Royal Dublin MailVolume 2, Number 3. December 2009.

Walker Cup starNiall Kearney’sperformance at theWalker Cup announcedhis arrival on theinternational stage.Niall is pictured withhis proud parents,Fiona and Joe, at theMerion Club inSeptember.

Since I wrote in our last newsletter inJuly, we have experienced the full rangeof emotions here in Dollymount. Oursadness at the loss of Larry Gunning wasgreat and fully in proportion to theenormous contribution he made to RoyalDublin. Larry Gunning was one of ourgreatest ever members and because of hiswork at every level, he ranks with thelikes of John Lumsden and PlunkettBarton in the history of our club.Stephen Ryan has written an excellenttribute to Larry in this edition (p12)which I commend to you.Our hearts may have been heavy butLarry would have been proud of howthey were lifted by Niall Kearney, ayoung man carrying the colours of GreatBritain and Ireland on his back, at theWalker Cup. We, and our friends atCorrstown Golf Club, have known ofNiall’s great talent for many years, but Ibelieve he emerged as an internationalgolfing star at the Walker Cup. Hisperformance in the face of a hugelytalented US team, playing on their homepatch, filled all of us with great pride. Aswe go to print, he is at an advanced stagein his attempt to qualify as a professional

golfer on the European Tour in 2010.He knows he carries the great goodwishes of all of us in his endeavours.If Niall Kearney is an emerging star, thenChristy finally received the sort ofrecognition in the USA that he hasenjoyed on this side of the Atlantic fordecades. His inauguration into the WorldGolf Hall of Fame in Florida inNovember also lifted our hearts. It was aworthy and fitting tribute to a man whohas been a distinguished ambassador forour Club since 1959.As my year of Captaincy draws to a close,I want to thank the many people whohelped to make it such an enjoyableexperience. Chief amongst these are mywife Mary and family. Also, all themembers of the Committee and staffwho put in such hard work in what was ademanding year on several levels. I hopethat you the members realise the volumeof work that is carried out on your behalfso that you can enjoy well runcompetitions on a great course, followedby excellent hospitality and socialoccasions in a fine clubhouse. Inparticular, I want to say how happy I wasto see us get our Cadet Programme up

and running – it will stand the Club ingreat stead in coming years.Finally, I want to thank all of you foryour great kindness and courtesy to me.It has been exceptional. I congratulateDavid Kennedy on his nomination asCaptain for our 125th anniversary year of 2010 and ask only that you willextend the same support to David as you did to me.

Sean McKeon,Captain.

Royal Dublin Mail

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Message from the Captain

Contents

Joy…and sorrow… in our golfing lives

Message from the Captain 2

Big year ahead 3

Captain’s Dinner 4

Competition winners 6

Juniors/Intermediates 8

Christy inaugurated 10

Social diary and report 11

A tribute to Larry (right) 12

Cover photograph courtesy of the Kearney family.

Produced by Think Media

The golfing programme(i) Raising of the A125 Flag January 1, 2010. This will take placefollowing the Captain’s drive-in.

(ii) Founder’s Day CompetitionOur Club was founded by Sir JohnLumsden on May 5, 1885 and this willbe commemorated by a Founder’s DayCompetition on Saturday, May 15, 2010.Prizes will be presented at a Founder’sDay function that night. It is alsoenvisaged that the Lumsden Puttercompetition should be held on Founder’sDay and that the prize might be ahickory shafted, very traditional typeputter, suitably engraved.

(iii) Monthly Medals and Medal FinalThe monthly medals in all classes will bebased on one of the oldest medal typesknown to the Club and will be embossedwith a special A125 logo. A Medal FinalsCompetition will be re-introduced forthis special year, with prizes based on theA125 logo theme.

(iv) A125 Club ChampionsIt has been decided that there should be:an A125 Club Singles Champion;A125 Club Foursomes Champions; andA125 Club Fourball Champions.

(v) Weekend of A125 CelebrationsThis is fixed for the last weekend inAugust in order to avoid a very crowdedMay and June period as well as theholiday season. The highlight of theweekend will be the SaturdayCompetition, with invited guests,followed by a Gala Dinner on Saturdayevening.The Gala Dinner will be based at theClub and, in order to provide theopportunity for a wide cross-section ofmembers to attend, it recommends that amarquee be used, which would allow atotal of 400 guests (split 150 in diningroom and 250 in marquee) to attend.

The A125 Weekend of Golf will consistof:■ Thursday, August 26 – Fun Day –

Team Event: 9 holes afternoon.■ Friday, August 27 – Team Event:

Members and invited guests (spouses,partners and relatives). Shotgun startat 2pm. Morning shotgun start at9am, if required.

■ Saturday, August 28 – A125Competition: Fourball stableford,members and officially invited guestsfrom other clubs. Tee open all day until 3pm.

■ Sunday, August 29 – Junior andMixed Day: Junior Competition, 14holes, tee time 9.30 – 11.30. MixedCompetition, 14 holes, 3pm tee-off.Shotgun start.

(vi) Lowering of A125 Flag 31st December 2010, followed by NewYear’s Eve dinner.

The social programmeThis has been developed to co-ordinatewith the golf programme and is mainlyconcerned with the A125 weekendcelebrations.The highlight is the Gala dinner (blacktie) for up to 400 persons on SaturdayAugust 28. Drinks reception upstairs,with entertainment. Gala Dinner inrestaurant and adjoining marquee, withoutside caterers. Entertainment byPaddy Cole and his band.

Self funding celebrationThe celebrations will be self-financingas it was considered that no extrafinancial burden could be placed on theClub in the current climate. We aregrateful to sponsors who have agreedto provide support for the weekend ofcelebrations. More details will beannounced at a later date.A special logo or crest will be used toreflect the A125 year. A simple changeto the current logo is recommendedand is shown at the top of this report.

ClothingLeonard Owens has agreed to stockA125 clothing, which would be specificto the anniversary year, at no extra costto the Club. These items will be on sale forChristmas 2009, and will be unveiledby the Captain on the night of theLeonard Owens Hamper Competition.

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Royal Dublin Mail

Anniversary

Call for supportOur nominee for Captain in 2010, David Kennedy, has called on allmembers to support the Club in our special anniversary year. “Theprogramme of celebrations has been deemed by the Committee to beproportionate for a 125th Anniversary, to be cost-effective, to extend toand embrace the widest cross-section of members, to achieve a good balancebetween golf and social activities and, most of all, to give our members theopportunity to enjoy our 125th birthday in a manner and style befittingour great Club. I ask all members to support the Club during the year andto enjoy the celebrations fully.”

Big year aheadThe Anniversary 125 (A125) Sub-Committee, under the chairmanship of past Captain, BrendanFitzgerald, submitted its findings to the Committee and its proposals to celebrate the 125thanniversary of our Club have been adopted. The main programme highlights are set out below.

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Captain’s Dinner 2009November 14, 2009 was a big night for the Club and a great night for this year’s Captain, SeanMcKeon, as he welcomed members and guests from home and abroad to his Captain’s Dinner.Owen O’Connor caught the moments.

Top left: last year’s Captain, David McConnell,entertains the Captain of St Anne’s G.C., Pat Furness (left) and the Captain of Royal Blackheath G.C., Hugh W. Douglas.

Top right: the Captain pauses for a picture with hissons, Brian and John, and son-in-law, Julian Ritchie,before entering the Dining Room.

Far left: our 2006 Captain, Martin Kennedy, with the Captain of Royal Portrush G.C., Dr. Alan Ritchie.

Left: awaiting the arrival of the Captain: good friends Ray McGovern and Garvan Evans.

Above: Toasting the guests: Liam Bergin always had a way with words…and golf balls.

Right: past Captain, Liam Meaney with pals Roy Bradley and Michael Downey.

Below: the Captain of Portmarnock, Brendan Cashell,and members enjoy the speeches.

Below: Trustee, past President, and past Captain ofRoyal Dublin, Frank McDevitt with the Captain ofSutton G.C., Billy Quinn.

Below: the President of the Golfing Union of Ireland,P.J. Collins, replies on behalf of the guests.

Above left: Pearse McKiernan and Malcolm Campbell share a word.

Above right: Peter Finnegan and Dick Priestman enjoy a moment.

Right: ready for their close up: Des Quigley and Dick Mitchell.

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Royal Dublin Mail

The golf season came to a momentousclimax in mid-October when the finalcompetitions of the year took place.These followed a highly successful FinalsDay in late September when the majorityof club matchplay competitions were decided.

Paul O’Halloran is ChampionGolfer of the YearPride of place in the club rightly goes tothe Golfer of the Year. Played over 15tournaments, the best eight scores(measured against the CSS of the day) ofeach member count. Despite the fact thatthe leaders compete over a par of 576(eight rounds of 72), margins are verytight and there is no hiding place for anygolfer. In the final five weeks or so, therewas a good battle emerging for the title.Mick Chambers was the front runner,but Darragh O’Malley and PaulO’Halloran had some high scores topotentially discard. On the final day(President’s Prize and very windy) ittook a score of 33 points from Paul toclinch the title by a shot from Darragh. Commenting Paul said: “Although Ihave won the GOY on two previousoccasions, this one is very special as Inow have the hat-trick and join AlanHiggins in that previously exclusiveclub. The silver salvers markingthe achievements areproudly displayed in myhome. I also want to saythat Darragh was a truesporting gentleman and congratulated me, despite hispersonal disappointment,on the first possibleoccasion after the result. Itwas exactly in the spirit ofour club.” Interestingly,Paul’s eight counting scoresranged in the narrow band from32 points to the 37 points withwhich he claimed runners-upspot in the Captain’s Prize.

Darragh O’Malley is Healy Cup winnerIf Darragh was disappointed, as he had aright to be, he too claimed one of theClub’s coveted majors when he playedsuperbly on Finals Day to beat BarryDillon in the final of the singlesmatchplay championship, the Healy Cup.Darragh can reflect on a superb seasonthat included a spectacular net 66 in theJune Medal which beat the competitionscratch of the day by a whopping 11shots. Darragh’s contribution to the clubthis year included an excellent win in hisBarton Cup match (sadly we did not winthe tie) and a management role with theMetropolitan Cup team.

Tom Higgins claims President’s PrizeIf there was a prize for the most popularwinner of the year, it would surely havegone to the man who claimed the othermajor club championship this year, thePresident’s Prize. Tom Higgins shareswith our President Leo Booth a currentchallenge to his health, but he showedno signs of that when he swept to victorywith a fabulous 40 points. He saw off abrace of committee members to claim hiswin: Eamonn McHugh was runner-upwith 38 points; and, Paddy Ryan wasthird with 37 points.

Niall Lavin shoots record, wins Cup and plays with Bernhard LangerIf winning the Phoenix Trophy wasn’t

enough for long-timelow handicap

player NiallLavin, thenclaiming thenew record forthe medal

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Winners claim the spoils with great skill

There were many outstanding performances over the links in recent months, only some of which can be recounted here.

The Captain congratulates Paul O’Halloran on his achievement of being 2009 Golfer of the Year.

(white tees) course should satisfy hisambition. His gross 66 off a handicapof 2 gave him a fantastic 44 points.Some sympathy has to be reserved,though, for Mark Murnane. Comingoff a string of decent performances,Mark shot a gross 71 off his handicapof 5 for 42 points. Still great play evenif he didn’t claim the Phoenix Trophy.Niall Lavin wasn’t quite finished withsilverware for his weekend though. Theday after his course record was FinalsDay and playing in the final of theAshbourne Cup, Niall defeated theever-competitive Brendan O’Malley.Given that Niall also managed toqualify for and play in the SeniorsBritish Open at Wentworth this year,and that he got to play a practice roundthere with his all-time golfing hero,Bernhard Langer, it’s safe to say that2009 has been very special for Niall.

Finals DayThe re-introduction of a Finals Day tothe club in September gave a greatsense of occasion to those memberswho had succeeded in reaching a cup final. The final matches, theplayers, and the times were all posted

on the board, lending further weight to the importance of the cups andrecognition to the achievements of those who had won through to that stage.

A dinner and presentation to all theparticipants was presided over by theCaptain who rightly praised theTournament Committee for theirinitiative and their hard work.

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Royal Dublin Mail

Peter’s double topsPeter Early had an excellent year in thecups. He won the Buff’s Prize withMichael Chambers and the Bull Cupwith Paul O’Grady. Speaking at the

presentation of prizes he mentionedhow special it was to win the Buff’s thisyear as it was always known as Larry’s(Gunning) Prize.

Peter Early speaking after receiving both the Buff’s Prize and the Bull Cup.

The singles matchplay champion, Darragh O’Malley, receives the Healy Cup from theCaptain, watched by Tournament Convenor, Mick Dinneen.

Niall Lavin receives the Ashbourne Cup the day after shooting a course record toclaim the Phoenix Trophy.

The juniors and intermediates were blessedwith that rarity in 2009, a beautiful day, fortheir Captain’s Prize in September. It wasthe climax of a fantastic year’s golf. As usual,the Club has a variety of younger membersin various stages of progression in their golf.It was notable though that Niall Kearneytook time out from his packed schedule toparticipate and registered a win in theMulholland Trophy. Our home winner ofthe Lumsden Cup, David O’Beirne, alsocollected further silverware this year with hiswin in the President’s Prize to juniors andintermediates.Two of the younger junior members alsocollected coveted prizes: Conor Lavin tookthe Jauncey Trophy for the Golfer of theYear, while the ever-smiling Rob Keoghreceived the Condon Trophy for the MostImproved Junior. And, for the record, thefirst-running of the McDevitt Trophy waswon by Andrew Cloonan who was ablypartnered by Mark Murnane, taking victoryin the final over Sean Ryan and Niall Terry.Our former international player, NeilO’Briain, came home from America and wasplaying well towards the end of the season,while there was excellent news when JackHutchinson was brought into the GUI’sLeinster U15 development squad.

Future in good handsThe ‘big one’ though is the Captain’s Prizeand it was Conor Glavey who topped offhis strong season by holding off thechallenge of Paul Fitzgerald and NeilO’Briain to win his second Captain’s Prizeto Juniors and Intermediates in three years.Conor is very popular with his fellowmembers and travelled out to America,along with Barry Fennelly, to support theirgood pal and former classmate, NiallKearney at the Walker Cup. Speaking afterreceiving the Booth Trophy which isawarded to the winner, he said how muchseeing Niall play so well had inspired him.He also very graciously remembered Larry

Gunning and Tommy Rothwell and thework they had done over the years in theClub. In his remarks the Captain said thathe had been watching the juniors andintermediates at close hand all year andthat, as a result, he knows the future of theClub is in good hands. He paid tribute to the great behaviour, terrific attitude and skilled play of the juniors andintermediates.Sean concluded by saying that enormouscredit is due to Peter Duff and his veryable committee, including John Bergin,John Lally, Peter Early, Rea Ryan and GerEnnis for their hard work throughout the year.

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Winners allConor Glavey took the big prize at the conclusion of a terrific year for juniors and intermediates at Royal Dublin.

Conor Glavey took the Captain’s Prize for the secondtime in three years.

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Royal Dublin Mail

Top: on the first tee on Captain’s Day with theCaptain were, from left: Shane Gaffney; Andy Ryan;Rea Ryan; Jonathan Lally; Peter Duff; and John Lally.

Middle above: Golfer of the Year Conor Lavin receives his prize.

Above: Rob Keogh was the Most Improved Junior of the Year.

Far left: the Captain presents Peter Cloonan with hisprize for winning the Gunning Trophy, watched byJunior Sub-Committee member, John Bergin.

Left: the winning team in the Eamon O CoineMemorial Trophy receive the Trophy made up ofMartin Cook’s medals, from left: Daniel Bergin; Sean McCullagh; and Shane Finnegan.

Cadets take first stepsThe new Cadet Programme took place this summer.

At the presentation after the conclusion of the firstever Royal Dublin Cadet Programme.

Top: the Captain with from left, back row: GrellanMurray; Gary Keogh; Conor Shaw; and NeilO’Brien. Front: Cadet Programme participants:Lorenzo O’Brien; Stephen Keogh; and, Liam Shaw.

Middle: the Captain with from left, back row:Conor Dalgleish, Liam Booth, and Peter Early.Front: Cadet Programme participants: LukeDalgleish; Jody Booth; and, David Early.

Bottom: proud grandfather: the Captain with fromleft, back row: Paul Murray; and Brian McKeon.Cadet Programme participants: James O’Connor;Niall Murray; and, Pearce McKeon.

The Junior Committee made aninspired choice when they appointedNeil O’Brien and Gary Keogh to set upand run the first ever CadetProgramme in Royal Dublin. Thisprogramme has two aims: to introducesons of members in the 8–12 agebracket to golf in a fun way; and, todevelop these boys’s skills so that theyare prepared properly for golf whenthey attain junior membership. Neiland Gary had no template with whichto work. They devised an excellentstructure allowing the boys to be takenin reasonably small groups through ahalf hour of instruction by our assistantprofessionals, Philip McLaughlin andPaddy Devine, and a half hour of fungames and drills on the practice puttinggreen. A series of these nights over thesummer culminated in the boys gettingtheir first taste of the course in a fourhole scramble competition, followed bya burger and chips meal in the MoranRoom. It was a great success with theboys, though slightly shy at first,getting to know each other anddeveloping their skills at the same time.While there is a premium put on givingall boys the basics of the game, it wasimmediately apparent that there areboys who have the potential to be veytalented at golf. Hopefully, the CadetProgramme will encourage all boys todevelop a love for the game.

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Christy’s great accoladeOur own Christy O’Connor (Senior, ‘Himself’) received international recognition from his peersin November with his inauguration into the World Golf Hall of Fame. Here’s a few remindersof his glory days.

The links staff have a comprehensiveprogramme of work to complete over the winter.

Some of that work is:■ repair and reshape some bunkers and

their surrounds;■ reducing the height of gorse;■ enlarged planting of gorse;■ making paths to enable both the cutting

of the gorse and the finding of golf balls;

■ cutting the rough and collecting the grass;

■ scarifying these areas to reduce theunwanted grass species;

■ seeding weaker areas on pathways andpatching worn areas with new sodding;

■ building a new winter tee on the 12th;■ raising the blue tee on the 5th;■ reshaping and levelling the lower

tee on the 14th;■ pipe the drain on the 15th between the

two bridges and form a new pathway;■ install a new path to the right side of the

6th green; and,■ tidy and cut the lower branches of trees

that hinder play.

This winter programme work willinclude normal winter maintenance andvarious works that prepare the course forthe following spring. As usual, mats willbe in use in January and February.

Busy greens programmeJohn McGreevy reports on a full schedule of works on the links for winter.

The master at home in Clontarf.At the inauguration event in Florida were (from left) Dermot Sherlock; Christy Jnr;Christy Senior’s daughter Marguerite; and the Captain.

The door to Christy’s locker at the World GolfHall of Fame.

Christy in his prime. Christy signs for a 65 at The Open in RoyalLytham & St Anne’s.

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Royal Dublin Mail

Many of you will have noticed the newclassic black and white uniformintroduced by Jim Hoare on theoccasion of the Captain’s dinner. Itfeatures a discreet club logo embossedon the cuff of the new crisp whiteshirts and on the pocket of the newbistro apron. It’s a nice change fromthe former all black attire.

New look for our friendly staff

The cuff and apron logos on the new staff uniform.

Santa comes to RDGC

Sunday 13th sees the great manhimself coming to Royal Dublin. Therewill be a magician on the day to amazeand delight all. Parents should contactJim Hoare or Deci Nolan beforeFriday December 11th for fullarrangements.

Catering surveyThere are plans for a survey ofmembers to update the Committeeand staff on members’ needs. Pleasemake sure to complete it fully when itcomes you way.

Social calendarEvents in the Royal Dublin calendar for the rest of the year :December 3 : Larry Gunning Ladies Party

December 5 : Presentation of Prizes and Dinner

December 8 : Nevin Maguire Cookery Demo

December 12 : Candlelit Dinner

December 13 : Santa Claus comes to Royal Dublin and magician Joe Daly

December 19 : Fran O’Brien night

Ecumenical serviceDeceased members were remembered atthe ecumenical service which returnedthis year, although in a new venue – theSacred Heart Residence on Sybil Hill.

Ronan Collins NightAfter a delicious meal, members andguests danced to the sound of TheRonan Collins Big Band on SaturdayNovember 21. Over 140 people partiedwell into the early hours. Deci Nolan’sidea to move the function from thedining room to upstairs proved a greatsuccess with diners who got to see theclub in different light.

Financial reportMembers have already received their Annual Report which contains the full details of theaccounts for the Club. Despite the very difficult economic climate, the Club has recordeda surplus of €87,000. This compares with a loss last year of €54,000 and a target surplusfor this year of €25,000. Members may also be reassured by the fact that there was areduction of €860,00 in Club’s loan balance. All details are in the Annual Report and theHonorary Treasurer, Kieran Howard, will be making his usual report to the AnnualGeneral Meeting.

Seventeen teams took part in a pre-South Africa rugby international golf day on Friday November 27, which was followed by a very popular spit roast, which is known as hog tau.

Hog tau

I bumped into Larry in early Septemberwhile I was chucking a few cases of wineinto the back of the car for the annualfishing trip to Bangor Erris. We chattedaway about all manner of things, mefinishing up saying that I was unlikely tocatch any salmon during the week’s fishing.“Bit like your golf,” he said with a grin,“not many birdies.” And as he saunteredoff, he turned to face me and, with acomplete look of rascality said, “actually –not may pars.” I was still chuckling when Igot to the lodge four hours later.Fast-forward to Larry’s funeral held just twoweeks later at the Church of theAssumption, Howth, where his family andhis many friends gathered to say goodbye toa truly legendary figure both in and beyondthe environs of our club. The funeral announcement had referred toRoyal Dublin as his “true home”, and onhis coffin was the cover of his recentlypublished life story “A life less ordinary”,adorned by Owen O’Connor’s touchingblack and white portrait.It’s a remarkable and powerful photographof a man in his 90s; dignified, alert, fully incommand of his space and wearing,sublimely, the physical effects of his greatage. And wearing, proudly, his Captain’sjacket with the year of his captaincy, 1967, afurther reminder of his incredibly longassociation with the club that began in1935.Larry was remarkably protective about his74 year membership of the club and the factthat it stands as a record for the longestmembership in the club’s history – eventhough his brother, Kerry, is nipping at hisheels having notched up 68 years on themembers’ board.Larry liked being a leader, both statistically,on the course and in his professional life.

For all of his ‘clubbability’ – and he was aterrific club man – there was really strongcompetitive streak in his character which,coupled with an eye for detail and a desirefor excellence, saw him achieve great successon a wide variety of fronts. He wasn’t shy about making demandseither. In 1976, he was approached tomanage one of the club teams and Larry’sforthright response was that he wouldmanage all 13 teams on condition that hecould pick the members himself. This wasunheard of but was reluctantly agreed on ayear’s trial. In his first year, the club wonfive trophies and Larry continued in theposition of teams’ manager for 20 years.In his professional life his toweringachievement – along with Kerry – was thecreation of the Irish Monstrance of Fatima,widely regarded as one of the great pieces ina collection that also includes thePortuguese Crown of Gold, containing thebullet that wounded Pope John Paul II. It stands 42 inches high and is a masterpieceof church art, encrusted with 150diamonds, sapphires, pearls and other

precious jewels which took nine months ofintensely-detailed craft work by theemployees of Gunning and Son tocomplete. At home, he and his wife Maryenjoyed 62 years of a happy marriage,blessed with good humour, son Laurence,daughters Adrienne and Anne and a vastarray of grandchildren and relations all ofwhom joined in a celebration of his life,along with his many friends from RoyalDublin on Saturday, September 19.And one of Larry’s great legacies continuesat the club on Thursday December 3, whenthe wives of deceased members gather tocelebrate in the annual institution known asthe Ladies’ Night at Royal Dublin.This year’s event – the 30th since itsinception by Larry at the instigation ofMary – will be made all the more poignantwithout him, but all the more relevant in hisabsence. We shall warmly recall hisenthusiasm, wit, generosity and enormouscontribution to his club – the one he called “home”.

Stephen Ryan

Royal Dublin Mail

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Larry Gunning 1918-2009He ranks amongst the greatest of ourmembers and we lost him this summer.

Owen O’Connor’s touchingblack and white portraitwith Larry wearing,proudly, his 1967 Captain’s jacket.

Larry drives in for his Captaincy watched by plenty of familiar faces.