Mannan Castle Golf Notes: Club plays host to an array of top class events

Division 1 was won by Conor Matters, who shot a score of 28pts. Conor’s round consisted of eight pars and just a couple of dropped shots. George Farrelly finished one shot back on 27pts.

Three golfers finished on 29pts in Division 2, with Cecil Wilson coming out on top after a count back. Cecil finished well with three pars in his final four holes, beating Frank Kelly and Andrew Sweetnam, who also had 29pts.

With four pars to finish his round, JP Clarke took home division 3 with a great score of 33pts. Michael Connolly finished one shot back on 32pts.

Men’s Singles Stableford 2nd April: Div 1 - Conor Mathers (PH.11) 28pts, Div 2 - Cecil Wilson (PH.16) 29pts, Div 3 - J.P Clarke (PH.19) 33pts.

MANNAN CASTLE SENIORS

Mannan Castle Senior Captain Tommy Duffy's Drive In took place on Tuesday last. It was played in good weather, with the course in great shape after the recent downpours.

The format was a three-man scramble, played over ten holes with a shotgun start. 13 teams participated in a very competitive event, with little separating them at the end.

The winning team of Eamon Trainor, Ciaran Hand and Peter Sloan had only a tenth of a shot to spare over the second placed team of Denis Murphy, Martin Feeney and David MacGuinness.

Prior to the presentation of prizes, Senior Captain Tommy welcomed Men's Captain Barry Conroy and Lady Captain Teresa Butler and all the seniors competing.

He thanked John McBride, the greens’ staff for their work on the course, Kevin McGivern for his support and Tommy and Amy of the Castle Restaurant for their excellent catering.

Tommy wished everyone the best for the coming golfing year and hoped that any club members who qualify for the seniors will join in on the enjoyable weekly competitions held every Tuesday.

MANNAN CASTLE LADIES

Mannan Castle had the captaincy of the Arnmore Alliance this year. The Monaghan and Cavan Arnmore Alliance Captain’s Day was held in Mannan Castle on Monday 3rd April.

Alliance Captain Gill Rouiller welcomed a total of 37 members from Cavan, Concra Wood, Nuremore, Rossmore, Virginia and Mannan Castle.

She also extended a warm welcome to Helen O’Reilly from Golf Ireland, who is a former member of the Alliance.

Many factors combined to make the day a success: good weather, good course conditions, lovely food and the willing hands of many of our club members which worked to prepare the scorecards, take entries, compute the results and photograph the presentations.

In the clubhouse we all enjoyed a delicious buffet, and the craic and the camaraderie we had was a fitting tribute to another great year.

At the presentation which followed, the winners were presented with an array of beautiful prizes, all purchased locally. It’s not unusual for the home club to produce the best scores on the day, and Mannan was no exception.

Arnmore Alliance Captains Day 3rd April: Winner: Kitty Sharkey (18) 38pts, Runner-up Rita O’Loughlin (19) 36pts, third place Maureen Crawley (28) 36 pts. Gross: Gill Rouiller (12) 17 gross pts.

Cat 1: Jo Barry (19). 34 pts, Cat. 2: Breda McHugh Virginia (23) 34 pts, Cat 3 Carol McMahon (38) 34pts. Front 9: Mairead Denning Virginia (25) 16 pts, Back 9: Margaret Sheridan Cavan (18) 16 pts. 2023 Golfer of the Year: Catherine Denning (16) Virginia Golf Club.

Top class shooting by two of the most experienced lady golfers in the club elevated them to the top of the table. A couple of pars bookended Rita O'Loughlin's round, and she added three more in between over the thirteen holes for a great winning total of 28 points.

By her high standards, Kitty Sharkey got off to a bit of a slow start, but she certainly finished in great style, carding four pars in the last six holes and finishing in second place with 27 points.

13 Hole Stableford Weekly Competition 5th April: 1st Rita O'Loughlin (19) 28 pts, 2nd Kitty Sharkey (18) 27 pts.

The Breffni Shield qualifier, (Greensomes) is being held on Wednesday 19th, so you can start thinking about playing partners. Also, a reminder that the 2-Lady Team Open is on Friday, April 21st. Booking is open on the BRS site or by calling the ProShop at (042) 966 3308.