Peter O’Keeffe and Ireland selector John Carroll pictured after their Home Internationals win in Moortown this afternoon.

The 17th hole in the final match on the final day will be remembered for a very long time.  That was the hole where Ireland captured the Home Internationals for the fourth time on a row.  An hour earlier things didn’t look great, it looked like hosts England would win as Ireland were losing in six of the last eight matches on the course.  But the tide started to turn and Ireland pulled themselves back into hte match with a series of wins.  In the end it came down to Colm Campbell who was the last man left on the course.  Campbell overturned a five hole deficit (he was four down after five) to take the lead on the 17th, that guaranteed him a half and that in turn guaranteed Ireland a historic fourth title in a row.  Although Campbell lost the 18th and halved the match, that meant that the overall score was a draw with England.  As Ireland won a greater number of matches, they retained the title for the fourth year.  Just 0.5 of a point separated the sides with Ireland winning 26.5 matches against England’s 26.

While it was a great result for Ireland, Peter O’Keeffe was slightly disappointed, despite playing very well yesterday (and claiming two wins) he lost both of his matches today.  Still the very fine margin of victory means that the three points he contributed were invaluable in the final tally.  The Douglas member has more than justified his selection on the team, and this rounds off a great debut for him on the Irish team.

It was a great day too for John Carroll who was a selector on the team and was there in Moortown to witness the epic comeback.   The Bandon member has been a long time servant to Munster and Irish teams and will no doubt relish a great celebration this evening with Tony Goode, Neil Manchip and all of the Irish team.

The winning Irish team, pic Thos Caffery I Golffile