Tullamore to face Adare Manor for "I Need Spain" Irish Mixed Foursomes
High Tackle.......Antoininette Meghen (Adare Manor) is congradulated on winning her match on the 18th green in the semi final of the 2017 I Need Spain Irish Mixed Foursomes All Ireland Finals at Castlebar Golf Club today (08/09/2017). Picture by Pat Cashman
Tullamore will have to see off Adare Manor on Saturday if they are to win an unprecedented third green pennant in the I Need Spain Irish Mixed Foursomes.
As for the Munster side, they will be hoping to win their first green pennant since they won the Pierce Purcell Shield in 1985
The Leinster champions saw off the challenge of Athenry in Friday’s semi-final by a 3.5 to 1.5 as Adare Manor beat Malone by the same scoreline.
Played in challenging conditions, it was Adare Manor that put the first point on the board as Tony Davern and Ina Desmond ran out comfortable winners over the mother-son pairing of Linda and Paddy Dean of Malone.
Never behind, the Adare Manor pair ended the match on the 13th green with a 7 and 5 win.
It was perhaps no surprise that Davern and Desmond coasted home with such ease. The pair have now won five out of six matches in the campaign.
Team Captain Padraig Mann was thrilled with their leadership, explaining: "They’ve been out in front all year, I don’t think they’ve had to go past the last five holes in any of their matches in the past year. It’s great to get one early match in."
Down the order, there were also wins for Alan Purcell and Antoinette Meghan and in the the bottom match Deirdre Keating and Brian Murray extended their unbeaten run with a 3/1 win to seal victory for Adare Manor.
Eoin Marsden and Richelle O’Neill led from the front for Tullamore as they comfortably accounted for Athenry's John Whelan and Teresa Coen by 6 and 5 margin.
Matthew Grehan, brother of Irish international Stuart, and his partner Fiona Flanagan saw off Pierse Coffey and Ursula Morley by two holes while the penultimate match saw Eoin Flanagan & Emily Donohue edge out Martin Hynes and Aileen Mangan by 4 and 3.
Paying tribute to his team, Tullamore captain Joe Morris said: "We’re absolutely delighted to get there, it a great achievement to get this far and hopefully we can finish it off tomorrow. Hopefully, we can make it a third win (in this event) tomorrow.'
The final gets underway at 9.30am on Saturday.
I Need Spain Irish Mixed Foursomes
Semi Finals, Castlebar Golf Club
Adare Manor 3.5, Malone 1.5
(Adare Manor names first)
- Tony Davern & Ina Desmond bt Paddy Dean & Linda Dean 7/5;
- Tom Hickey & Bernie O’Dea lost to Johnny Watt & Eleanor McKelvey 19th;
- Alan Purcell & Antoinette Meghen bt Dan McCrea & Claire Canning 1 hole;
- Eoin Moran & Phil Mann halved with Philip O’Sullivan & Nicola Dolaghan;
- Brian Murray & Deirdre Keating bt Jan Gilbert & Kay Gilbert 3/1.
Tullamore 3.5, Athenry 1.5
(Tullamore names first)
- Eoin Marsden & Richelle O’Neill bt John Whelan & Teresa Coen 6/5;
- Matthew Grehan & Fiona Flanagan bt Pierse Coffey & Ursula Morley 2 holes;
- Martin Darcy & Eilish O’Connell lost to Mark Webber & Melissa Casserly 2/1;
- Eoin Flanagan & Emily Donohue bt Martin Hynes & Aileen Mangan 4/3;
- Colm Cassidy & Cait Cooney halved with Pascal Carbin & Helen Hanly.
Final - 9.30am on Saturday
Adare Manor v Tullamore
(Adare Manor names first)
- Tony Davern (16) & Ina Desmond (10) v Eoin Marsden (1) & Richelle O’Neill (19) - Adare Manor get 3 shots;
- Alan Purcell (1) & Antoinette Meghen (19) v Matthew Grehan (0) & Fiona Flanagan (22) Tullamore get 1 shot;
- Eoin Moran (5) & Phil Mann (18) v Eoin Flanagan (4) & Emily Donohue (20) - Tullamore get 1 shot;
- Martin Hayes (15) & Breda Naughton (11) v Martin Darcy (3) & Eilish O’Connell (18) - Adare Manor get 3 shots;
- Brian Murray (4) & Deirdre Keating (21) v Colm Cassidy (5) & Cait Cooney (16) - Adare Manor get 2 shots
