Junior Cup team searching for club's second green pennant

Twenty years after winning our first and only national title, Dundalk Golf Club will be bidding to land a second green pennant when we head to Athlone for the All-Ireland Junior Cup Finals on September 6 and 7.
Dundalk beat holders The Island to land the Leinster North Junior Cup title at the beginning of August in Greenore and will now face Ulster South champions Rossmore in the quarter-finals on Friday, September 6.
The Monaghan men caused a huge upset when they beat Royal County Down in the Ulster South final so the Dundalk lads will face a formidable test in their bid to earn a semi-final showdown with either Athenry or Masserene on Saturday morning.
Should they get through that they will face either Abbeyleix, Castle, Monkstown or Castletroy in the decider on Saturday afternoon.
After a bye in the first round, Dundalk opened their campaign with a 3.5 to 1.5 victory over Ardee and then beat Kilcock 3-2 in the next round.
That earned them a quarter-final tie against Beaverstown which they also won 3-2 before beating Corballis 4-1 in the semi-final.
The Leinster North final against The Island pitted the 2002 winners against the 2003 winners and in a nail-biting encounter Dundalk prevailed by the narrowest of margins, winning 3-2 with two of their wins coming on the 19th hole.
Player manager Brian Óg Renaghan feels that the manner of that victory will definitely stand to his team when they head to Athlone.
“It was a fantastic performance. There was nothing between the two teams and we showed great character to hang in when things weren’t going our way and eventually managed to get the three wins we needed,” said Renaghan.
Dundalk have an 11 strong panel from which eight will be selected for the finals series with five playing in each match. Assistant manager Des McKeown admits that the prospect of three matches in two days means the strength in depth of the squad will be severely tested.
“If we are going to win it, we will probably need all eight players at some stage. Obviously our focus is on Rossmore because we know what a difficult match that is going to be. Athlone is an undulating course which will be physically sapping so we will probably need to freshen things up on the Saturday if we make it that far,” said McKeown.
Dundalk’s only green pennant, which hangs proudly in the Clubhouse in Blackrock, was captured in September 2004 when they beat Kilkeel in Shannon to lift the Jimmy Bruen Shield with the experienced Fergal Harte the only link between then and now.
Captain Ultan Herr is hoping that the 20 year wait for a second national title will end this year. “We’ve come close over the past 20 years to winning a second green pennant so hopefully we can go the whole way this year. The Junior Cup team has done the Club proud all year and I know they will give it their very best in Athlone this weekend.” 
Schedule: Friday, September 6 - Quarter-final: Dundalk v Rossmore, 12:30pm. Saturday, September 7 – Semi-final: Dundalk or Rossmore v Athenry or Masserene, 8.45pm. Final: 2.15pm.  All matches in Athlone Golf Club.