week, Pat Barry (18) was the winner from Thomas Dormer (11) and Cormac Walsh (7), all three returning 41 points.
Joseph Barry (16) won the July medal with 63 nett from John Daly (14) on 70 and Joseph Green (10) with 71. Cormac Walsh (6) won the gross with 79.
There will be an open fourball on Friday, an open ladies team-of-three rumble on Saturday and an open singles on Sunday.

Kilkee
THE captain’s (Pat Cronin) prize was played for at Kilkee and the winner was Pat Murphy (18) with 65. He finished five strokes ahead of Michael Greene (17) with Tom Cronin (15) in third place, who also had 70 nett. They were followed by Barry Harte (12) with 70 in fourth place and Kevin O’Connor (16) in fifth spot with a similar score. The winners of the nines were Declan Griffin (13) with 30.5 and Michael Hoare (18) with 35. The gross was won by Eddie Price (5) with 76.
In the Houlihan Cup, Danny Halpin (16) was the winner with 47 points from Kevin Cronin (20) with 45 points, with third spot filled by Michael Reilly (19) with 41 points. The nines were won by Tom Carr (19) with 22 points and Noel Kelly (12) with 23 points. The gross was won by Ger Hackett (8) with 32 points.
In the Conyngham Cup, Eric Hackett (14) was the winner with 58 from Pat Carey (15) with 65 and Andrew O’Flynn (20) with 66. The gross was won by Eddie Price (5) with 74, while the nines were won by Neil Ryan (10) with 30 and Danny Halpin (13) with 32.
In the captain’s mixed competition, the winners were Pat Haugh (8), John Keane (18) and Ann Fox (29) with 40.5 from Paul Clancy (16), Paddy McInerney (16) and Carmel O’Donoghue (36) with 45.2.
In the ladies’ open day at Kilkee last week, Gina O’Connor (15) was the winner with 44 points from Ann Boyle (16) with 41 points and Nuala Gaffney (24) with 39 points. Etna Leonard (10) won the gross with 28 points.
In the Duggerna Cup, Phil O’Brien (23) was the winner with 41 points from Ann Fox (29) with 39 points and Elma O’Donoghue (36) with 38 points. Angela O’Connell (17) won the gross with 20 points.

Spanish Point
LAST weekend, the president’s (Paddy Cleary) prize was played for at Spanish Point and conditions were very difficult due to heavy rain and high winds. In first place was Martin Glenny (14) with 32 points, followed by Michael Hillery (14) with 31 points, Ross Burke (13) with 31 points, Eamonn McMahon (19) with 30 points and Dermot Kelly (14) with 30 points. The gross was won by Eoghan O’Loughlin (5) and the other prize winners were Brendan Reddan (past president), Michael O’Gorman (front nine), Mick Reilly (back nine) and Gerry Gallagher (nearest the pin).
In the seniors’ open, the winner was Willie McNamara (16) with 40 points. The weekly open was won by Hugh Kirby (20) with 45 points from Cathal Whelan (6) on 40 points.
In the Friday nine-hole team event the winners were Niall McMahon (18), Cyril Ryan (20) and Pat O’Malley (16) with three under gross.
On Saturday, the lady captain’s (Breda Murphy) prize will be played for and a time sheet is in the clubhouse. There will be a men’s fourball on Sunday.

Ennis
IN the Ennis CBS 18-hole singles competition for ladies at Ennis, the winner was Imelda Colleran on 40 points from Phil Butler on 39 points. The gross was won by Pamela Murphy on 33 points.
In the ladies’ seniors, the winners were Phil Butler, Bernie Brookes and Francis O’Reilly.
Ennis Seniors held a team-of-three competition last Thursday and the winners were Jimmy McNamara, Tom Fox and Jim Scully with 49 points from Brian Higgins, James Ball and Pat McKiernan with 48. In third spot were Pat O’Reilly, Denis O’Ceallaigh and Johnny Cullinan with 47, followed by John Guinan, Pat Rutherford and Paul Mockler with a similar score. In fifth place were Michael Torpey, Sean O’Gorman and Willie Moloney with 46, followed by Ferdie O’Donohue, Jim Hennessy and Jim Felle with a similar score.
The men’s gold medal was played for at the weekend and the winner in the gross section was Paul McInerney with 78 from John Fitzpatrick on 79. The nett was won by Tommy Stack with 68, from Michael Cummins with 69.
The winner of the Friday open singles was Aidan Lynch with 43 points from Keelan O’Flaherty on 42, Colm McNevin on 41 and John Hanrahan on 40. John Fitzpatrick won the gross with 35 points.

Portumna
IN the men’s open fourball at Portumna, the winners were James O’Meara (14) and Mike Coughlan (14) with 44 points from Tom Moloney (10) and Vincent Treacy (10) with 42 points, with third spot filled by Pete Gibbs (9) and Christy O’Rourke (8) with 41 points. The gross was won by Sean Cleary (2) and Shane McHugo (4) with 38 points.
In the ladies’ singles, the winner was Mary Jo Kelly with 38 points from Ann S Carty on 37 points.
The prizewinners in the ladies’ open Stableford competition were Rose Mannion, Helen Holohan, Ryan Nenagh, Katleen Lynch and Jean Brogan.
In the Monday open, the winner was Alan Madden (22) with 40 points from Adrian Hogan (7) on 39 points and Patrick Maher (19) with 38 points. The gross was won by Shane McHugo (6) with 32 points.
Portumna will host this year’s Connacht mixed foursomes finals this Friday and Saturday. The teams are Claremorris, Strandhill, Gort and Curra West.
Christy O’Rourke’s captain’s prize will be played for on Saturday, July 30 and Sunday, July 31.

Shannon
SHANNON’S open week singles on Sunday saw local members to the fore. The winner with 43 points was Jody O’Donoghue, with nines of 22 and 21, to win by a point from Malcolm Simpson. Next came a trio on 41 points, Kevin Moylan, Michael Allen and David McNamara. Shaun Gunn was sixth with 40 points, while the gross was captured by Bryan Power with 35 points.
The open singles on Monday saw English visitor, Bob Parr lead the rest of the field a merry dance when returning 45 points to win by three. Playing off 24 handicap, Bob returned nines of 24 and 21 and was the epitome of consistency, recording no less than two points at any hole until the 17th. Bob had three points to spare from Gerard Flanagan on 42 points. Next came a trio on 41 points, Ciarán Gleeson, Vincent Scully and David O’Loughlin. Sean Murphy was sixth with 40 points, while Ed Hickey captured the gross with 38 points.
The ladies’ open singles on Tuesday saw visitor Charlene Conwell from Rathbane capture the honours in Cat 1 (H/Caps 1-18) with 41 points. In second place was Margaret Keyes with 37 points, while Mary Sheehan was third with 35 points. In Cat 2 (H/Caps 19-28), a trio from Shannon all returned 41 points, namely Hilary Clein, Mary Carroll, Nollie McCarthy, occupying first, second and third places respectively. In Cat 3 (H/Caps 29-36), visitor Ann O’Nuallain captured the honours with 35 points. In second place was Yoka Walsh with 33 points and Margaret Flannery was third with 32 points.
On Wednesday, an open team-of-four competition saw Cratloe residents Vincent Loughnane, Batt Crowley, Paul Lehane and Jody O’Connor capture the honours with 98 points. In second place on 97 points were Mike O’Connor, Mike McInerney, Eamon Fanneran and Des McDonnell, followed by Tony Aherne, Jim Fitzgerald, Billy Grimes and John Ryan on 95 points. In fourth position were John Jones, Joe Hehir, Danny Sweeney and Lou McPhilips with 92 points.
Thursday saw an open singles, which five handicapper Bryan Power capturing the spoils when he returned a one-under-par round for 42 points. Bryan blitzed the opening nine in three under, with birdies at the three par fives and no concession to par turning with 24 points. His back nine of 18 points was tame in comparison but a further birdie at the 18th was to prove vital in the end.
In second place on 41 points after a level-par round was Jim O’Grady, who edged out Liam Heffernan also on 41 points courtesy of a better back nine. Capping a great night for the Power family, Bryan’s brother Peter was fourth with 40 points, while Derek Sweeney was fifth also with 40 points. Occupying sixth place was Christy O’Brien with 39 points, while Ed Hickey captured his second gross of the week with 37 points.
Friday saw the traditional Mixed Scotch Foursomes with Linda Doherty and Peter O’Brien edging out visitors Jean and John Hickey from Nenagh, courtesy of a better back nine, both returning 47 points. The back nine was also required to separate Pauline and Michael Kilmartin from visitor Berry McDermott, who was partnered by Aidan Moloney, both pairs returning 46 points. The gross was captured by Michelle Pyke and Jack Keary with 34 points.
On Saturday, there was a three-person scramble, which saw a trio of Liam Hogan, John Gubbins and Maurice Murphy victorious with 58 nett. In second place on 58.4 nett were Jason O’Donnell, Ross Walsh and James Bullman, followed by Michael and Cathal Kilmartin with Pat Laffan on 58.8 nett. In fourth place were Darren Keane, Mark Egan and Dermot Murphy on 59.9 nett, followed by John McPhilips, Paul Cusack and John Kelly on 60.5 nett.
Open week concluded with a men’s singles on Sunday, which saw Darren Keane capture the spoils with 41 points. Darren had one point to spare from Neil O’Brien. Next came a trio on 39 points, namely John Monahan, visitor Bob Parr from Hartlepool and Jim Kierans. Don O’Shea was sixth with 38 points, while Ed Hickey won the gross with 32 points.
The Jim O’Donnell Memorial will be played for this weekend.

East Clare
IN the men’s club championship at East Clare at the weekend, Pádraig Hession (2) was the winner in category 1 with 73 gross. Val Donnellan (8) won category 2 with 80 gross, Brian Lenihan (12) won category 3 with 82, while Damian Carroll (18) won category 4 with 89 gross.
In the men’s seniors outing last week, the winners were William McLysaght, John Anglim and Martin Mason from Chris Davis, Paddy Brown and Jack Manley, with third spot filled by Willie Roche, Vinny Henchy and Kevin Grimes.
The East Clare’s ladies’ junior foursomes team had two excellent wins last Saturday. They defeated Ballykisteen in the morning and Dromoland in the afternoon. They now go forward to the Munster quarter-finals. The winning team was Eileen Donnellan, Mairéad Toomey, Bríd Hayes, Margaret MacNamara, Siobhán Shanahan, Terry Mulvihill and Mary Mannion.
Last week’s ladies’ seniors’ outing was won by Nancy Starr, Mary Bugler and Mary Joe Minogue from Noreen Ryan, Celia Moloney and Marie Moloney.
In the Friday scramble, the winners were Tony McNulty, Hannalore Herrmann and Nancy Starr from Brendan Moloney, Geraldine McNamara and Mary Bugler.
In the ladies’ singles, Breda O’Loughlin was the winner with 37 points from Sue Casey on a similar score. Noreen Ryan was third and she also scored 37 points, followed by Siobhán Shanahan on 36 points. The nines were won by Mary Collins and Ann McInerney.
The lady captain’s (Siobhán Shanahan) prize will be played for this weekend, while the men will have an 18-hole singles competition.

Gort
THE captain’s (Kevin Mulkerrins) prize final took place on Saturday and the winner was Tom Fahy with 132. He had four strokes to spare from Alan Minogue with Brendan Gantley in third spot a further stroke back on 137, followed by Stephen Moylan on 138, Stephen Dervan and David Gillane on 140 and JJ Grehan on 143. David Quirke won the gross with 150, while Val Hoarty won the nett with 146. Niall Finnegan won the past captain’s prize, with Michael Cunningham winning the seniors’ category. The nines were won by Aidan Fahy and Rory O’Connor. The other prize winners were Ray Quinn (nearest the pin) and Shane Divinney (long drive). In the visitors’ category, Shane Moylett was the winner from David Mulkerrins.
In the men’s singles competition at Gort at the weekend the winner was Darragh Coen with 41 points from Jimmy Hannigan on 39, John Rodgers on 35 and Shane Keane on 34, while the gross was won by Colman Cooney on 30.
In the open singles on Monday, the winner was Ronan O’Dea with 45 points from Philip McNamara with 44 points, Gerard Campbell with 42 points and James Moran with 41. Enda Cradock won the gross with 34 points.
There will be a men’s fourball competition this weekend.
In the ladies’ singles’ competition last week, Maura Hanrahan was the winner with 37 points from Mary Walsh on 36 points.
The ladies will have a singles competition this weekend.

Lahinch
LAST week’s ladies’ July medal competition was won by Connie Fahy (2) with 64 nett from Emmanuel McMahon Senior (3) with 66 nett and Anna Glynn (16) with 67 nett. Gráinne D’Alton won the gross with 74.
John O’Flaherty (19) won the men’s open singles last Wednesday with 41 points from Martin Clohessy (17) with 37 points. Etna Murphy (36) won the open singles on Wednesday with 37 points.
On Thursday, the men’s open singles was won by Chris Cleary (5) with 41 points from Duncan Keane (17) with 39 points and Robert McCarthy (6) with 39 points. Declan McInerney won the gross with 36.
In the men’s fourball Stableford competition, Michael Gilmartin (8) and Eamon Foley (2) were the winners with 45 points from John (8) and Don Dillon (17) with 43 points. In third spot were Shane Fenton (11) and Robert Browne (10) on 42 points.
The lady president’s (Mary McDonnell) prize was played for on Sunday and the winner was Elaine Hickey (11) with 38 points from Marie O’Connor (16) on 37 points; Jane Frost (21), Mary Daly (14), Della Malone (17) and Valerie Shannon (7) with 34 points; Ann O’Sullivan (23) with 33 points and Emily Chambers (10) with 32 points.
In the silver division, Mary O’Meara (12) was the winner with 34 points from Anna Glynn (16) with 33, Connie Fahy (19) with 33, Gráinne Dalton (5) with 32 and Aileen Hickey 915) with 32 points.
Ruth O’Gorman (21) won the bronze division with 33 points from Carmel O’Burke (24) with 33, Brenda Fitzgerald (21) with 30 points, Mona Davis (21) with 30 points and Edwina O’Brein (26) with 30 points.
Meanwhile, on the Castle Course, Dairin Coen (22) was the winner with 28 points from Máire Kelly (36) with 27 points.
The Golf Links Hotel Cup (handicaps scratch to 12) was won by Kevin Glynn (9) with 30 points from Niall Goulding (1) on 29 points and Cathal Hegarty (12) with 26 points.
The Coolbawn Cup (handicaps (13-28) was won by Don Dillon (17) with 25 points.

Dromoland
THE strokeplay members’ competition at Dromoland at the weekend was won by Brian Hickey with 74 nett from Alan Ryan with a similar score, with Niall Geraghty in third spot with 75. The junior winner was Eoghan McNeill.
This weekend, the president’s (Tom Delaney) prize will be played for and this is a player-of-the-year competition.
In the Dromoland Intermediate Scratch Cup, the winner was Colin Byrne with 83 from Declan Colleran on 75, Declan Conway on 77 and John Casey with 79.

Cranny-Coolmeen
KILRUSH was the venue for an outing for the Cranny-Coolmeen society last week when the winner was Pake Murtagh with 44 points from John McNeilis on 40, Tommy Coffey, Ray Shannon and Ollie McNamara on 38. The nines were won by Cyril Kelly with 19 and Mary McNamara with 21, while the guests’ section was won by Michael Connolly.

Sixmilebridge
SIXMILEBRIDGE society members held an outing on Saturday to Ballykisteen, where the winner was Paudge Flannery from Jason Toomey, Dermot McNamara and Brian Casey. The nines were won by Vinny Purcell and Eamon Healy, while the category winners were Chris Wason, Brian Casey and Daniel Reddan.

Cooraclare-Cree
THE annual Cooraclare/Cree Captain’s Day golf outing will be held at Kilrush Golf Club on Monday, August 1. A time sheet is now in operation and those wishing to book a time can do so by contacting society captain, Michael Studdert on 087 2299476. There will be lots of prizes on the day to include visitors and juvenile.

Bridgetown
BRIDGETOWN society members played for their president’s (Mike Leonard) prize at Adare Manor on Saturday. The overall winner was Joe McArthur with 34 points from Liam Hession on 32 and Tom Buckley on 31. The category A winner was Eoin O’Brien with 29 points from Tony Fitzgerald on a similar score. In category B, the winner was Paudie Murray from Mike Leonard, while category C was won by Tom Hannon from Sean Duggan. The nines were won by Ton O’Shaughnessy and Pat Fitzgerald, while O’Shaughnessy also won the prize for nearest the pin.
The society’s next outing will be to Tipperary town on Saturday, July 30 when the tee will be available from 10am.

Pitch and putt
TONY Clancy was the winner of the strokeplay competition at the Clare Road on Sunday. In second place was Gabriel Kerin, while Niall Seery won the gross.