Ballybunion into two Munster semi-finals

IT has been a very successful week for Ballybunion as the club qualified for two provincial semi-finals following victories in the West Munster area finals of the Fred Daly Trophy and the Irish Junior Cup.

At Newcastlewest last week old rivals Tralee were the opposition in the Fred Daly Trophy and the men from Barrow got off to the better start when Luke Walsh (recently recruited from Killarney) beat Phillip Byrne by 3/2 in the top match.

Edmond Healy soon levelled, beating Cíarán Nolan by 6/5 in game three before James O’Callaghan beat Mark Leahy by 2/1 in game two, to put Ballybunion ahead and Jordan Ryan then clinched it, beating David Nolan on the final hole. The final match between Mark Galvin and Liam O’Donnell was called in as a half.

Ballybunion now head for Nenagh on Monday August 20 where they will play Dungarvan in the Munster semi-finals with Limerick and Muskerry contesting the other semi-final.

Last year Ballybunion were beaten in the Munster semi-finals at Fermoy by Limerick, who went on to lose the final to Muskerry and with three of last year’s four semi-finalists involved again this year, it promises to be a great contest at Nenagh.

FOLLOWING on from their success against Tralee in the Fred Daly, both James O’Callaghan and Edmond Healy were involved in the West Munster area final of the Irish Junior Cup on Wednesday when Ballybunion took on Dooks at Killarney’s Killeen course.

Barry O’Callaghan turned two up on Seamus Curran in the top match before extending his lead to four holes after twelve and then closed it out by a 5/4 margin to put the first point on the board for the defending All-Ireland champions.

At the back of the pack in match five, Frank Geary (who at the tender age of 23, is seeking his third All-Ireland Junior Cup medal) was in terrific against Edward Deniel and having turned four up, closed out his match at the thirteenth by a 6/5 margin.

In match four, James O’Callaghan raced into a three-hole lead after five against Damien O’Sullivan but the Dooks man reduced the deficit to just one after eleven.

However, O’Callaghan won the fifteenth and sixteenth, to close out the game and snatch the third and match winning point for Ballybunion.

Edmond Healy was one up on Jesse McCormack playing the seventeenth in match two and Ronan Cross and Dooks Captain Karl Falvey were all square after sixteen when both matches were called in to give Ballybunion the overall win by four matches to one.

Ballybunion now qualify for the provincial semi-finals at Thurles on August 18 where they take on Shannon, with Dungarvan facing Monkstown in the other semi-final.