Mountbellew Golf Club was the venue for the Connaught Semi-Finals and Final of the 2011 Kenny Cup. The North Zone qualifiers had been played in Castlebar Golf Club on July 12th and resulted in a possibly unique 1st and 2nd place respectively finish for the Castlebar “A” & “B” teams.
In the 1st Semi-Final the Castlebar “A” Team of Michael Flynn, Shane O'Connor, Barry Redmond, Darragh Judge & Ryan Gibbons were up against a formidable and determined Curra West side, and despite a very spirited performance by the Castlebar team it was Curra West who advanced to the final.
In the 2nd Semi-Final the Castlebar “B” team were up against the host club Mountbellew's team. This was a close match throughout but resulted in the Castlebar team of Gerard Sweeney, Darren Rice, James Guerin, Diarmuid Gibbons & Liam Timmis booking their place in the final.
The Final of the 2011 Kenny Cup teed off at 2:30PM and it was a flying start for Gerard Sweeney who chipped in on the 1st hole for birdie and to go one up. Gerard played flawless golf throughout his match, winning out on the 13th with a score of 6 and 5. Darren Rice was second out for Castlebar and despite a setback in losing the first hole he showed tremendous determination and character to get ahead in his match before winning on the 15th with a score of 3 and 2. The final match out was Liam Timmis and he showed his class by going into an early lead which he never relinquished, eventually winning on the 13th! The third match was James Guerin and from the start James showed he was not going to be a soft touch. Despite giving 3 shots to his opposite he fought tenaciously and made some wonderful putts, getting to 2 up at one stage before being called in. The 4th match was Diarmuid Gibbons who was giving his opponent 8 shots and was still 2 up when his match was called in when the Castlebar victory was assured.
This was an absolutely wonderful display by the Castlebar boys. All 10 of then showed tremendous determination, calmness, courtesy and camaraderie. Their victory is very much deserved and is also a deserved reflection on the 2011 Junior Convenor John MacDonagh who has put in a huge effort of time and energy in getting this group of boys together and getting then to gel as a team!
Congratulations to John and to both teams from all the members for their superb achievement in bringing a pennant to the Club!
Pictured are the 2 teams from Castlebar who competed in the Kenny Cup Finals at Mountbellew. At back, the “A” team, left to right: Shane O’Connor, Barry Redmond, Michael Flynn & Darragh Judge (missing from picture is Ryan Gibbons).
Front Row is the “B” team and Kenny Cup Winners, left to right: Gerald Sweeney, Diarmuid Gibbons, John MacDonagh (Junior Convenor), Sean Smyth (Club Captain), Liam Timmis, Darren Rice and James Guerin.