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GAZ
ETTE
N
W
DECEMBER 1992
Irish Lawyers win European Golf Championship
T h e Irish Law Society golfers are
c h amp i o ns of Eu r o p e!
In the Sp a n i sh s un, n e ar Ca d i z, Irish
Law Society golfers won the
i n a u g u r al E u r o p e an Legal Team
C h amp i o n s h i p, played f r om 2 to 7
No v emb er last.
Also c omp e t i ng were t e ams
representing Ho l l a n d, France,
Belgium, No r t h e rn Ireland, Wales,
Sc o t l a nd a nd E n g l a n d, ten in all, a
total of over 130 players.
Even s ome w h o mi g ht wo n d er at or
q u e s t i on the c omp o s i t i on of the
t e am c a n n ot b ut be pleased a n d
p r o ud of this historic a c h i e v eme n t.
T h e entire p a n el r e s p o n d ed
ma g n i f i c e n t ly to the inspired a n d
d e t e rmi n ed leadership a n d example
of Society C a p t a in
John Lynch
a nd
Team C a p t a in
Richie Bennett.
Th ey
t o p p ed their g r o u p, a n d won a
s u p e rb final victory over the English
Blue " D r e a m " t e am.
Th e re was n o o ne w h o did n ot play
his p a rt nobly. Un p r e c e d e n t ed levels
of excellence were achieved in the
early r o u n d s, involving 5 f o u r b a ll
ma t c h es each mo r n i ng over 18 holes,
a n d 5 f o u r s omes g ames over 9 holes,
each a f t e r n o o n.
T h e s ame f o r mat applied for wh at
was, in effect, a close a n d exciting
semi-final against the Scots o n the
L-R: Gordon Fenton, Royal Bank of
Scotland, the sponsor of the European Legal
Team Golf Championship, about to present
the Championship Trophy to the Captain of
the Irish Law Society Team, Richard
Bennett.
Friday. In the final, on Saturday,
there were six f o u r s omes over 18
holes, a f t er which, at lunchtime,
o ur representatives led 4 / 2 . Even
still, 5 Vi of the twelve 18 holes
singles p o i n ts h a d to be won
in the a f t e r n o o n. A n d so they
were, s ome decisively a nd
c omf o r t a b l y, o t h e rs narrowly a nd
agonisingly.
T h e t o p quality golf played was
always ma t c h ed by exemplary
c o n d u c t / s p o r t s ma n s h i p, a b o ut which
there was mu c h f a v o u r a b le c o mm e n t.
A n d it h as to be said t h at the social
side of t he a d v e n t u re was not at all
neglected. Late nights a nd r e a s on a b le
c o n s ump t i on of alcohol helped to
create new f r i e nd s h i p s, to ease any
nervous tension there might have
been, a n d were followed by
effectively relaxed golf. It mi g ht be
h a rd to argue, indeed, t h at o ur men
a n d women are not social c h amp i o ns
also! Th e ir i mp r omp tu Bo d e ga
Sherry a nd Nibbles reception was
hailed as an o u t s t a n d i ng success for
its novelty, ingenuity, a nd e n j o yme n t,
a n d in which the entire p a r ty
c omb i n ed to ensure n o guest was in
any way neglected.
It was a rare a nd striking t r i bu te
t h at there was s t a nd i ng acclaim by
over 200 E u r o p e a ns in a t t e n d a n ce at
the b a n q u et for the p r e s e n t a t i on of
the p e r p e t u al t r o p hy a n d me d a l l i o ns
to the w i n n i ng t e am.
T h e w i n n i ng team:- Tom Da l t on a nd
Pat Barriscale (Limerick), P a d dy
Ma c k l in (Mo n a g h a n ), P a d r a ig " J u d "
D u f f y a n d C o lm Berkery
( D r o g h e d a ), Pa d r a ic Ge a r ty
( Lo n g f o r d ), Pat Reidy (Kilcullen),
Cyril Coyle (Castleblayney) a nd
Owen O ' B r i e n, Bill Jolley, Ge r ry
Walsh, J o h n Lynch a nd Richie
Bennett (all Dublin).
Padraic Gearty
(See photograph
overleaf).
•
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