Ireland's amateur men's team head to Ballybunion this week on the trail of a unique Home International double. After the women's superb victory at Cruden Bay, Scotland, last week, the men will be hoping for the same kind of performance as they go in search of their first victory since 1991.
Ireland, despite the loss of Walker Cup player Colm Moriarty and Gareth Maybin, who has returned to college in America, can still field a very strong team with a good mixture of youth and experience.
The team is backboned by Walker Cup player Noel Fox, who last week helped Portmarnock to victory in the Irish Senior Cup. Fox is joined by Irish Close champion Mark O'Sullivan, South of Ireland champion Mervyn Owens and European individual champion and North of Ireland winner Brian McElhinney.
Ulster pair Richard Kilpatrick and East of Ireland champion Michael Sinclair replace Moriarty and Maybin.
Meanwhile, Irish women's captain Mary McKenna will turn her thoughts to playing this week as she heads a strong home challenge for the Irish Senior Open Championship over the Seapoint Golf Club, Termonfeckin, tomorrow and Thursday.
Scotland's Pam Williamson (Baberton) will defend the title in a field that has representatives from nine countries including the US, Canada, Germany, The Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, England and Ireland.
Best placed of the Irish last year were Maida McGowan from Bettystown and Helen O'Donoghue from Clonmel, and both are in the line-up.
McKenna won the inaugural event in 2001 but was unable to defend last year due to injury. She is back in action this year and playing well.
The nine-time Curtis Cup player will be looking for a good showing at Seapoint as she trails in the order of merit from which the team for the Seniors Home Internationals at Whittington Heath from October 1st to 3rd will be selected.
McKenna is in 10th place with only the top six gaining places on the Irish team. Valerie Hassett leads from Roma English, Ann Ladd, Jane Allen, Anna Moloney and Denise O'Sullivan.
For the second year running the FBD-sponsored Barton Cup final had a dramatic finish as Sutton made another piece of history for the club by successfully defending the cup.
However, it was a close call and Milltown played their part in an enthralling encounter. Up in three matches as they reached the turn, Milltown were in a position to lift their first Barton Cup since 1910. And when Jody Fanagan and Philip Browne stood dormie on the 16th tee and John Bouchier-Hayes and Tom Stuart left the nearby 11th green four up, few in the large attendance could have anticipated the drama that was to follow.
After Fanagan and Browne gave Milltown their first point, Kieran O'Byrne and Brian Wallace cancelled that out with a 2 and 1 win over Cian O'Reilly and Paul Maher. Sutton veteran Bill Thompson with young Colin Levey then edged the home side ahead with a 4 and 3 win over Barry Fagan and JP McDonnell.
Still Milltown held a slight advantage in the two remaining matches. Alan Darbey and Jamie Taylor won on the 19th against Michael O'Carroll and Alan Wood. So it was all down to the last match between Bouchier-Hayes and Stuart and Sutton pair John Cody and Keith Martin.
Still one to the good playing the 17th, Bouchier-Hayes holed a superb 15-foot, left to right swinging putt for par after Stuart blasted from the greenside bunker. However, Cody rolled in a 12-foot birdie putt for the win to send the match down the 18th all square.
After a half at the last, Milltown failed to get down in two from just off the left of the first tie hole, and with Sutton 15 feet away in two the trophy remained in Sutton for the first time since 1934 when the Kildare Club (which I'm reliably informed is now Naas Golf Club and not Cill Dara) retained the title.
It was a great day in particular for Thompson, who was collecting his fourth winner's trophy from five final appearances.
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