2025 National Interclub Finals Preview by John Manning

2025 National Interclub Finals Preview by John Manning
A new name will be inscribed on the National Inter-Club trophy at Fermoy this weekend.
No previous winner of the Scratch Inter-Club has qualified to contest the 2025 final at the excellent north-east Cork venue, albeit Gowran were successful in the old National Nett Inter-Club event at Royal Meath in 2018.
The current year Gowran sextet is drawn in the afternoon session at Fermoy and will play alongside Deerpark 2. Derek Whelan of this year’s crop played in 2018 while Patrick Robinson (now of Gowran) helped Bagenalstown to Nett runners-up spot in 2015. Cillian Courtney was a 2019 National Juvenile Inter-County winner with Kerry and will now seek to drive Deerpark 2 to National Inter-Club honours.
Larkspur Park, Bruff and Riverdale have finished as runners-up in 2022, 2023 and 2024 respectively and will all fancy their chances of taking the ultimate step this time.
Coincidentally, Riverdale were top qualifiers in North Munster at Tipperary Hills followed home by Bruff and Larkspur Park. Expect these three to be at the business end of the national final as well.
Bruff will be first to tee-off, partnered by Cunnigar. World Cup and European champions Kieran Earls and Liam O’Donovan are the standout performers on the Bruff team while Cunnigar feature Aidan O’Rourke, a National Mixed Team Event runner-up with the Dungarvan based club in 2012.
Deerpark 1 headed the South Munster qualifying round. The Fleming brothers, Damien and James, headline this Killarney squad and James will be hoping to go one better than his runner-up medal in the 2016 Nett event while Damien can call on a slew of recent international team success. Larkspur Park’s Eoghan Aylward and Gemma Martin are no strangers to national podiums – such as National Juvenile Inter-County, Eamonn Birchall Trophy and All Ireland Ladies Matchplay Nett Cup.
Leading Leinster qualifiers Bagenalstown are drawn to play with Tullamore. It’s ten years since Bagenalstown reached the National Inter-Club final. None of that side remains but Bagenalstown can call on Martin Whelan who recently helped Carlow to second spot in the Leinster Junior Inter-County championship along with reigning Leinster Strokeplay champion Paul Core. European Ladies Team champion Amy Galvin headlines the Tullamore team, in which she is joined by Jamie Hogan and Sean Galvin (who linked successfully in past schools events with their alma mater, Coláiste Choilm, Tullamore).
Lakeside and Lucan 2 will complete the morning wave at Fermoy. Michael Fennell was a key member of Lakeside’s 2018 runner-up side while Fennell combined with Noel Stapleton in a Lakeside team that finished second in the 1995 National Club tournament at Mellows. Lucan’s Barry Gorey won a National Juvenile Inter-County gold medal in 2005 while he and Aaron Brazil were part of Dublin’s 2023 Leinster Intermediate Inter-County runner-up sextet.
First out in the afternoon session will be Riverdale and Lucan 1. Riverdale looks a particularly potent combination. Recent European Team champion Stephen Shoer has two National Inter-Club silver medals, won with two different clubs, Riverdale and Lakeside. Sean Minogue and Tim Crowe hold winners and runners-up medals in the National Nett Inter-Club as well as last year’s runners-up gongs in the Scratch event. Anthony Malone leads the Lucan 1 squad and very few possess as much team experience as the charismatic National Vice President. Gary Ryan was a National Inter-County second place finisher with Dublin’s 2006 Juveniles.
Rochfortbridge will tee-off alongside Tralee. The hugely experienced ex-Ierne member Pat Tyrrell was an Inter-County runner-up with Dublin in the late 1970s. Gerry Coyne has been second with Westmeath in the Leinster Inter-County championships. Tralee’s Jason Cregan and Michael Conway have seen much success in the green and gold of Kerry in Inter-County combat, at both Under-16 and adult level.
Custume and Mellows play in Saturday’s final groups. 2020 Irish Open champion Pat Malone was a member of the Westmeath side that claimed second to Tipperary at Bagenalstown last year while Sean Langdon featured on the 2015 Lake County team that were Leinster bronze medalists at Castletown. Mellows braved a 450 kilometre round trip to qualify at Poulaphouca and will clock up the kilometers again to get to Fermoy. Club Secretary Alan O’Keeffe features for the Renmore men, as does Donal Tarpey who made the 2024 National Intermediate Strokeplay final round at Glenville.
Saturday’s play will see Scotch Foursomes and Singles Strokeplay. The top four teams in that format will qualify to contest Matchplay semi-finals and finals on Sunday.
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