Slade Valley win the Mary McKenna Diamond Trophy
SLADE Valley captured the Mary McKenna Diamond Trophy with a 3.5-1.5 win over Ballinrobe at Woodenbridge.
This special All-Ireland scotch foursome competition for ladies over 60 started in 2015, mirroring the JB Carr Diamond Trophy for men, which celebrated its 23rd edition earlier this month with The K Club claiming its first All Ireland pennant.
The four provincial winners – Malone, East Clare, Ballinrobe and Slade Valley – were piped across the River Avoca by Denis New on Friday and greeted by President Siobhan Saunders, Captain Paul Phelan, Lady Captain Naomi Stapleton and competition patron Mary McKenna before the action began on Saturday.
Slade Valley edged out Malone and Connacht champions Ballinrobe beat East Clare, both on a 3-2 scoreline, in two hotly contested semi-finals.
But in the final, it was the Leinster champions Slade Valley who emerged victorious, winning 3.5-1.5 in an event sponsored by Investec, the Woodenbridge Hotel and Cassidy Wines. Mary McKenna Diamond Trophy, Woodenbridge Golf Club (Sponsored by Investec, Woodenbridge Hotel and Cassidy Wines)
■ Semi-finals: Slade Valley 3, Malone 2; East Clare 2, Ballinrobe 3.
■ Third place playoff — Malone 4, East Clare 1 (Malone names first): Gillian Browne (13) & Janet Pritchard (24) bt Margaret McNamara (20) & Noreen Skehan (24) 2 up; Ann Brown (10 ) & Norma Scott (30) bt Kathleen O’Brien (18) & Mary Mannion (18) 4/2; Eleanor McKelvey (15) & Wendy Reid (23) halved with Evelyn Skehan (18) & Nancy Starr (27); Hester Jackson (16) & Olive Pelan 21 bt Brid Hayes (15) & Mary Brennan (25) 7/5; Rosie Kirk (17) & Anne McCoubrey (19) halved with Celia Moloney (22) & Mary Hogan (22).
Final — Slade Valley 3.5, Ballinrobe 1.5 (Slade Valley names first): Marie Murran (18) & Geraldine Mullaney (16) bt Angela Gill (15) & Connie Ryan (25) 2/1; Helen Goodall (17) & Mary O’Neill (26) lost to Geraldine Ryan (19) & Peggy Butler (24) 5/4; Noreen O’Grady (15) & Betty McCabe (23) bt Catherine O’Toole (16) & Eileen Byrne (23) 2/1; Jo Clarke (18) & Anne McNamara (19) bt Pat McDermot (15) & Breege Costello (25) 2/1; Dympna Wilson (13) & Pat McDonagh (22) halved with Marian Scully (15) & Marian Walsh (21).