Council Golf Day In Ireland

Mark Finlay and his team from Northern Ireland got their heads together to figure the tricky greens.

Weather-wise, Ireland's Summer of 2007 was cold and wet. However, come time for the Council's Golf Day at Dublin's Portmarnock Links Hotel & Golf Resort, the weather was beautiful. The event was staged on Friday, August 31 and was led by Ireland Chapter President Brian Goggin. The tournament was sponsored by CIE Tours International.

In Ireland, a powered sit-in golf cart is called a "buggie". Well, this was an all-buggie affair for the full-field gathering of Council supporters. The former home of the Jameson whiskey family is the site of this Bernhard Langer-designed seaside linksland course.

The day was made special early on when members of the United States Walker Cup amateur golf team, who had arrived that morning on the Continental Airlines flight from Newark, visited with us at the course before tee-off.
(PS: The United States team retained the Cup in an exciting Match played against a talented Great Britain and Ireland team at Royal County Down. Broadcast on ABC television, the event was staged in a spirit of friendly competition, in keeping with the traditions of this excellent tournament.)

The course played tough with a steady wind coming off the Irish Sea that made hitting the fairways challenging. But, the weather was otherwise excellent and great camaraderie was evident throughout the day. Afterwards, the cocktails and dinner shone the spotlight on some worthy winners. But, a wonderful day was had by all.

A full field assembled for the group photograph just before the start.

And, they’re off - the exodus of buggies out to the course.	Jay Connolly donated a fabulous prize from Waterville House and Golf Links where he is the major domo. The winning team was from Bank of Ireland: John O'Donovan, Brian Goggin, Ronan Murphy and John Clifford.

Gerry Morrissey, formerly of Enterprise Ireland and New York (second from left), was a runner-up with his team of Karen Rothwell, Andrew Morrissey and Richard Lenehan.	The evening prize-giving featured lots of great awards.

One of the tournament sponsors Yvonne Muldoon, Country Manager for Continental Airlines in Ireland was on the course with David O’Sullivan, Barry Lynch and John Kelly of the Irish Chamber Orchestra	Yvonne Muldoon and Brian Goggin present top prize to the winning team from The Old Head of Kinsale Golf Club.

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