Is McKenna Ireland’s greatest female golfer?

HAVING looked at Ireland’s greatest professional and amateur male golfers during the past two weeks, this week it’s the turn of the women and immediately names like Philomena Garvey, Clarrie Reddan and Mary McKenna come to mind, or if you know your ILGU history, then possibly Rhona Adair or May Hezlet.

A number of leading golf writers over the years have tackled this subject and opinion seems to be divided between Philomena Garvey and May Hezlet as Ireland’s greatest ever female golfer, but I’m wondering why not Mary McKenna?

Rhona Adair and May Hezlet were both to the fore of Irish golf around the turn of the twentieth century, while Philomena Garvey enjoyed a career that spanned four decades and McKenna’s career spanned the late 60s, the 70s and into the 80s.

Let’s go back to the first two and begin with Rhona Adair who was 17 years of age when she played in her first British Ladies Amateur in 1895. She went on to win the British Ladies Amateur in 1900 and again in 1903, while she also won four straight Irish Ladies Close Championships from 1900 to 1903.

She played several exhibition-matches on a 1903 tour of the United States where she defeated Margaret Curtis (who lent her name to the Curtis Cup), prompting the press to describe her as the foremost lady player in the world.

Rhona married a British Army Officer in 1907 and strangely gave up her golf career to raise her two children. When her husband was killed during World War One she returned to Ireland and remained supportive of ladies golf, becoming the President of the ILGU in 1961 but she died during her year in office at the age of 83.

May Hezlet was born in Gibraltar, one of three golfing sisters in an army family who moved to Ireland when she was very young.

She announced her arrival on the golfing scene in 1899 when at the age of just 17 she won the British Amateur and Irish Close championships.

Hezlet went on to win five Irish Close titles in total, even beating her sister Florence in one final, while she won the British Amateur on three occasions and remains the youngest ever winner to this day.

Philomena Garvey was in the golfing village of Baltray in Louth next to the famous links and at the age of 20 in 1946 won the first of her fifteen Irish Close titles.

She won the British Amateur in 1957 and contested four other finals as well while representing Ireland in the Home Internationals for 18 years in a row.

Elsewhere in team golf, Garvey played for Great Britain & Ireland in six Curtis Cups and seven Vagliano Trophy matches.

In 1964 she decided to join the paid ranks, becoming Ireland’s first female professional but had her amateur status restored four years later, and she went on to capture her fifteenth and final Irish Close title in 1970 at the age of 44 before retiring shortly after.

Mary McKenna won twelve domestic Irish titles including eight Irish Close championships with three of her victories in that championship coming in Kerry, at Ballybunion in 1969 1977 and Killarney in 1972.

She also played in nine consecutive Curtis Cup matches, six Vagliano Cups and was Ireland’s leading player for the best part of fifteen years before going on to captain the Curtis Cup and Vagliano Cup teams as well as being elected ILGU President in 2013.

One could also give honourable mention to the likes of Kitty McCann, Mary Gorry and Claire Hourihane but their haul of major titles would not stack up against those profiled here, while none of the younger brigade, even the Maguire sisters, have achieved anything like that either.

In terms of winning titles, Philomena Garvey has no equal and I would certainly put her ahead of Rhona Adair and May Hezlet in that respect.

However, I’m wondering if Mary McKenna has never been considered as Ireland’s greatest because she never won a British Amateur ?

If so, then I feel that its not right, and I’m going for her as Ireland’s greatest.