Monkstown used the pain of two years of heartbreak as they bounced back to claim the AIG Men’s Junior Cup All-Ireland title at Tandragee.
And it was a huge day for two Munster clubs, as Tipperary claimed the AIG Irish Women’s Junior Cup earlier in the afternoon.
Galway Bay and Kenmare were knocked in the semi-finals of the men’s while Dundalk and Tralee succumbed to defeat in the other final four ties.
The latter meant a meeting between Tipperary and Portstewart in the first final, with the Munster East winners claiming a 4-1 victory.
Then Monkstown avenged the quarter-final and semi-final defeats of recent years, with last year’s 96-yard hole out from Abbeyleix now a distant memory.
“It feels absolutely incredible,” said Monkstown captain Anthony O’Sullivan.
“This is something we have been working at for three years, we have had three Munster East pennants in a row, now we have the green pennant, so it’s great.
“You always need a bit of luck and last year we didn’t have the luck and today a few times we did. Galgorm, a couple of times they hit the cup and it didn’t go in for them. It could have gone either way this game.
“You need luck to win finals and we had a very good team, don’t get me wrong we had an excellent team, but every team needs a bit of luck and we got it today.
“It was really very very tight and for it to go down to the 17th in the last game just shows what quality golf it was for both sides.”
Monkstown booked their place in the final after a 3-2 win over Galway Bay, and Stephen Murphy gave them the perfect start when he secured 7&5 win in the decider.
Philip Dorney followed up with a 2&1 success in the second match, and although Matthew Harkness and Brendan Mulgrew won their matches, Robert Kennedy’s late 3&1 success sealed the silverware as darkness began to fall on Tandragee.
In the morning, Tipperary were narrow 3-2 winners against Dundalk, and they made a fast start in their women’s final against Portstewart.
Tipperary were victorious in the AIG Women’s Junior Cup All-Ireland final at Tandragee. Photo: Bryan Keane / Inpho
Yvonne Daly used her experience to take home a 5&4 win, as she registered the first point of the final for Tipperary. Mary Whelan won her match 2&1 and Renagh Murphy applied the finishing touches with a 3&2 success.
“Wow, it’s absolutely unbelievable,” said Tipperary captain Kathleen O’Dwyer.
“Coming up here we knew we had a chance, when you get to that stage you meet very very good teams and my team were awesome.
“We handled every match with great enthusiasm and determination to win and we are absolutely thrilled.
“Conditions were lovely yesterday but today was challenging for any golfer, but we handled it very well. It was nail-biting, it’s never over until it’s over and that’s what makes it exciting and wonderful.
“We have some very experienced players who have played Junior Cup for many years and have won a Munster final before and then we have a blend of others who have never played Junior Cup before but they fitted in very very well.
“I met a gentleman from Elm Park here on Thursday and he said look, it’s Tipp’s year, just believe it. So, we did.”
View the final scoring here
