Dundalk so proud of their partners in prime
NOT many champions walk away undefeated, but that’s one big claim to fame that Deirdre Smith and Marguerite Reilly have.
They could justifiably be rated as Dundalk’s best ever foursomes pairing in ladies or indeed men’s golf at the highest level of the game.
Winning the Daily Mail Ladies Foursomes twice in a row is a feat that is likely to stand the passage of time.
They were the first to successfully defend the title as they swept aside the best pairs clubs in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland could turn out. Among their opponents were international players in this most exacting form of golf, invariably involving low handicappers.
Only in hindsight is the scale and magnitude of what they achieved realised and fully appreciated.
It might even have been a more dazzling feat for Marguerite, in particular, and the Dundalk club. For Marguerite was so tantalisingly close to pulling off a hat-trick in the British Isles wide tournament.
In partnership with Yvonne Cassidy the pair walked up the last hole all square in the final at Royal Porthcawl in Wales. However, playing her approach shot to the final green, Marguerite experienced the unmentionable for the first time in her career – the ball going sideways - and the pair lost.
This was in 1997, the year before Marguerite and Deirdre teamed up. ‘I would never have played with Deirdre,’ said Marguerite, which makes what they achieved all the more extraordinary.
As it turned out they were the perfect blend - Marguerite with her jolly, relaxed approach and Deirdre the serious competitor who was then breaking into the top echelon of ladies golf in the country.
The ‘joy and fun and experience’ she garnered proved a valuable ‘stepping stone and confidence boost’ in Deirdre’s career. A member of both the County Louth and Dundalk clubs, she attained the status of Ireland’s number one lady, playing in the Home internationals after her biggest individual achievement - becoming the Irish Close champion in 2004.
She went on to help Ireland retain the Home Internationals trophy won the previous year and it would be another 13 years before they won it again in 2017.
At her peak in 2006/7 she was +2, but her handicap is lower now at +3, a glowing testimony to her enduring love of the game and competiveness.
‘Why not keep going? I love competing,’ admitted Deirdre, who tees it up against the best in scratch cups on some of the best of the country’s courses, including Lahinch, Royal County Down, Hermitage and Royal Portrush.
‘What isn’t there to like about that on a Sunday?’
Marguerite echoed Deirdre’s memories of the Daily Mail days, saying: ‘It was a great experience and it was great fun and you met lots of lovely people.’ She remarked modestly about her achievements in the game:
‘I haven’t done a huge amount, but it probably was the highlight. Those three years were probably the highlight.’
Deirdre was effusive about how she valued her partner and rated her as a player.
‘I really enjoyed playing with Marguerite. She was a dream partner with a relaxed and nonchalant air’ and they knew how to get the best out of each other, whether Marguerite needed a ‘gee-up’ or Deirdre to be relaxed.
‘She was a great player and a marvellous striker. Much better than a nine handicap (she played off eight in the 1998 finals),’ asserted Deirdre.
The pair acknowledged the important part that their caddies Mary Sinton and Kitty Duffy played in landing the title in successive years. They were by their side while they trekked across the country or played on their local course to qualify for both finals, and travelled to England to accompany them and lend their experience, advice and support to accomplish ultimate glory.
Marguerite also gratefully acknowledged: ‘I was very lucky working for Des Denning (insurance broker, keen sportsman - including golf - and former Dundalk FC chairman who died suddenly in 2014) because of the amount of time off.’
Deirdre’s job as a teacher also facilitated her to engage in the lengthy campaigns that stretched from April to October, entailing playing as many as a dozen matches each year.
‘I think there would be seven or eight matches in Ireland and four over there, a total of up to 12. The finals in Southampton and the Forest of Arden were played over two days, with two matches each day if you were successful,’ recounted Deirdre.
Marguerite’s memory was that they flew over at night two days beforehand, played a practice round the next day and on the Thursday morning played the first of the matches.
‘Sometimes there were overnight stays for matches in Ireland,’ she recalled.
As regards the matches, Deirdre said: ‘It was nearly harder to get out of Ireland. The matches at home were almost harder than in the finals. Everybody was mad to get out of Ireland and qualify for the finals.’
She recalled one particular match in Dundalk which ranks probably as their toughest.
‘We played Helen Jones, an Irish international, and Niamh Quigg from Strabane who like her partner was an Ulster interprovincial player. They would have been at the height of their powers and very competitive. We beat them on the 18th.’
Marguerite’s recollection concurred - that the pair got it easier in the finals, winning both com