It’s been almost 30 years since Mark Quinn has been involved in an Ulster final, but after a superb team performance on Sunday past from the Bright Castle Senior Men Over 50s team, he’ll be involved in another on Sunday, 7 September.
Mark famously captained the Down minor football team back in 1987 when they defeated Armagh in that year’s Ulster decider en route to All-Ireland glory. While he isn’t the skipper of the Bright senior team, he’s an integral part of it and, on Sunday’s showing, he still possesses his battling spirit.
Having already been involved in several close encounters this season, the Bright lads knew that County Cavan Golf Club would be a tough nut to crack in the semifinal. But crack it they did, and they will now face Cliftonville Golf Club in the Ulster final at City of Derry Golf Club on the first Sunday in September.
Away points are hard to come by in any Golf Ireland inter-club matches, but the Bright pairings of Mark Quinn and Brendan Savage, and Ian Craig and Al Higgins, both secured vital half points in their respective matches in Cavan. This meant the outcome of proceedings back at Bright Castle would determine who would make it through to the final.
The task of giving a huge amount of shots to their Cavan opponents proved too much for Arnie Ennis and Declan Toman, whose 3 and 2 defeat meant that team captain Donal Smith and his playing partner Brian Smyth needed to win to force a play-off.
Things looked very bleak when they found themselves two down with just five holes to play, but wins at the next four holes gave the Bright duo a 2 and 1 win and meant extra holes were going to be needed.
Despite their earlier loss, Smith had no hesitation in pitching his low men combination of Ennis and Toman into battle again, and it proved to be a wise move. A rock-solid par from the latter sealed the deal and saw Bright Castle through to their first Golf Ireland final since 2021.
Hopefully, this year’s senior men can emulate the 2021 Ulster Cup squad and bring some silverware back to the Coniamstown Road.
At the time of writing, it’s hoped that a supporters’ bus will be provided for the September 7 final. Anyone requiring more details or wishing to secure a seat on the bus is asked to contact Lynda at the club. Cost, timings, etc., will be confirmed in due course.
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