Pitch & Putt Ireland2025 National County - Lakeside 13th & 14th September
2025 National Inter-county Preview by John Manning
Sixteen gents’ teams and ten ladies’ quartets will be in action at Lakeside during the 2025 Inter-County championships on 13th/14th September.
The championships have been contested once before at the splendid Templemore course, set in the shadow of Devil’s Bit Mountain.
Cork were victorious in the 2005 Gent’s championship at Lakeside while Kildare won the Ladies and some of the principals from the events of 20 years ago will be present again as the coveted Anchor and Vaughan Cups as well as the Eamonn Birchall trophy will be up for grabs once more.
Ray Murphy, John Cahill and John Walsh all contributed to Cork’s handsome nine stroke win in 2005 and will hope to play leading roles yet again as Cork seek to defend the title they claimed so impressively at Bagenalstown twelve months ago.
James Cleary was second best scorer for runners-up Tipperary back in 2005 and is a key member of the 2025 Premier County sextet that will be bidding to replicate Lucan 2024 (at least) rather than last year’s Eamonn Birchall trophy winning performance. Impressive though their Sunday showing was at Bagenalstown, Tipperary’s expectations will be much higher as they line-up alongside holders Cork at Lakeside.
Liam O’Donovan and Pacelli Darcy helped Limerick to bronze medals in 2005 and, in an interesting twist, are likely to be on duty for Clare on this occasion.
Marian Courtney top-scored for Kildare during their 2005 Ladies victory with 98 (it was still the era of the 36-hole Singles Strokeplay format back then) and Marian will return to Lakeside alongside her sisters Chrissie (Sheedy) and Margaret (Keogh) together with Tara Dillon, who all featured in that 2005 win. Kildare are on the verge of completing a four-in-a-row. That would match their 2005 to 2008 sequence, four successive wins that started at Lakeside.
There are no survivors from the Leesiders 2005 runner-up squad in the current Cork line-up, but Geraldine Ward endures from the Dublin quintet that took bronze the last time the National Inter-County was played in Lakeside. Winless since 2016, the all-time Roll of Honour leaders will look to improve on last year’s second place finish.
Kildare gents finished fourth twenty years ago, and the Lilywhite men will travel south with confidence following their exciting third place performance at Inniskeen in the recent Leinster Inter-County championship. Ian Dillon and Darren Keogh both played in 2005.
Dublin finished in fifth place in 2005, just ahead of Kerry and these two sides will have higher aspirations in 2025. Leinster four-in-a-row winners Dublin have not finished off the national podium since Portmarnock back in 2011 and have lifted the Anchor Cup in three of the last seven stagings of the championship. Chris Gallagher has previous experience of Inter-County combat at Lakeside.
Leinster kingpins Dublin have been paired with newly crowned Munster counterparts Limerick along with four-time national bronze medallists Offaly for Saturday singles play.
Kerry have not won since 1986, but a determined Kerry sextet will be looking to build on second, third and second respectively in the last three years. Damien Fleming was on the Kerry 2005 side, and the current year Kingdom crop will be in a position to keep a close eye on the progress of Cork and Tipperary in Saturday’s singles.
Louth gents (2025 Leinster runners-up) are rarely far out of the equation and Sean Goggin and Darren Fagan are veterans of the 2005 championship.
Other players that can call on past familiarity with this year’s venue are Ian Farrelly (Meath) and Robbie Walker (Waterford). Three-time champions Meath will chase a first podium finish since silver at Portmarnock 14 years ago while Waterford will hope to build on 2017 Eamonn Birchall trophy success.
Tipperary finished a distant ninth in the 2005 Ladies championship, but the Premier County ladies are made of sterner stuff these days, as witnessed by their 2019 National success at McDonagh and their ultra-impressive display at Ardnacrusha to claim Munster honours recently. Tipp are paired with Kildare for Saturday play, setting-up a battle between the respective reigning provincial champions.
Another team that might challenge the Kildare/Dublin domination are Offaly. With All–Ireland champions Amy Galvin and Margaret Hogan in their ranks, the Faithful County ladies played well in the recent provincial test at Inniskeen, recording the best singles tally in finishing a close third. Amy’s and Margaret’s colleagues, Denise Pyke and Linda Flanagan, both played in 2005.
Another 2005 participant was Liz Quinn, who has been leading something of a Westmeath revival in recent times.
Kathleen Geraghty lined out for Meath 20 years ago and will appear again in the Royal County colours, which were carried into third place at Bagenalstown twelve months ago.
Cork welcome back Eleanor Walsh, who is the only Cork player in history to claim five National Inter-County championship wins. Eleanor makes a first appearance since 2017.
Will anybody break 90 in the 2025 Gents’ championship? The incomparable Sean Downes scored -18 to return the individual Best Gross in 2005, narrowly ahead of Cork’s Chris Scannell on the second eighteen tiebreaker (45 to 47).
John Cahil land Ray Murphy helped Cork to the Munster Inter-County Championship at Lakeside in 2009,
fourteen shots clear of a Tipperary team that included James Cleary.
John Walsh and Ray Murphy collected another Munster Inter-County victory at Lakeside in 2004 when Cork were declared winners on the fifth card from a. Limerick quintet that contained Pacelli Darcy, Liam O'Donovan and Tommy Hanley. Tommy will represent Limerick at Lakeside this year while Pacelli and Liam will line out for Clare.
Jamie Blake and Darren Goodall helped Kerry to the Munster Juvenile Inter-County Championship title at Lakeside in 2004.
Anthony Culhane (Tipperary), Pacelli Darcy and Liam O’Donovan (both now Clare) were prominent in a Munster Inter-County championship that was held at Lakeside in 1996. Anthony was part of a Tipp side that scored 383 to win by ten from Limerick (featuring both Pacelli and Liam).
It’s encouraging to see Kerry, Kilkenny, Louth and Carlow participating in the 2025 Ladies championship.
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