25th August 2008 Offaly Ladies & Gents Inter-County Review at Leinster Finals at Bagnelstown & results of the annual Offaly/Westmeath Challenge art Erry.

The Provincial Inter- County Championships took place in Bagnelstown, Carlow, recently; the prelude to the Nationals in two weeks time in Larkspur, Cashel. The Offaly Inter-County Teams secured welcomed sponsorship for 2008. The teams are proud to be sponsored by Mr. Michael Egan, Clara Sports & Leisure Centre Clara. The teams would definitely be in line for the best dressed in this year's championships!

The Ladies were first to tee off on a misty Sunday morning. The Offaly ladies were paired with the joint favourites for the title Kildare, who boasted no less than four former national champions. This really helped the ladies to up their game for the championships and following the first round of doubles they found themselves in third place. Erry pairing of Helen Wynne and Linda Flanagan carded a steady 56 while Ferbane and Tullamore pairing of Ann-Marie McCabe and Deirdre Byrne carded a 57, both suffered at the long and most difficult hole on the day the dreaded 15th. The 15th hole was a 65 metre shot into the wind surrounded by two bunkers at the front with a 4 foot bank the only safe guard between the right to left sloped green and a roadway that runs through the course. There weren't many birdies or even pars at this whole throughout the day but there were some spectacular shots from those who overshot the green, many chipping over two banks dropped the ball on the road to hop over the second bank onto the green, Offaly's William Buckley Jnr. was one of the few players to pull off the shot and walk away with a par. The final ladies double was another Erry partnership of Geraldine Ryan and Tracey McGrath who carded 51. This left the Offaly ladies in third just 9 shots behind Dublin in second who were a further 8 shots behind Kildare.

The second round format was 18 hole singles strokeplay and on such a tough course any lead could be eaten away with 5 best scores of the 6 to count. The harsh conditions took its toll on a lot of players but the Offaly ladies played steady and finished on the following scores: Tracey McGrath 50, Deirdre Byrnne 58, Helen Wynne 59, Linda Flanagan 60, Ann-Marie McCabe 60 and Geraldine Ryan 64. Playing partners Kildare scored three impressive sub 54 rounds to help them to victory; Chrissie Byrne had the best score of the day on 49, Tara Dillon 50, Marian Byrne 52, Rose Kelly 55, Margaret Keogh 60 and Martina Lockman 64. The Kildare team secured victory over arch rivals Dublin by 12 shots. The Offaly ladies produced a fine performance to finish in third for the second year in succession behind Dublin.

Following the ladies championship it was the turn of the gents to display their new apparel and most important prove that they were contenders for a top place finish. In a field of top class players the Offaly men lay in joint third following the doubles. Westmeath led the way on 27 under par with Meath in outright second on 23 under par and Offaly, Dublin, and Kildare all just a shot behind on 22 under par. It was all to play for in the singles with 5 of the best 6 scores to count once again. Tullamore's young debutants for Offaly Darren O'Connell and Mark Hogan carded 48, Erry's pairing veterans of the team now Joe McGrath Jnr. and William Buckley Jnr. played well together to card 46 as did Erry and Tullamore duo Larry Maher Jnr. and Mick Hogan.

Westmeath lacked their inspirational doubles play and finished on 17 under par in the singles, Kildare carded and aggregate 20 under par while Meath and Dublin shot in the 30's, Dublin 30 under par and Meath 39 under par. Meath's unbeatable score was attributed to some spectacular play by no other than Sean Downes who carded 14 under par breaking the course record, Ian Farrelly who carded 9 under par following his recent win at Bagnelstown Scratch Cup one week prior and also James Carroll who carded a fine 8 under par. Offaly failed to make any impression on the top three placing as they carded an aggregate 16 under par for the singles; William Buckley Jnr. 8 under par, Joe McGrath Jnr. 4 under par, Mick Hogan 2 under, Larry Maher Jnr. 1 under, Mark Hogan 2 over and Darren O'Connell 3 over. The Offaly team finished 5th of 11 counties and will hope to improve their game for the Nationals in Cashel in early September. The young debutants on the team will have gotten some valuable lessons from playing in the big league of the inter county and will have acclimatised come September and will be valuable assets with great enthusiasm to the long serving members of the squad. We wish the Ladies and Gents team the very best of luck at the National Championships in Larkspur, Cashel, over the 6th and 7th of September.

In the run up to the Nationals the Offaly Ladies and Gents teams took part in the annual Offaly/Westmeath challenge in Erry during the week. In what is an eagerly anticipated event it was no surprise that it drew a large crowd on the night including our main sponsor Michael Egan. The Offaly teams did not disappoint on the night, over 36 holes stroke with 5 of the best 6 scores to count, with both teams coming out on top. The ladies team had a very convincing win over their Westmeath counterparts and won back the bragging rights following last year's defeat. The scores on the evening were as follows: Tracey McGrath 9 under, Helen Wynne 5 under, Deirdre Byrne 1 under, Linda Flanagan 2 over, Ann-Marie McCabe 4 over and Geraldine Ryan 5 over. The gents team were in a commanding lead through 27 holes but then came under increased pressure. However they maintained an impressive 10 shot win with the following scores: William Buckley Jnr. 17 under, Joe McGrath Jnr. 14 under, Darren O'Connell 13 under, Mark Hogan 11 under, Larry Maher Jnr. and Mick Hogan 10 under. Both managers Una Pyke and James Walsh were delighted with the needed wins! This will give both teams a boost for the Nationals. We would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to and thank Michael Egan (Clara Sports & Leisure Centre) for his generous sponsorship of the teams this year. We will focus on the latest results from the recent Juvenile Provincial and National Championships next week with a report from the Juvenile Offaly Matchplay that took place in Tullamore.

Dates for your Diary: August 31st Tullamore host the Leinster Mixed Foursomes, we wish all competitors the best of luck including the defending champions Tracey and Joseph McGrath of Erry. September 6th-7th Larkspur, Cashel host the National Gents and Ladies Inter County Championships.

The Offaly Ladies and Gents Teams pictured following the Offaly/Westmeath challenge with sponsor Michael Egan, Clara Sports & Leisure Centre.

The winning captains William Buckley Jnr. & Tracey McGrath with Michael Egan (sponsor)