AIG All Ireland joy for Carton House, Kilkenny and Spanish Point
Carton House won the AIG Men's Senior Cup at the AIG Men’s Cups & Shields Finals 2020, Donegal Golf Club, Murvagh, Donegal, Ireland. 11/06/2021 Picture: Golffile | Thos Caffrey
Carton House ended eight years of pain when they captured their first senior pennant with a 3.5-1.5 win over Belvoir Park in the 2020 AIG Senior Cup at Donegal Golf Club.
The Co Kildare club had made five previous All Ireland finals and come away empty-handed, losing out the Barton Shield and four editions of the Senior Cup before finally landing the big one with a sensational team performance at the spectacular Murvagh Links.
After losing to Galway on the final green in the 2019 Senior Cup final, they finally took home the green pennant as Marc Boucher edged out Gareth Lappin 2&1 in the top match and former East of Ireland winner Paul O’Hanlon defeated David Shaw 4&3 in the anchor tie before Eoin Sullivan (19) claimed the decisive the match with a 3&2 win over Scott Jones.
“2019 was such a hard loss to take because we had a great team,” Sullivan said. “The addition of Marc coming home from college in America, helped us get over the line today. I didn’t even play the Final in 2019, so to get the winning point today made it even sweeter.
“It wasn’t comfortable out there, but it’s fantastic. I couldn’t be happier for the lads. We’ve been waiting a while for this one.”
Team manager Brian Cunningham paid tribute to the club’s youth programme as four home-grown players helped claim the Holy Grail.
“We’re 19 years old as a golf club and this is our fifth or Ireland since 2012,” Cunningham said. “Four of those guys have been junior members of our club since 2011. Eoin Sullivan was our junior captain two years ago and then Darragh Flynn has been in the club since the very beginning and then Keith Egan who I’ve known since he was a young lad.
“Paul malarkey who is with us here was our first Junior convener and when we won two Fred Daly green penance and most of these guys were on those teams.”
Kilkenny followed Monday’s Leinster pennant win over Corrstown with their first green pennant in the AIG Junior Cup as they chiselled out a 3.5-1.5 win over Ballinasloe.
Alan O’Rourke, a son of three-time South of Ireland champion Paraic, the match-winner as he beat Tom Cafferkey with a solid par-five on the 19th.
“I was quite calm going back down the first again”, O’Rourke admitted. “Tom hit a great tee shot but was unlucky with his approach. I made par, and we’re very fortunate to be going home with the trophy this evening.
“We won Leinster for the first time in our history on Monday. Getting to Donegal was the bonus, but we’re in dreamland now. We came in yesterday out of the traps. Monday was an advantage to us, even if we didn’t realise it at the time.”
In the AIG Pierce Purcell Shield, the four Hehir brothers played a huge part as Spanish Point claimed the trophy for the third time since 2013 with 4-1 win over Ulster champions Dunmurry.
Managed by Tom Hehir, brothers Michael and Fergal got the first point on the board with a 7&6 win over Trevor Lamont and Billy McCauley before Mervin Hehir and Cillian Duggan beat James Keag and Maurice Ferguson 7&5.
It then fell to Kevin Hynes and Niall Heeney to get the tiny nine-hole links over the line with a 4&2 win over Sam Clarke and Matthew Wilson in the top match.
“We put a lot of work in, and most of us came up a few times to Donegal in preparation,” Hynes said. “The wind helped us today, as we’re more used to links golf than Dunmurry.
“Niall and I didn’t know until the 16th that we could have got the winning point, but we were delighted to get the job done.”
Captain Tom added: “Five of the team that won in 2013 and 2014 are still there, so there are nine new players on this team today which is a fantastic achievement for a nine-hole club out off Spanish Point with limited resources but a huge heart.”
2020 AIG Cups and Shields Finals, Donegal Golf Club
AIG Senior Cup Final
Carton House 3.5-1.5 Belvoir Park
M Boucher beat G Lappin 2&1
K Egan lost to S Ward 2&1
E Sullivan beat S Jones 3&1
D Flynn halved with D Hogg
P O’Hanlon beat D Shaw 4&3
AIG Junior Cup Final
Ballinasloe 1.5-3.5 Kilkenny
T Cafferkey lost to A O’Rourke 19th hole
A Leonard lost to B Dowling 7&6
J Corbett beat S Dunlop 3&2
F Finneran lost to S Cullen 2&1
C Smyth halved with R Guilfoyle
AIG Pierce Purcell Shield Final
Spanish Point 4-1 Dunmurry
K Hynes and N Heeney beat S Clarke and M Wilson 4&2
M O’Brien and M Donnelly halved with Vinod Tandon and M McAuley
Michael Hehir and F Hehir beat T Lamont and B McCauley 7&6
C Duggan and Mervin Hehir beat J Keag and M Ferguson 7&5
S McMahon and P Hogan halved with L Peden and F Campbell
