All-Ireland Cups and Shields: You've got to wonder if some of these young guns have ice in their veins. Yesterday was typical of such fearlessness, as Gordian Barry, a 15-year-old who gave up rugby to concentrate on golf, provided the critical piece in the jigsaw that saw Muskerry lift the Junior Cup in the Bulmers All-Ireland Cups and Shields finals.

On a day when the wind swirled through the tree-lined parkland course to accentuate the challenge at Shandon Park, Muskerry, a famed Cork club celebrating their centenary, claimed the first green pennant of the national finals with a 3-2 win over Belvoir Park.

And Galway confirmed their status among the country's elite clubs by taking the Barton Shield with a comfortable, five holes win over Moyola Park.

For Muskerry, this is threatening to be a year to remember. In winning the Junior Cup for the third time, adding to successes in 1954 and 1962, Muskerry have set up the tantalising prospect of a unique double this year as they refocus for today's semi-final of the Jimmy Bruen Shield, a competition that honours the club's most famous son.

It is also the only trophy the club have never won.

As fillips in such a quest go, yesterday's victory in the Junior Cup was as good as it gets. Eoin O'Callaghan, a 25-year-old civil engineer, led impressively from the front in winning the top match by 5 and 3 over Ian Browne, while Daniel Hallissey, a 17-year-old student, followed up with a 3 and 2 win over Martin Kelly in the second match.

But with Dave Lane losing to Belvoir Park teenager Declan O'Hara and Ger O'Shea beaten out the country by Mike Malone, the decisive match turned out to be between Barry, a student at Presentation Brothers College and who played in the Munster Schools rugby Junior Cup last year, and Alan McMillen, an experienced player who was to discover the pressure of contending for a national title.

Barry, critically, never trailed in the match, rolling in a birdie putt from just off the green on the ninth to turn two up. However, a snap hook into the trees on the 12th reduced the lead to just one hole, although, by the time he stood on the tee at the short, par three 15th, the Cork teenager had regained a two-hole advantage after McMillen three-putted the 14th green.

The 15th was to provide unbearable drama for those watching, and emphasised the pressure cauldron that manifests itself in these Cups and Shields finals. The tee on the 180-yard hole is sheltered from the swirling wind by a ring of tall trees. After Barry missed the green left, McMillen followed with a high shot that finished some 30 yards short of the green.

What followed, though, was heartbreaking. McMillen shanked his chip to the green; and, then, having caught the unwanted ailment, did the same with his third shot which finished in a swale to the right of the putting surface.

He was given a moment to appraise the situation when Barry proceeded to put his attempted pitch over a greenside bunker into the sand . . . but McMillen's respite was short, as his fourth shot caught the wrong side of one of the vicious slopes on the green and proceeded to run off the front of the green and down the hill. McMillen eventually ran up a quadruple bogey seven, while Barry brilliantly got up and down from the bunker for a winning bogey that put him three up and on route to a 3 and 2 win sealed on the 16th where he played a nine-iron to the heart of the green and two putted for the par to win the match.

Barry is one of four members of the Junior Cup-winning team (along with Lane, O'Callaghan and Hallissey) who will seek a double in the Jimmy Bruen, where Muskerry - intent to give their melodic club anthem a second airing - meet Tullamore in the semi-finals today. Tuam meet Scrabo in the other semi-final.

The Barton Shield final didn't have the same drama as the Junior Cup. Galway's Eddie McCormack and Damien Glynn gained control of the top match on Damien McCusker and Mark Hammond, going up early and then turning the screw by winning a hat-trick of holes from the ninth. On the tight, 331-yard ninth, Glynn drove to within 30 yards of the green while Hammond opted to use iron off the tee and found a greenside bunker.

It was to be the catalyst for a run of winning holes that steered Galway - with the second pairing of Joe Lyons and Tom Nolan in a tighter affair with Randal Evans and Luke Lennox, which was called in all square after the 16th - to victory.

Meanwhile, Donabate, with 74-year-old Pat McCrudden in their ranks, and Warrenpoint overcame Bearna and Woodstock respectively to set up a final showdown today in the Pierce Purcell Shield.

Cups and Shields results

BARTON SHIELD

Final: Galway bt Moyola Park by five holes (Galway names first): D Glynn, E McCormack bt M Hammond, Damien McCusker 5 holes; J Lyons, T Nolan halved with R Evans, L Lennox.

IRISH JUNIOR CUP

Final: Muskerry 3 Belvoir Park 2 (Muskerry first): E O'Callaghan bt I Browne 5 and 3; D Hallissey bt M Kelly 3 and 2; D Lane lost to D O'Hara 3 and 2; G Barry bt A McMillen 3 and 2; G O'Shea lost to M Malone 6 and 5.

PIERCE PURCELL SHIELD

Semi-finals: Warrenpoint 4 Woodstock 1 (Warrenpoint first): S Sands, D Flanagan bt S Spencer, M Kelly 6 and 4; S Colgan, P Devlin halved with J Kelly, J Dormer; N Devine, A Campbell bt N Dinan, L O'Connor 2 holes; K Caldwell, A Ferguson halved with M Nolan, M O'Brien; M Redmond, M McGivern bt T Lawlor, J McMahon 3 and 1.

Donabate 4 Bearna 1 (Donabate first): M Fearon, C Kirwan halved with T Tarpey, J Darby; D Robertson, A Kealy bt J Murphy, M Murray 7 and 6; K Bradshaw, B Bowe bt L McGee, E Keaney 6 and 5; D Cullen, P McCrudden bt B McLaughlin, P Walzer 4 and 3; C Browne, J Dowling halved with P Ward, S O'Neill.

Today's Draw

IRISH SENIOR CUP

Semi-finals: Banbridge v Portmarnock (Banbridge first): 8.30: R Leonard v M Brett. 8.40: A McCully v G Lenehan. 8.50: R Kilpatrick v D Kelleher. 9.00: C Doran v A Morrow. 9.10: J Carvill v N Goulding.

Co Sligo v Castletroy (Co Sligo first): 9.20: M McTernan v S Moloney. 9.30: K O'Neill v C Daly. 9.40: S Heavey v E Haugh. 9.50: G McDermott v J Tobin. 10.00: D Dunne v J Kavanagh.

PIERCE PURCELL SHIELD

Final: Warrenpoint v Donabate (Warrenpoint first): 10.30: S Sands, D Flanagan v M Fearon, C Kirwan; 10.40: S Colgan, P Devlin v D Robertson, A Kealy. 10.50: N Devine, A Campbell v K Bradshaw, B Bowe. 11.00: K Caldwell, A Ferguson v D Cullen, P McCrudden. 11.10: M Redmond, M McGivern v C Browne, J Dowling.

JIMMY BRUEN SHIELD

Semi-finals: Tullamore v Muskerry (Tullamore first): 12.00: D Hughes, K McEntee v P Herlihy, D Lynch. 12.10: P Keegan, J O'Shea v D Hallissey, E O'Callaghan. 12.20: E Flanagan, J Hopkins v D Lane, J O'Callaghan. 12.30: L Hoctor, N Mannion v J Hornibrook, N O'Brien. 12.40: M Byrne, J Morris v G Barry, J Solan.

Tuam v Scrabo (Tuam first): 12.50: T McHugh, D O'Connor v T Bailie, B Fulton. 1.00: J Crisham, O Monaghan v D Graham, R Corry. 1.10: S Acton, P Forde v N Carson, R Henderson. 1.20: T Farrell, B Flesk v D Thompson, M Johnston. 1.30: P King, T Gohery v T Mageean, G Thompson.