Monkstown Golf Club

Irwin qualifies as PGA Professional

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Monkstown Pro Shop’s Shane Irwin who recently received graduated as a PGA Professional.
Picture: Niall O’Shea

Monkstown based Shane Irwin recently completed his PGA training and the Limerick native is now a qualified PGA Professional.  After three years of training, Shane passed his final exams to receive his degree level qualification from the University of Birmingham.  Shane joins a number of recently qualified golf professionals in Cork, including Alan Gleeson, Davey Barry and Ciaran McKenna.

Prior to working in Monkstown Shane had worked in the industry in South Africa and the US, and that experience gave him the confidence to know that a career in the industry was the way to go.  In 2017 he moved to Cork to take up a role in Monkstown Golf Club.  After spending a few months working in the pro-shop, .n September 2017 he started his PGA training.  Having worked in the US and South Africa prior to that.  It was the next step in a plan for Shane.  Traditionally the PGA apprenticeship was based around learning on the job, but now the degree level course has a Continue reading →

Maurice takes the helm at Monkstown

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Mauriec O’Meara who recenytly joined Monkstown Golf Club as General Manager.
Picture: Niall O’Shea

It’s a few months since Maurice O’Meara joined the team in Monkstown, and the experienced golf club manager is settling into his hew role.  Having previously worked as general manager in Killarney, Dooks and The Island, O’Meara has seen all aspects of the game in Ireland over the last 20 years.  And the Dublin native jumped at the opportunity to take on the GM role in Monkstown when the vacancy arose during the summer.  “During my years in golf club management and from my time in Dooks and Killarney, I would have had regular interaction with members of Monkstown as we had a lot of visiting groups from Cork and also a lot of dual members” explained Maurice.  “What I would have heard of Monkstown was very positive, and this was very important in my decision to take up the role here.  Like any club Monkstown has faced challenges over the last number of years, however the club is in a great place now, with a thriving membership.  It’s been great to see the popularity of Continue reading →

Monkstown set for Bumper Season

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Looking back down the 18th fairway from the clubhouse in Monkstown. (Niall O’Shea)

It isn’t the year that any captain or committee would have wanted, but that doesn’t just apply to golf this year.  Despite the lockdown and the phased schedule of re-opening, golf courses and clubs are now fully open following the introduction of phase three earlier this week.  While it’s still far from normal, Monkstown is getting back to business, has added over 50 new members and has a large membership looking forward to the second half of the year.  Monkstown Captain Shane Horgan is delighted that the summer season is finally underway.  It was a very different first half of the year for the Captain as he explained.  “Strange is a pretty good word for it, though in some of my weaker moments over the last few months I might have been tempted to describe it differently from time to time” said Shane.  “I fully expected to face some challenges during my year of office, but I anticipated that those challenges would be broadly Continue reading →

Monkstown in Great Condition

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Monkstown’s Shane Horgan returning to play after the lockdown, pictured with Club Professional Cian McNamara.

Greenkeepers across the county have been busy.  They spent two months preparing courses during the lockdown and since the reopening they have been working hard as golfers have filled every available timeslot.  Monkstown has been in high demand and Captain Shane Horgan has been delighted with the results from the hard work put in by the greenkeeping team.  “The course has been in amazing condition since re-opening and it has been getting really positive reviews from members” said Horgan.  “It’s in as good a condition as I have ever seen it.  We’re really lucky to have an exceptional course staff, led by Martin Travers, who has been with the Club for over 30 years, and they have done an amazing job to keep the course in magnificent shape both Continue reading →

Cope Classic 2021

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Pictured at the launch of the annual Cope Foundation Golf Classic, sponsored by O’Flynn Exhams Solicitors, at Monkstown Golf Club are Micheal O’Mullain, Partner at O’Flynn Exhams Solicitors, Shane Irwin, Monkstown Golf Club, Sean Abbott, Chief Executive at Cope Foundation and Brian Hurley from Monkstown Golf Club.
PIC Darragh Kane

The Cope Foundation Golf Classic will take place in 2020, and it promises to be another great event for the Cork charity.  After successful events in Douglas Golf Club and Cork Golf Club, the popular classic now returns to Monkstown for the 2020 staging on Thursday 17th and Friday 18th September.  Rescheduled from the regular August date due to Covid-19, the event will be run under the guidelines that apply at th time and the organising committee are now working on building the timesheet to ensure another successful event.

The event has been running for 24 years and has raised over €1.65 million.  It started in Rathsallagh in Co Wicklow and regularly had the sold out signs up for the two day event.  After Rathsallagh closed in 2015 the event moved to Cork, rotating between Monkstown, Douglas and Cork.  Last year’s event in Douglas was another great success with close to €50,000 raised over the two days.  As well as prizes for each shotgun start, the overall winner Continue reading →

Remembering T W Egan

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Tom Egan, Monkstown Golf Club

Monkstown’s Tom Egan who won the Irish Senior Cup in 1963 pictured members of the 2016 winning team; Manager Martin Walsh, Donal McDonnell, Eoghan Long and Monkstown Captain Carl Toal.

One of Monkstown’s most famous golfers Tom Egan passed away on Friday aged 89.  The Irish International dominated the amateur game for two decades in the 50’s and 60’s.  TW, as he was known, was Monkstown born and bred, his home was bordering the course and regularly jumped the wall to practice around the old fourth hole as a boy.

Egan’s practice played dividends and it showed when he played in his very first competition.  Just short of his 18th birthday he was given a handicap by the club, this normally didn’t happen until juniors turned 18.  TW was given a handicap of 12 and went on to shoot s 78 (66 nett) to win the 1947 President’s Prize.  His handicap was swiftly cut to six and he was down to scratch soon after.

Outside of Monkstown, Tom went on to win two major amateur titles in addition to a large number of local wins.  Having reached the final of the South of Ireland in 1951 he went on to win the Irish Close Continue reading →

Monkstown’s Golfing History

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Monkstown is another Cork golf club that can trace it’s history back over 110 years, and remains one of the most popular golfing destinations in the county.  Cork GC Professional David Brown was involved in the original layout of the course and that opened for play in April 1908.  Famed course architect Alister MacKenzie also had a hand in the development of Monkstown, in 1925 his plans for the course were approved.  MacKenzie removed much of the rough on the course and retained the challenge by designing a “well bunkered course”.

MacKenzie was instrumental in Continue reading →

ILGU Reward Ada O’Sullivan

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Ada O'Sullivan

Ada O’Sullivan

The AGM of the ILGU took place last weekend and it was a special occasion for Monkstown’s Ada O’Sullivan as she was awarded Honorary Life Membership by the national governing body.  Ada has one of the most comprehensive records of any female golfer in Ireland.  She represented Munster, as a member of the girls’ team in 1980 & 1981 and the Women’s Team from 1982 -1997, fifteen years.  She was the first ever winner of the Girlie Hegarty Trophy in 1994.  As a player she represented Ireland at the Girls’ Home Internationals in 1980 & 1981.

She then played on the Women’s Home International Team seven times between 1982 & 1997 and at the Women’s European Team Championships in 1993, 1994 and 1995.  She was the winner of the Sherry Cup in 1994 (European Masters 72 hole stroke play).  Following her playing career, Ada represented Ireland as Captain of the Girls’ Home International Team in 1999 & 2000 and the Under 21 Team at the European Championship in 2000.  She would go on to become the first High Performance Director on the ILGU Board in 2010.

Her first experience of Captaining a GB&I Team was at The Espirito Santo Trophy in Malaysia in 2002.  This preceded GB&I Captaincy in 2003 & 2005 when her Team brought home the Vagliano Trophy playing at Co. Louth.  In 2004 and 2006 Ada was invited to be Captain of the GB&I Curtis Cup Teams.  ILGU President Brigid McCaw was delighted to present Ada with the award on Saturday.  “Ada is a very capable, strong, fun loving person who – when asked to take on a responsible task – takes it on with great enthusiasm and leaves no stone unturned to make it a success”  said McCaw upon presenting her with Life Honorary Membership.  “We are very proud of all our Honorary Life Members and Past Presidents.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for being, as it were, “on call” and for their willingness to sharing their experiences and sound knowledge.”  Life Membership was also Continue reading →