Special Olympics athletes enjoy great success

Special Olympics athletes from Ennis Golf Club recently participated in two Munster golf final events. The first competition was held in Ennis and involved seven clubs from North Munster. The event concentrated on the various golf skills of putting, chipping, pitching and the use of long irons and drivers.
Katie Flynn from Ennis led the way, when she produced a great performance in winning the gold medal in the Division 1 individual skills competition, which was the premier event in the finals. Katie was joined on the podium by clubmate Jill Hayes from Corofin, who took the bronze in the same event.  Edel Mulqueen from Killimer, Liam Moloney from Bodyke and Kevin O’Donovan from Clarecastle all put in sterling performances, just missing out on medals.
The atmosphere in the Ennis club was very exciting. Among the award presenters were two of Ireland’s best Special Olympics athletes. Willie Loughnane, proud holder of eight World Special Olympics gold medals in gymnastics and Robbie McNamara, current gold medallist sprinter from the Euro/Asian games in Warsaw.  The sense of occasion at the club was greatly added to when the orchestra from Ennis National School entertained a packed clubhouse.
Fota Island’s Golf Academy hosted the second competition. The occasion was blessed with sunny weather and this was matched by the performance of Kilkee’s Shane McGuire in the nine-hole stroke play Division 2 competition. Shane’s long driving proved to be the foundation that allowed him to go on and win the gold medal by two shots from a very strong field. Other Ennis athletes in the stroke play competitions who did well were Ronan Keane from Sixmilebridge, Michael Lynch from Newmarket, John Ryan, Tom McDonagh and Tommy Kenny, all from Ennis. 
Ennis’s other gold medal performance on the day came from newcomer John Fitzgerald from Newmarket-on-Fergus, who, together with partner Tony Kehoe, took the gold medal in the alternate shot team event Division 1. In Division 2 of this event, Sean O’Neill from Ennis, partnered by his brother PJ, produced a great performance in winning the silver medal. Other local athletes who put in creditable performances in this event were Adrian O’Neill from Ennis, with partner Derek Kinsella, Owen McDonagh from Kilnamona with partner Larry Parks and Mairéad Moroney from Ennis with partner Kitty Morris. In addition to those club members who partnered the athletes in the alternate stroke events, there were also an additional 10 club members who travelled as volunteers with the group.
In Fota Island, the arrival of Ronan O’Gara surprised and delighted everyone. Ronan was very generous with his time and made himself available for photographs with the athletes, many of whom had the pleasure of a chat with one of the most famous and successful rugby players in the world.
The club’s successful medal haul in both competitions is a fitting reward for a year’s hard work on the golf course.