On the inter-club scene there were mixed fortunes for various Dundalk teams over the last week.
The Barton Shield team beat Seapoint by six holes last Friday to earn a third round tie against County Louth while the Barton Cup team had a 3-2 win over Ardee in difficult conditions last Thursday.
On Saturday, the Mixed Fourball team lost 2.5 to 1.5 to Rathcor while on Sunday, in the Leinster North quarter-final, the Jimmy Bruen team were beaten on the second play-off hole after a 2-2 draw with Royal Dublin.  
The Women's Minor Foursomes lost a play-off against St Anne's on Sunday after a 2-2 draw.

Declan Curran (26) won Wednesday’s McKenna Man Open Singles Stableford with 43pts and pipped Sean Matthews (13) on countback.  
His round included a four-point par at the 15th and three-point pars at the sixth, 10th and 14th as he went out in 22pts and came home in 21pts.
Matthews who had a four point birdie at the seventh, shot 20pts down the back nine and will rue a triple bogey seven at the 15th which led to a blank at that hole.
Ben Cahill shot 39pts for the best gross score of the day with a superb round that saw him cover the first three holes on the back nine in five under par as he eagled the par five 10th and 12th and birdied the par four 11th. He also had birdies at the fourth and 18th as well as a double bogey at the seventh and bogies at the third and 17th.
The divisional winners were Andrew Coburn (6), Daniel Cronin and Anthony McGuinness. Saturday, 7 June and Sunday, 8 June - Singles Stableford Competition – Overall: Gary Lennon (14) 43pts, Liam O'Reilly (12) 42pts. Division 1: Ken Norton (5) 40pts, Gerard Carroll (7) 39pts. Division 2: Shane Thornton (13) 40/25pts, Gerry Mulligan (13) 40/21pts. Division 3: Brendan McDonnell (20) 41pts, Paul Martin (25) 40pts. Gross Recognition: Niall Henry 34pts.
Wednesday, 11 June - McKenna Man Open Singles Stableford – Overall: Declan Curran (26) 43/21pts, Sean Matthews (13) 43/20. Division 1: Andrew Coburn (6) 40pts. Division 2: Daniel Cronin (17) 40pts. Division 3: Anthony McGuinness (24) 39pts. Gross Recognition: Ben Cahill 39pts.

Gary Lennon won the Singles Stableford competition held on June 7 and 8 with a super score of 43pts which gave him victory over Liam O’Reilly by one point.
Playing off 14, Lennon went out in 22pts help by six pars, four of which were three-pointers. He came home in 21pts as he produced another six pars and another four three-pointers for his final score of 43pts.
O’Reilly, who was off 12, had two four point birdies at the fourth and 12th as went out in 20pts and came home in 22pts with a double bogey six for one point at the 18th costing him overall victory.
Divisional winners were Ken Norton (5), Shane Thornton (13) and Brendan McDonnell (20) while Niall Henry shot 34pts to record the best gross score.
Saturday, 7 June and Sunday, 8 June - Singles Stableford Competition – Overall: Gary Lennon (14) 43pts, Liam O'Reilly (12) 42pts. Division 1: Ken Norton (5) 40pts, Gerard Carroll (7) 39pts. Division 2: Shane Thornton (13) 40/25pts, Gerry Mulligan (13) 40/21pts. Division 3: Brendan McDonnell (20) 41pts, Paul Martin (25) 40pts. Gross Recognition: Niall Henry 34pts.

​On the inter-club scene there was a great win in the rain for the Women's Junior Cup team but three other defeats over the past week for other Dundalk teams.
On Saturday, the Women's Junior Cup team beat Ardee 3-2 with Katie Rowland, Ellen McEneaney and Pauline Campbell contributing the winning points.  
On Bank Holiday Monday the Leinster Men’s Fourball team lost 3-2 to Greenore with the final match being decided on the 19th hole.  
Greenore also won the third round tie in the Pierce Purcell Shield on Sunday on a 3.5 to 0.5 scoreline.
​The Mixed Foursomes team were beaten 2.5 to 1.5 by All-Ireland champions Malahide on Sunday.  
There is another busy week coming up with the Barton Cup team meeting Ardee on Thursday at 5pm while on Friday the Barton Shied team will meet Seapoint at 2.50pm. The Jimmy Bruen team finish the week on Sunday when they play Royal Dublin 4.20pm.

Austin Matthews (19) shot 42pts to win the McKenna Man Open Singles Stableford on Wednesday beating Paul O’Hare (33) by one point.
Ciaran Sheridan (8) won Division 1, Aaron Waite (13) took Division 2 and Baltray visitor Sean Matthews (20) claimed Division 3. Neal MacKell with 34pts had the best gross score.
Wednesday,  4 June  - McKenna Man Open Singles Stableford - Overall: Austin Matthews (19) 42pts. Paul O’Hare (33) 41pts. Division 1: Ciaran Sheridan (8) 36pts. Division 2: Aaron Waite (13) 37pts. Division 3: Sean Matthews (20, Co. Louth) 39pts. Gross Recogntion: Neal MacKell 34pts.
ENDS

On Bank Holiday Monday, Adrian Kenny (22) needed countback to see off Jack McCaughey (9) and Jim McEneaney (17) after all three finished on 39pts in the singles stableford competition sponsored by The Neptune, Blackrock.
Kenny went out in 19pts helped by a par at the par five sixth and came home in 20pts as he recorded pars at the 12th, 14th and 17th.  That back nine score saw him pip McCaughey by one point and McEneaney by three on countback. McCaughey took Division One, McEneaney claimed Division 2 and John McErlean (26) was the winner of Division 3. Aidan Lawless shot 35pts to card the day’s best gross score.
Monday, 2 June - Bank Holiday Open Singles Stableford sponsored by The Neptune, Blackrock - Overall: Adrian Kenny (22) 39/20pts. Division 1: Jack McCaughey (9) 39/19pts. Division 2: Jim McEneaney (17) 39/17pts. Division 3: John McErlean (26) 38pts. Gross Recognition: Aidan Lawless 35pts.

John Prendergast showed a clean pair of heels to the field as he won the Paddy Markey Cup by three shots after shooting a nett 64.
His nearest challenger was 89-year-old Harry O’Hanrahan (32) who shot a nett 67 and won the Veteran’s Prize with the experienced Peter Rogers shooting 74 to take the gross prize.
Prendergast, who was playing off 20, had a birdie on the par five seventh and pars at the second, third, fifth and ninth holes as he went out in 44 for a nett 34. More pars followed at the 10th and 14th before he finished with a birdie at the 17th and a par at the last. That saw him come home in 40 gross for a nett 30 and a final score of 64 nett.
O’Hanrahan was the only player to come any where close to matching Prendergast’s score with his 67 nett which earned him the Veteran’s prize. His round included pars at the fifth, 12th and 18, as he went out in 36 nett and home in 31 nett.
Rogers shot 37 on both nines on his way to winning the gross score. Pars at the fifth and 16th were cancelled out by bogeys at the first and fourth and a double bogey at 11 left him two over par for the round.
Divisional winners were Sean Gallagher (10), Eamon Kelly (17) and Michael McKevitt (19).
Saturday, 31 May and Sunday, 1 June  - Paddy Markey & Veterans Cups Singles Stroke (GOY 4) – Overall: John Prendergast (20) 54. Veteran’s Prize: Harry O'Hanrahan (32) 67. Gross: Peter Rogers 74. Division 1: Sean Gallagher (10) 69, Dennis Cunningham (11) 70. Division 2: Eamon Kelly (17) 69, Martin Byrne (16) 70pts. Division 3: Michael McKevitt (19) 68/30pts, Patrick Cole (26) 68.

​On the inter-club scene there were mixed fortunes for the various Dundalk teams in action over the past week.
The Senior Cup team lost 4-1 to a strong Co Louth side that has the potential to go all the way in Irish golf’s most prestigious inter-club competition. Baltray won both matches at home with Evan Farrell beating Conor Curran and Gavin Tiernan defeating Joseph Laverty with Stuart Grehan’s win over Eoin Murphy confirming the win as the matches involving NealMacKell and Louis Goodman and Ben Cahill and Gerard Dunne were called in.
For the second successive year the Leinster Fourball team were beaten in a play-off in the first round of the competition. Last year it was Ardee who ended their interest in the competition and this year it was another neighbour, Greenore, who came out on top. The match was decided on the second tie hole in Greenore after the teams had drawn 2-2.
The Newsam Cup team lost 4-1 to Rathcor on Sunday, losing both matches at home and one way with the other two called in once the result was known.
But the Jimmy Bruen team are into the Leinster North quarter-final after a titantic battle with Corballis in the wind on Sunday afternoon. Dundalk won both matches away but lost both homes ones by one hole. With the scores tied at 2-2 the match went to a play-off with Cameron Kilcoyne and John McKeever parring the first tie hole in Corballis to send Dundalk into the last eight against either Royal Dublin or Co Louth. 

Ruairí McComish (21) won the McKenna Man Wednesday Open with an excellent score of 43pts that included four-point pars at the index one fourth and index two eleventh.
​He went out in 20pts and came home in 23pts helped by seven three-pointers at the second, fifth, ninth, 12th, 13th, 15th and 17th.
Anthony McCrave (21) took the runners-up spot with 42pts while divisional honours went to Shaun Ward (9), Anthony Tuite (16) and Gerard Cluskey (25). Darren Myles with 35pts had the best gross score.
Wednesday, 28 May - McKenna Man Open Singles Stableford – Overall: Ruairí McComish (21) 43pts, Anthony McCrave (21) 42pts. Division 1: Shaun Ward (9) 39pts. Division 2: Anthony Tuite (16) 40pts. Division 3: Gerard Cluskey (25) 40pts. Gross Recognition: Darren Myles 35pts.
ENDS

This year Dundalk Ladies celebrated their 100th Lady Captains. To mark this momentous occasion, they had a social evening in the clubhouse on Friday, 24 May.

The evening began with a bubbly reception followed by a buffet. The prizes for this week’s competition were very generously sponsored by the O’Callaghan Family -Precision Cables Dundalk.

Honorary secretary  Noeleen Gernon  spoke about the 100 incredible women who stepped forward to serve as Lady Captain, each one leaving her own unique imprint on the fabric of the club. At the core of each and every one of these Lady  Captains was their passion for golf, also an  amazing foresight and ambition to improve life both golfing and social for all members of the club.

She spoke of the extraordinary progress over the decades and because of theses ladies hard work we now have full membership, tee times on a Saturday , a strong voice at the executive table all of which reflects not just equality in golf, but respect for the vital contribution of women in every aspect of our club.

But with all this change Dundalk Ladies have  held tightly to what makes Dundalk Golf Club so special. Traditions  like the Lady Captains Charity remain a cornerstone of the golfing year. Since 1992 every Lady Captain has championed causes close to their heart and raised thousands of euro for their local charities.

Noeleen also acknowledged the immense support each Lady Captain receives from her fellow committee members, the broader membership , her family, and friends. It is a spirit of unity that has kept the role strong and the club thriving.
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A toast was raised to the 100 Lady Captains that brought us here and to our current Lady Captain Sally McDonnell.