Pitch & Putt IrelandNational Inter Counties Preview of Teams
Inter-County Preview 2024
One of the earliest pieces of national Pitch and Putt action at Bagenalstown was the 1975 Ladies Inter-County Championship (the last time it was last played as a separate event from the Gents).
Amazingly, there is a link between this weekend’s activities and that summer afternoon 49 years ago.
A youthful Breda White played for Tipperary at Bagenalstown on 25th May 1975 and was awarded the Best Individual Nett prize that was a feature of the championship at that time.
Dublin retained their team title in 1975 with a team total of 451. Cork were runners-up, just a single shot behind.
Last year’s bronze medallists Dublin and 2023 runners-up Cork are likely to be two of the principal title contenders again in 2024 in an encouraging field of ten counties.
The highest entry since 2011 features Carlow, a county that has rarely, if ever, fielded a ladies team.
Holders Kildare will have positive memories of the 2008 Leinster Inter-County championship at Bagenalstown to which Chrissie Sheedy, Tara Dillon and Marian Courtney of the current team all contributed handsomely. Chrissie also claimed second in the National Girls’ Strokeplay championship over the same weekend and was Leinster adult Strokeplay champion around Bagenalstown in 2015.
Chrissie, Tara and Marian all performed impressively at the recent national Strokeplay championship in Stackallen but will want to improve on their 2024 provincial Inter-County showing, in which they finished a distance behind imperious winners Dublin. Kildare panellist Catherine Smith won a provincial Junior Strokeplay championship at Bagenalstown nine years ago. Tara, Chrissie and Marian were 2016 National Inter-Club winners for St. Bridget’s at Bagenalstown.
Geraldine Ward provides a connection to the Dublin team that clinched the 1994 Leinster Inter-County championship at Bagenalstown. Dublin were fourteen stroke winners over Meath on that occasion.
The Royal County ladies received a major boost via their superb results in the recent revamped Leinster Inter-County tests at Oldcastle and will travel to Carlow with renewed confidence as they partner the host county in Foursomes play on Day One.
Impressive debutante Louise Grace joined Ger Ward (runner-up to Chrissie Byrne in that 2015 provincial Strokeplay), Tracey Smith and Glenda Hoey in Dublin’s tour-de-force in Oldcastle and hopes will be high in the capital that the team can end an eight-year drought, the longest winless streak in Dublin National Ladies Inter-County championship history. Dublin will have 2019 champions Tipperary for company in Saturday’s draw.
Mary Murray came within a whisker of grabbing National Strokeplay glory at Stackallen and will be hoping to inspire skipper Ailish Sexton (herself agonisingly close to intermediate triumph in Co. Meath), Sarah O’Neill and Paula Nolan to build on consecutive silver medals and earn a first title since 2015. Cork will have an ideal opportunity to keep a wary eye on Kildare’s progress as the top two from 2022 and 2023 play together.
Munster Nett winners Kerry will open proceedings on Saturday alongside Westmeath, twice champions and five time runners-up in the 1970s and 1980s.
Offaly are back in the fold as well and will play with Louth initially.
Meath substitute Ian Farrelly will be in a position to give his teammates plenty of insight into the Bagenalstown layout. The Bellewstown stalwart featured on the Royal County sides that won the Leinster Inter-County at the Muine Bheag venue in 2008 and that claimed silver there fourteen years earlier.
Holders Dublin’s seventh man Paddy O’Connor has extensive experience of Bagenalstown as a championship venue. 1998 Juvenile Inter-County runner-up with Dublin at Bagenalstown, O’Connor helped the Dubs to the 2008 Leinster Inter-County title at the same location.
One of Paddy’s colleagues in that 1998 Juvenile Inter-County quintet was George McGreal, who shone for Dublin in the recent Leinster Inter-County win at Oldcastle, where Meath finished just a single stroke behind in second place.
One suspects that Tipperary’s underwhelming performance in Tralee a few weeks ago will be forgotten as the Premier County men renew battle with Dublin, evoking of the sides duking it out at Lucan last September. Last year’s winners and runners-up will be joined in the Singles by the host county, 37 years on from Carlow’s sole silver medal performance at Glenville in 1987.
A lot of soul searching followed Cork’s limp fifth place showing at Lucan twelve months ago. Expect the 24-time champion Rebels to be much closer this time as they field a side that holds no fewer than 58 winners’ medals between them.
On Saturday, Cork will play with Munster rivals Kerry and Limerick. 2022 National runners-up Kerry chased a dominant Cork sextet home in the Munster championship at Tralee and seek a first Anchor Cup since 1986. Three-times silver medallists Limerick have never lifted the trophy but will surely take inspiration from the current heroics of reigning Irish Strokeplay kingpin Kieran Earls.
John Ross Crangle was Leinster Strokeplay champion at Bagenalstown in 2015, just ahead of Wexford fulcrum Dean Grannell.
Notwithstanding their recent clinching of the provincial three-in-a-row, Dublin will probably be looking for a better return from the Foursomes than at Oldcastle while the Model County men will seek to build on their 2023 Eamonn Birchall Trophy success. Wexford will be joined by 2014 and 2015 Leinster champions Westmeath.
Offaly were masterful in the foursomes at Oldcastle before fading in the Singles. The Faithful County men partner Kildare, who will bid to ride the crest of the current Ian Dillon wave and return to the summit for the first time in over two decades.
First to take to Bagenalstown’s green sward in the Gents championship will be three counties who have prospered in the recent two division format – Waterford (2017 winners), Kilkenny (two thirds and a 2nd Nett) and Galway (narrowly pipped by Kilkenny for third last season).
Just a matter of weeks after the Oldcastle countback was needed to separate Meath and third-placed Louth, the Leinster rivals go head to head again at Bagenalstown. New Irish international Padraic Sarsfield will be a boost to the Wee County men who have enjoyed more recent success (three silver medals since 2015) but the Gibney and Carry powered Meath side have been showing signs of a resurgence. A win for either county would be significant, the near neighbours are currently becalmed on three Anchor Cup wins apiece.
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