THE Munster finals of Special Olympics golf were held at Charleville Golf Club last week.
Ennis Special Olympics Golf Club had 12 athletes competing, with four athletes competing in special skills and eight athletes, together with eight volunteers, competing in the foursome nine-hole golf.
Ennis Golf Club has supported Special Olympics golf since 2005, initially in association with the Brothers of Charity and in 2009, Ennis Special Olympics Golf Club was formed to accommodate athletes in general.
At present, the athletes practise every Wednesday and compete in Munster and national events. A number of Ennis Golf Club members participate as volunteers.
Special skills comprises the golf skills of driving, pitching, chipping and putting and Jill Hayes and Katie Flynn took gold medals, with Mairéad Moroney and Edel Mulqueen taking fifth and sixth positions.
Volunteers Barbara Foley and Kitty Morris accompanied the athletes.
In the nine-hole foursomes golf, section one, Ronan Keane and Donal Kelly won bronze, with John Ryan and Larry Parks in fourth and Shane McGuire and Pat Rutherford in fifth place.
In section two, Seán O’Neill and PJ O’Neill won silver, having being beaten in a play-off for gold, Adrian O’Neill and Derek Kinsella won bronze, Michael Lynch and Maurice Walshe were fourth, Tommy Kenny and Pierce Cahill were fifth and Tom McDonagh and John O’Hanlon were sixth.

National games begin

THE 2010 Special Olympics Ireland Games take place next week in Limerick, kicking off with the opening ceremony in Thomond Park Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Topping the bill will be The Cranberries, supported by The Supermodel Twins, Daghdha/Garvey initiative and High Voltage, all of whom are from Limerick.
Over the four days of competition, 1,900 athletes will compete in 13 sports in venues throughout Limerick and Clare. They will be accompanied by a team of 650 coaches and official delegates, 4,000 family members and supported by a team of over 3,500 volunteers. Ennis is set to host the 10-pin bowling competition and all are encouraged to come along and support the athletes.