Lady Captain Noreen Murphy hosted her Lady Captain’s Prize at the beautiful Ballyellis course last Saturday, and the scoring was as warm as the weather. The day continued into the night, with many gathering to see who would be taking home the ultimate prize. It was wonderful to see the function room full of colour, and of course there were lots of stories about putts that would not drop, and too many bunkers etc…some were even heard to say a lesson is now required!
MC for the evening, Úna Quill, welcomed all on behalf of Noreen, especially Noreen’s guests…her daughters -in-law Marie and Deirdre, their mothers Mary and Christine, and very special friends Kathleen, Maria, Margaret, Marian and Ann. Proceedings got underway with a fabulous buffet prepared by Gihan’s team, and full compliments to the chefs, Chris and his team who ensured all went smoothly on the night.
Úna then introduced Noreen, giving a little insight into Noreen’s history with our club. Noreen grew up very close to Mallow Golf Club, playing in the fields that would later take MGC from a 9 to an 18-hole course. She vowed she would try it some day and that day arrived in 2011 when she joined one of our ‘Get Into Golf’ programmes. She was hooked and duly brought her husband Martin along in 2012, a fabulous couple who always have a smile and a kind word for all they meet. Noreen totally embraced the ethos of volunteering that is the bedrock of our club. She got involved in the committee and our ‘Get Into Golf’ programme would become her ‘baby’ from 2017 to last year. The club has also benefited from Noreen’s many talents, photography and art to name but a couple, and Úna complimented Noreen on her involvement with various fundraising and club activities over the years, not to mention playing on and selecting teams. Úna finished by saying how much she respects Noreen, compli-menting her on her kind, generous, very patient nature, and MGC is lucky to have her as a member.
Lady Captain Noreen started by thanking everyone present, stating that she was truly overwhelmed by the support she received. She thanked all who played on the day and all cards, gifts and donations to her charity St. Vincent De Paul which raised €1,000.
She gave due mention to Úna for asking her to be her vice-captain, and thanked her family and friends who have been a huge support to her throughout this year and more. She feels truly blessed. Noreen praised her fellow officers, Lady President Edel Callanan, Captain Joe Crowley, and President Phil Ahern, as well as our Steering Committee for their continuing support. Thanks were also extended to our club pros Sean and Graham, and Deirdre in the office. She is especially grateful for the support she is receiving from her committee, admitting that it is very much a team effort, and she had a special word of thanks for Sandra Nyhan, our PRO, who keeps us all up to date with regular texts and Facebook reports. She thanked all who put themselves forward to manage or play on teams, declaring that following our teams has been the most enjoyable, and nail-biting, task to date. She really appreciated the beautiful flower arrange-ments dotted around the clubhouse, adding that she is truly honoured to be Lady Captain of this fine club. She also congra-tulated all the prize winners on such fantastic golf. Finally, she encoura-ged us all to dance the night away, after the presentation of prizes, to music by Vinyl Junkies (with her son Eoin in this band).
Noreen’s prize day (and night) was won by a very surprised and ecstatic Aileen Field, who only started playing golf in 2021 through our ‘Get Into Golf’ programme, with Noreen mentoring her. It was very fitting that a few of that ‘class’ featured. Congratulations again to all the prize winners and best of luck to our teams who continue to go out over the next month or so for various competitions.
Results
Lady Captain’s Prize (Mrs Noreen Murphy)
18 Hole Stroke
Saturday 10th June 2023
1st, Aileen Field (40) 66 nett.
2nd, Margaret Curtis (43) 67 nett.
Gross, Jennifer Hickey (2) 75 Gross..
3rd, Annemaria O’Sullivan (49) 68 nett.
4th, Catherine Phelan (29) 69 nett B/6.
5th, Gillian Goodman (17) 69 nett B/9.
6th, Lynda Maher (8) 69 nett B/9.
Best Past Captain /President, Ann Kelleher (24) 70 nett.
Cat HI 0 16, Catherine Roche (9) 71 nett.
Cat HI 17 – 26, Margaret Collins (20) 70 nett.
Cat HI 27 +, Liz Walsh (55) 69 nett B/9.
Front Nine, Sheila Crowley (30) 31 nett.
Back Nine, Catherine Cronin (46) 32 nett.
Longest Drive on 17, Ber Clarson.
Nearest the Pin on 16, Marie O’Sullivan.
Lady Captain’s Guest, Marian O Leary.