Portmarnock Captain, Paul Mitchell, said his young team are on the rise as they took home the Fred Daly trophy following a brilliant victory over Galgorm Castle in Donabate.
Lee Valley won the Girls’ Inter-Club after they finished with a combined total of 83 stableford points, Belvoir Park won the Boys’ Inter-Club following their 118 haul, and Bray defeated Cork to claim the Boys’ Foursomes title.
But it was history for Portmarnock, as John Moran sunk the winning putt on the 18th to defeat Harris Fleming 2up for a 3-2 win. Moran’s win came after a 4&2 success for Adam Fahey and Freddie Bracken’s comprehensive 7&5 win.
“Absolutely over the moon, couldn’t be prouder of the lads, we put in a great campaign, a great squad of players,” said Mitchell.
“We had everyone contributing along the way, great competition, some really tight matches that literally came down to the last hole. The guys were superb today, when it came to the crunch the guys performed really well under pressure.
“John was brilliant, he played the last four holes superbly, including a chip in on 15, two great pars on 16 and 17 and then a great close out on 18. A very very tough match and John was pushed to the pin of his collar but he was super in the end.
“Huge future ahead of them, both as team members for Portmarnock and in their own individual championship careers. John and Adam represented Ireland recently at U18 Home Internationals.
“They’ve got great futures ahead of them, all of them now, and the future is very bright for the club.”
Portmarnock, Belvoir Park, Galgorm Castle and Edenderry battled it out for a place in the Fred Daly decider on Wednesday morning. Portmarnock were forced to dig deep for a 3-2 result, while Galgorm Castle had a 3.5-1.5 victory over Edenderry.
In the Girls’ Inter-Club, Lee Valley were back in the All-Ireland final after coming up short in Warrenpoint last year. Heather O’Gorman, Clodagh O’Sullivan and Jessica Power combined to help their side finish just ahead of Roganstown this time around.
Lee Valley won the Girls’ Inter-Club All-Ireland. (Image: Laszlo Geczo / Inpho)
And Lee Valley Captain, Roisin Murray, said it was a huge boost for a young group who showed their potential on the big stage again.
“It was definitely worth the long trip up, we are delighted, over the moon,” said Murray.
“The girls have been playing really well all year so we came up, did the practice round, they really enjoyed it and they went out this morning and we just said try your best.
“When the scores came in they were just the right scores today, it was brilliant. We were watching the whole time and when our first girl came in, she told us she had 39 points and we were like, holy God.
“We weren’t expecting that at all and we were just so delighted. We got a bit of momentum, we heard the next score and it just went up and up from there.”
In the Boys’ Inter-Club, Belvoir Park finished four points ahead of Greenisland after two years of heartbreak. The team of Daniel Keown, Alfie Lonergan, Max Lonergan, Charlie Hearty and Hugo Cashman earned them redemption.
Belvoir Park won the Boys’ Inter-Club All-Ireland. (Image:Laszlo Geczo / Inpho)
“Third time lucky, we’ve been to Castletroy, Warrenpoint and finally this year we have got the toe over the line winning it in Donabate,” said Belvoir Park Captain Paddy Murney.
“It was a fantastic team effort, five lads, all five lads scored extremely well and to come in with the score and find out we had won was just the way to round off a long day.
“We have been here with the Fred Daly this morning as well, unfortunately we didn’t progress there but to get our toe over the line and finally bring a green pennant back to Belvoir Park.
“It’s been a few years so it’s nice to finally do that for the club.”
In the Boys’ Foursomes, Cork defeated Laytown & Bettystown to set up a final against Bray in the afternoon, and it was the Leinster outfit who came out on top to make history for the club.
Bray won the Boys’ Foursomes All-Ireland. (Image: Laszlo Geczo / Inpho)
Ultan Moran and Tiernan Ryan had a 4-hole win and despite a narrow defeat for Tom Hannon and Oran Barrett, the Leinster outfit claimed the priceless silverware.
“I’ve been involved with the junior section in Bray for ten years,” said Bray Captain Stuart O’Brien.
“We got to an All-Ireland final with our Fred Daly team three years ago but this was special, winning the Foursomes.
“They are a fantastic bunch of lads, they have been practising and playing together all year. They really have pushed each other all the time and encouraged each other when they hit a bad shot, someone else steps up and says it doesn’t matter I’ll hit a good one next.
“We put it out there and said we wanted to be history makers, that’s what we said at the start of the year and that’s been our message all the way though in our team WhatsApp.”
View the results here
