Mairead Martin signs for Cardinals
KANTURK’S Mairead Martin has signed a letter of intent to play for the University of Louisville next year and become the first Irish woman to play for the Cardinals’ women’s team.
A member of the Irish girls U18 team since 2014, the Cork starlet won the Irish Girls Close Championship in July and then helped Ireland win the Ladies Home Internationals for the first time since 2004 when she holed the winning putt at Little Aston in August.
A two-time winner of the Leinster Ladies Championship — she was the event’s youngest winner as a 14-year-old in 2014 — she won the 2016 Irish Girls Order of Merit and claimed the girls’ prize at the recent Darren Clarke Foundation weekend.
She also had a successful year with Killarney, helping the Co. Kerry club win the Senior Cup for the first time with a 4-1 win over Royal Portrush at Royal Curragh.
The Cardinals’ head coach, Courtney Trimble, said she was “thrilled to have the programme’s first Irish player joining the team”.
“Mairead had a phenomenal summer, competing as both an individual and a member of the Irish national team,” Trimble said. “Her play this summer was evidence of her ability to compete on the world’s highest stage and be successful.
“Mairead will no doubt have an immediate impact on our team with her wealth of experience on the international level.”
Mairead joins Kinsale’s John Murphy, Oughterard’s Devin Morley, Belfast’s Hugh O’Hare and Associate Head Coach Aaron O’Callaghan from Douglas in the Louisville set-up.