Cork Golf
Gallery: South of Ireland Championship 2018 Day 3, Lahainch Golf Club
Pictures from Saturday morning at Lahinch: Continue reading
Rain stops play in Lahinch, seven Cork golfers through to matchplay
The second round in Lahinch came to an abrupt halt today as heavy rain flooded the course causing the second strokeplay round to be abandoned. With the first round scores counting, the top 64 cut fell at +2 with not all on that score qualifying. Kinsale’s Eric Rumley was one of those to miss out, the countback from yesterday costing him a place in the matchplay.
The seven Cork qualifiers are James Sugrue (Mallow), Cathal Butler (Kinsale), Gary O’Flaherty (Cork), John Hickey (Cork), Peter O’Keeffe (Douglas), Sean Desmond (Monkstown), Gary Ward (Kinsale). With drier weather forecast for tomorrow the organisers will be hoping to complete the two planned rounds. The first round Continue reading
Amateurs win PSC3, Kinsale Pro Shop Challenge
The Amateurs reclaimed the bragging rights in the Pro Shop Challenge last week, as Cathal Butler and John Murphy beat Ger Broderick and Ian Stafford in Kinsale. It was the third staging of the unique event and while the amateurs won on the course the real winner was the charity partners. Over €4,000 was raised for Marymount and the RNLI. Organiser Ian Stafford was delighted with the results of their fundraising event. “We’re absolutely delighted with the amount of money that we have raised to date which is in the region of €4,500” said Stafford. “To surpass our target of €3,600 by nearly €1,000 is phenomenal and much of this is down to the hard work of our captain Brian Doran who has been a huge help in securing sponsorship to the event. This year we had local businesses sponsoring each hole as well of a number of sponsored challenges throughout the round. To think when we first discussed this event three years ago that we would have raised nearly €11,000 from the first 3 events is hard to believe and we are absolutely delighted with the support we have got.”
Kinsale Pro Shop Challenge Gallery :: Aidan Stafford Photography
Cathal Butler was delighted to win back the title they lost last year, although they may have had some assistance from Continue reading
McNamara in touch in PGA Professional Championship
Cian McNamara is just two shots off the lead in the PGA Professional Championship at Little Aston. The Monkstown man produced rounds of 67 and 69 to reach the halfway stage on -8 and tied for 4th place. McNamara is on a run of good form and had 13 birdies over the two rounds to put himself in a position to claim the £10,000 top prize. McNamara has finished in the top ten last year and will be hoping for another decent payday this year. David Higgins is just outside the top ten on -6 and Headforts Joe Dillon is just one off the lead on -9.
The original field of over 120 golfers has now been reduced to 50 (top 40 plus ties) for the final two rounds. The third round plash is currently underway and with a majority of the golfers on the course under par it should be an interesting moving day.
Kinsale end 100 year wait, Jimmy Bruen Shield winners
Kinsale claimed Munster honours in style yesterday when they won two tough matches to win the AIG Jimmy Bruen Shield. It was their first win at this level, and in what was a surprise to many, it was their first pennant in a Cups and Shields event. The Kinsale team appeared comfortable on the Philip Walton designed course in Dundrum Golf and Country Club. The twelve players that were used on Sunday, along with the extended panel and team manager John O’Neill have put their names into the Kinsale club history books, winning their first pennant in a national competition in their Continue reading
Gallery: Kinsale win AIG Jimmy Bruen Shield
Pictures from the presentation and celebrations: Continue reading
Gallery: AIG Jimmy Bruen Shield Munster Final, Kinsale v Nenagh
Pictures from the final in Co Tipperary: Continue reading
AIG Jimmy Bruen Shield :: Munster Finals 2018
Register of Interests
It may not be of interest to many, but it’s in my interest to publish what I do, why I do it, and who pays. I started covering local golf for the Evening Echo in 2004. Soon after that I developed a presence on social media, and in early 2014 I developed the corkgolfnews.com website*.
I am delighted to say that I am still a contributor to The Echo, and really thankful for their support over 18 years. Over the last two decades I have had the great pleasure of meeting many fine people involved in the sport from leading journalists to course managers, from top amateurs to leading Irish professionals, from passionate 15 year olds, to even more passionate 65 year olds. I’ve met a huge number of passionate club members and advocates, and overall I have to say that the vast majority have been sound. And that’s my rule, I like dealing with sound people.
I don’t make a fortune from this, as many of you know I do have a full time job. It’s probably fair to say that it’s a hobby with benefits. Transparency is important, and that’s why this page is here, if you have any specific questions please email me, niall@corkgolfnews.com
My Interests
I am a paid contributor for The Echo and provide a weekly page of local golf news. I occasionally submit photographs and copy for the Irish Examiner.
I provide other national outlets and journalists with photographs to promote Cork and Munster golf when I take pictures at events. I am not generally remunerated for these pictures.
In certain situations I take photographs at club events by request and charge a modest fee for these services. I have worked in the past in a PR support capacity for clubs, the GUI and specific events. The pictures on the website are offered for sale, but I have not charged for emailed or printed photographs for a number of years (lets just say it wasn’t a key source of revenue).
Since 2021 I have volunteered at events for Golf Ireland, and claim allowed expenses in line with the published policies. This sometimes coincides with the general coverage I provide but not always.
On occasion I receive offers of free or reduced price golf and although I don’t play a huge amount of golf, I have availed of these. I have benefitted from discounts on golf clothing, clubs and mobile phone repairs (don’t ask…), and on occasion I have reciprocated with ads on the website. I don’t solicit complimentary golf or merchandise, and I have never asked for a quid-pro-quo arrangement. I will admit that I have been known to help myself to a coffee or two in numerous on-course pro-shops (thanks lads…) .
I pay WordPress for this website, I also pay Google and Flickr for hosting. I have a large collection of rapidly ageing second-hand cameras and lenses, and a larger collection of banged up and obsolete laptops. These were all purchased by me. I do not have advertisers or sponsors but this is an area I may need to develop as costs rise.
And that’s about it. This is not meant to be definitive or exhaustive, for anyone that’s interested I hope it gives you an idea of how and why I do this. I may or may not be doing this in 5 or 10 years time, but as long as I’m doing it I hope I can continue to do it my way.
Niall O’Shea
Updated June 2022
Reviewed July 2023 (no revisions)
*and if you’re wondering what the asterix means, ask me the next time you see me
Cork Golf News 