Dun Laoghaire golf club Wicklow

Members Achievements

Dun Laoghaire Golf Club was runners-up in the Irish Junior Cup when they lost out to Connaught Champions Westport Golf Club on their home course on Saturday 22th September 2019.
In the top match Brian Begley lost his match against Ronan Hehir by 4 and 3, he was followed by Patrick McCann who lost his match against Ronan Mahon by 3 and 2, next on the tee was Jamie Campbell who went up the 19th before conceding the point against Anto Browne, in the penultimate match Kevin Giblin had a 2-hole win against Fergus Rothwell and the bottom match of Sam Varian went 2 and 1 to Shane Larkin.
They met Munster Champions Tramore Golf Club in the All-Ireland Semi-Final and recorded a 3½-matches to 1½-matches win against the Waterford club.    
They were led out by Brian Begley who lost out to Martin Walshe, next on the tee was Patrick McCann who won his match against Dave Bennett on the 18th he was followed by Jamie Campbell who beat David Spillane by 2 and 1, in the penultimate match Kevin Giblin won his match on the 18th against Rory Keighery and the bottom match of Sam Varian against Paul Power was recorded as a halve when called-in.

They won the Leinster Final of the Irish Junior Cup when they beat The Island Golf Club by 4-matches to 1-match at Greenore Golf Club on Sunday 21st July and accounted for Waterford Golf Club by 3-matches to 2-matches in the Provincial Semi-Final

The Ladies of Dun Laoghaire Golf Club won East-Leinster Final of the Junior Cup in the ILGU Inter-club Championships on Sunday 5th September 2010, when they beat Stackstown Golf Club by 4 matches to 1 match. The team on the day was Marie Igoe who beat A. Constantine 6 and 5, she was followed by Suzanne Coyne who beat M, Horn at 21st, next up was Mai Tan who lost to M. Cronin by 4 and 3. The penultimate match of Alison Pigot against A. Maritin went all the way to the 19th before the crucial point was secured, the bottom match of B Dillon against K. O’Connor was also a tight match with a 1-hole victory for Dun Laoghaire.

The All-Ireland Finals began at Donabate Golf Club on Thursday 23rd September. They were drawn against Munster Champions East Cork in the National deciders, first up was Marie Igoe playing off (8) who lost her match by 1-hole against Jessie Anthony playing off (11), she was followed by Suzanne Coyne (9) who was beaten by 2 and 1 against Mairead NiMhurchu (12), next up was Mai Tan (10) against Deirdre Harte (13) who had a similar result. The bottom two match of Alison Pigot (12) against Anne O'Connell (13), and Barbara Dillon (12) against Tara McCarthy (14) were halved when called in.

The Ladies of Dun Laoghaire Golf Club won East-Leinster Final of the Challenge Cup in the ILGU Inter-club Championships on Sunday 5th September 2010, when they beat Castleknock Golf Club by 3 matches to 2 matches, first on the tee was Y Hill who beat M. Rogers at the 20th hole, she was followed by H Waters who lost her match to M. Butler by 4 and 2, next up was K Verso who had a very comfortable 6 and 4 win over B. Faughnan. The penultimate match of M Smith was lost by 4 and 2 to L. O’Loughlin, the bottom match of M Duggan clinched their place in the National deciders with a 1-hole win over P. McCormack.
They made their way to Donabate Golf Club to compete in the National Deciders and met Connaught Champions Ballina Golf Club in the All-Ireland Semi-Final on Saturday 25th September, they were led by Emer O'Sullivan (30) against Josephine O'Hora (30), she was followed by Helen Waters (31) who lost her match against Eithne Daly (31) by 2 and 1, next up was Katherine Verso (32) who went to the 19th before losing her match against Shauna Smith (31), she was followed by Katherine Verso (32) who won her against Shauna Smith (31) 3 by 2,the penultimate match of Maureen Duggan (32) was won with a similar score against Maire McLoughlin (33), the bottom match of Bernie Keogh (33) against Ann McLoughlin (34) was won by the slimmest of margins when Bernie won by 1-hole. They met Munster Champions Bandon Golf Club in the All-Ireland Final the following day when they were led again by Alison O'Neill (30) who lost her match against Georgina Appelbe (30) by 5 and 4, she was followed by Bernie Mulroy (34) who went down by 3 and 2 against Eveline Fogarty (30), she was followed by Carmel Monaghan (34) who had a convincing 5 and 4 win over Aileen Burke (30), the penultimate match of Julie Magan (36) against Theresa Burke (33) went 4 and 3 to the West Cork club and with it any hope of winning the green pennant, the bottom match of Ann Tyrrell (36) was halved with Michelle Anders (35).

The Ladies of Dun Laoghaire Golf Club won the East-Leinster Final of the AA-Insurance Junior Cup in 2008 and made the journey to Limerick Golf Club to compete in the National deciders; they met Connaught Champions Mountbellew Golf Club in the All-Ireland Semi-Final and lost out by 3 matches to 2 matches.

First on the tee was Laura Daly (10) who won her match on the 19th-green against Laura Burke (12), she was followed by Mai Tan (10) who lost her match by 3 and 1 against Catherine Gardiner (13), Rosie Walsh (11) lost by 2-holes to Aoife Fallon (13), the penultimate match of Nicky Murray (12) was halved against Margaret Harkin (14), in the bottom match Roly Burke (13) lost her match against Helen Costello (15) by 3 and 2.

The Ladies of Dun Laoghaire Golf Club won the All-Ireland Junior Cup at Athlone Golf Club on the 30th September 2007 they beat The Heath Golf Club by 3 matches to 2 matches in the Semi-Final and met Rockmount Golf Club in the All-Ireland decider.

First up was Phyl Glavin who beat Marie Donnelly by 3 and 1, she was followed by Sheila Clancy-Nolan who had a very convincing 6 and 5 win over Grace Downey. Next up was Martina Lee who halved her match with Andrea Patterson. The penultimate match of Mary Dempsey against Carol McGrath saw the Carryduff ladies record a 6 and 5 win. The bottom match of Jo Ebbs against Noeleen Houston clinched the title with a 5 and 4 win and an 3 ½ matches to 1 ½ matches overall victory.

Dun Laoghaire Golf Club won the Barton Cup in 1919, again in 1920, when some of the team was, A. R. Mallet, J. Pyke, A. J. Brown, G. B. Moore, F. J. Richie and L. W. Stiven, and again in 1944, when the team was J. J. O'Keefe, J. P. Carroll, A. R. Mallet, S. B. Jones, L. M. Fitzgerald, V. Connolly, D. M. Hogan, E. F. Duke, F. Browning, M. J. Walsh, E. Browett and J. Lynch.

They won the Fitzgibbon Cup in 2000, when the team was, Richard Glavin, Martin Gallagher, Jerome Counihan, Kevin Connolly, David Round, Donal Byrne, Brian Nolan, Peter Van Dessel, Mark Nolan, Seamus MacCrossin, Declan Meagher, Noel Mannion, John McGrath, Pat Cleary and Brian McGrath, they were managed by Paddy Gleeson and Norman Burns.

They won it Prior to that in 1986, when the team was, D. Gillen, D. Stephens, B. McNestry, G. Steen, P. Coyne, H. Dearey, Fr. D. Leycock, S. McSherry, D. Dolan, N. Powderly, J. Murphy, J. McGrath, J. Connolly, J. McGreal, M. Sweeney and W. Harrington.

The Ladies of Dun Laoghaire Golf Club won the ILGU Autumn Team Matches in 1965 and 1966, when the team was, M. Hutchinson, E. Shubotham, S. Muldoon, M. Donegan, E. Moody, M. Bastible, M. Brown, K. Curtin and S. Walsh.

They won it prior to that in 1963, when the team was, B. Shubotham, M. Minch, D. Muldoon, E. Moody, D. Neligan, M. Bastible, B. Warren and K. Curtin.

They won it for the first time in 1940, when the team was, G. Walker, E. L. Warren, M. McAuley and D. Tyson.

Lady Captain Muriel Ahern and her Captain's Prize Winner Catherine O'Sellinan were leading qualifiers in the North Leinster section of the Volkswagen-Irish Independent Lady Captains Golf Classic at Headfort Golf Club in August 2002. Muriel playing of a handicap of 28 and Catherine playing off 17 returned 42 points to book their place in the National Finals at Druid's Glen Golf Club.

Members who played representative golf for Country or Province;

J. N. Marron* represented Ireland as a Senior International from 1925;

G. McGrane represented Leinster as a Youth Interprovincial in 1978 playing 3-times won 1-match and lost 2-matches accumulating 2-points;

P. Coyne represented Connacht at Senior Interprovincial level from 1970 to 1976 playing 19-times won 2-matches halved three and lost 14-matches accumulating 7-points;

H. McKinney represented Connacht at Senior Interprovincial level from 1983 to 1986 playing 17-times won 6-matches halved one and lost 10-matches accumulating 13-points;

T. Sexton was selected on the Irish Senior Ladies team that played England at Woodbrook Golf Club on 21st and 22nd October 2001.

History of Dun Laoghaire

Dun Laoghaire Instituted 1909 affiliated 1910

The inaugural meeting of the club took place on 9th December 1909, at the Royal Marine Hotel. Fifty-one people attended the meeting, chaired by Major Bryan Cooper M. P. The Earl of Longford K. P. was elected the first President and the well-known golf journalist, Lionel Hewson, was elected its first Captain.

Initially, it was a nine-hole course, but very quickly became an eighteen-holes, when additional forty acres were leased on the other side of Glenageary Road.

In 1922, Harry Colt, who had just finished his masterpiece at Pine Valley in New Jersey, which had taken seven years to build, was invited to redesign Kingstown Golf Course. His design had not changed to this present day, when the club changed toits present location. The club changed its name to Dun Laoghaire in 1951.

What the Club tells us:

Perhaps an ever-so-slight misnomer, the stunning Dun Laoghaire Golf Club is in fact situated close to Enniskerry in Co. Wicklow, but resides on the Dublin side of the Dublin Wicklow border, with the majestic Wicklow Mountains as its nearest neighbours. The course decamped the seaside town of Dun Laoghaire in 2007, after ninety-seven years, for the picturesque Ballyman Glen, nestled at the foot of the spectacular Sugarloaf Mountain.

Yet, despite the change of venue, the driving spirit of the Dun Laoghaire Golf Club’s founding fathers remains the Club’s guiding ethos.

The origins of the Club date back as far as 1909, when a number of Kingstown (as Dun Laoghaire was then known) residents assembled at the town’s Royal Marine Hotel on December 9th for the inaugural meeting of Kingstown Golf Club.

The meeting was chaired by Major Bryan Cooper, a Conservative Member of Parliament, who later went on to become a member of Dail Eireann for Co.Dublin. On the night, the Earl of Longford, K.P. was elected President. Earl Longford died in action during the Great War and was succeeded by Viscount de Vesci, who held the position until 1958.

The Club rapidly began to take shape; several hundred Men and Lady Associates were elected and 36 acres of land were leased at Eglinton Park and Highthorn, a nine-hole course was designed; and a clubhouse was built for the princely sum of £1,265.

November 1910 witnessed the extension of the course to 18 holes; and a further forty acres abutting Glenageary Road were leased. At the cessation of World War I, the eminent golf architect, Harry Colt, designed a new layout for the course. This design was to remain basically the same for the next eighty-odd years.

Dun Laoghaire Golf Club wasn’t immune to the country’s changing political mood in the early 1920s. In 1922 the club was re-christened Dun Laoghaire (Kingstown) Golf Club. It would be a further three decades before the reference to Kingstown was finally expunged from the official Club title.

In the 1970s, it became clear that maintaining an 18-hole golf course on 78 acres in a residential area was no longer practicable. Following a number of false dawns, a property development company offered the Club the opportunity to re-locate to a 330-acre site at Ballyman Glen.

Once again the Club convened in the Royal Marine Hotel, where in June of 2002 the offer was accepted by 79% of the members present after considerable, and often heated, debate.

With the move to Ballyman Glen in August 2007, it’s no exaggeration to say that both members and visitors are delighted with what is widely acknowledged as one of Ireland’s most beautiful and challenging courses comprising three 9-hole courses - with five sets of tees - designed to test the mettle of weekend players and low handicappers alike.

Cups and Trophies

Since its foundation in 1910, Dun Laoghaire GC has built up an impressive array of approximately 85 Cups & Trophies, most of them kindly donated by members or by the relatives of past members in their memory. Much of the Club’s history is enshrined in these Cups and Trophies. There are still some missing pieces of information you may be able to help us with!

In 2016, the Curtis Cup, the biggest and most important Ladies amateur event in the world involving Great Britain and Ireland versus the USA, was staged at the Dun Laoghaire Golf Club.