2025 Munster Charity Golf Outing in aid of seriously injured rugby players
The craic was 90 and the winning score was a cracking 93! Seriously injured rugby player Danny Noonan, who joined us along with seriously injured player Brendan Glynn, was delighted with the winning score as it belonged to his Rugby Club – Galbally RFC! Congratulations to the team from Galbally RFC! Danny and Brendan were joined by a sell-out 25 Teams for the IRFU Charitable Trust Munster Charity Golf Outing, kindly sponsored by Pinergy, which took place on Friday 26th June at Fota Island Golf Resort.
Danny’s life-changing accident happened in 1999, while playing for Galbally RFC, when Danny was just 18 years of age. From the very outset Danny praises the support from the rugby community and the IRFU Charitable Trust. While being interviewed by his friend and Munster Rugby hero Jeremy Staunton at the post-golf dinner, Danny recalls: “A good friend of mine was getting married in San Francisco. First time travelling long distance so I needed someone to be with me. The Trust gave me funds to be able to bring a nurse so I could go to my friend’s wedding.” It was great to see so many other Munster Rugby Clubs, along with Galbally RFC, support the event, including Cork Constitution and Midleton RFC who both fielded a team, along with the incredible amount of club and school FRIENDS who sponsored Tee Boxes. Thank you to Bandon Grammar, Cashel RFC, Cobh Pirates RFC, Dolphin RFC, Garryowen RFC, Highfield RFC, Kanturk RFC, Kinsale FRC, Muskery RFC, Tralee RFC, UCC Rugby, Waterpark RFC, Young Munster RFC and Brendan Glynn’s club Mallow RFC! Your support is greatly, greatly appreciated.
Along with the Munster clubs and schools who supported the event, we would like to say special thanks to Pinergy, a long-standing supporter of Irish rugby and the IRFU Charitable Trust, special thanks to Munster Rugby and the Irish Examiner, and both a warm welcome and thank you to a new supporter: Johnson & Perrott, who kindly sponsored the “Best Drives” competition with two stunning Land Rover DEFENDERS on display overlooking the 18th green. Johnson & Perrott, represented by Peter Russell, Head of Business for Johnson & Perrot, visited Fota Island before the Golf Outing to announce their new sponsorship.
Golfers started to arrive from 11am and were greeted by the team from the IRFU Charitable Trust including Bertie Smith, Ed Kenny and his two daughters, Sandra and Pat Collins, Mike Keane, Feargus O’Donoghue and his daughter Enya, as well as Linda Black, Hilary and Marc Sheridan, and Michael Whelan. Golfers were treated to bacon baps with tea/coffee before they commenced their round, once they received their extensive Goody Bags. Thank you to everyone who donated to the Goody Bags – a list of which you can see within the Table Card graphics on this page. Plus a special shout out to Folláin who has contributed substantially to the Munster Charity Golf Outings Goody Bags for all three years – we greatly appreciate the support from one and all.
It was great to see the support from all 25 teams and we were joined by many sports stars including Irish Jockey Paul Townend (playing on the Bramley Lodge team), Kerry Football greats Éamon Fitzmaurice and Tomás Ó Sé, who along with Donal Lenihan and Tony Leen made up the Irish Examiner Team. Munster Rugby greats Laura Guest, Shane Daly, Cian Hurley and Jeremy Staunton were also playing along with Philip Quinn and Ger Malone from Munster Rugby. We would also like to say a very special thank you to the Munster Association of Referees (M.A.R.) who very kindly presented the IRFU Charitable Trust with a cheque for €1,600 to help support seriously injured rugby players and their families – a photo of which you can see below. Speaking of photos, we would also like to thank Eddie O’Hare and the Irish Examiner, firstly for their support in driving awareness for the event, and secondly for being there on the day taking photos which you can see below.
A drinks reception, kindly sponsored by Guinness and Rockshore, welcomed Golfers on completion of their round. Despite the odd drizzle of rain and a bit of a breeze, everyone left the course feeling happy – some more than others! Thank you to the grounds crew in Fota Island, the course was stunning; and thank you to Guinness, another long term supporter of Irish rugby, for sponsoring the drinks reception. And thank you again to the team at Fota Island, in particular Clodagh and Eimear for all the support and the scrumptious BBQ which went down very well with golfers and guests alike.
Our very special MC for the third year running, Daire O’Brien kicked off proceedings, welcoming Chair Michael Whelan to the stage to say a few words, swiftly followed by the Trust’s Head of Operations, Linda Black who thanked everyone for being there as well as the support from all who contributed to the event. Daire then went on to plug the Raffle and the Silent Auction. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the Silent Auction Lots, a list of the six Lots can be seen on the Table Card; and thank you to everyone who so generously donated to the incredible amount of Raffle Prizes! A list of the Raffle Prizes can be seen on the Table Card graphics; again thank you to all with special thanks to Fireblock for donating a Samsung 55” Smart TV, to Dave Ryan for once again donating a bottle of Midelton Very Rare, to Aldi for a €250 voucher, and to Johnson & Perrott for a €250 Car Service Voucher.
Our Q&A quickly followed with Irish rugby legend Declan Kidney joining Enya Breen and Jeremy Staunton. Daire spoke to Enya about the upcoming Women’s Rugby World Cup in England and how the team is preparing for their first pool match with Japan, followed by Spain and the big one against New Zealand … remembering Ireland’s stunning WXV1 Vancouver victory over New Zealand last September! Jeremy had many a tale to tell about the shenanigans him and his Munster teammates got up to, much to the bemusement of Coach at the time Declan Kidney sitting beside him! Declan spoke all things Munster and Ireland rugby, as well as his time with London Irish, with a very interesting insight into culture and his belief in the path forward for Munster Rugby. It was an incredible Q&A, following on from the equally brilliant Q&A with Laura Guest and Keith Wood last year. The pressure is on for 2026!
Last but certainly not least, all in attendance had the pleasure of listening to Danny Noonan being interviewed by his friend Jeremy Staunton. Much cannot be repeated here with many a funny story shared by both Danny and Jeremy; and what stood out massively was how Danny is and still remains a passionate fan of rugby today, supporting his own Galbally RFC, his passion for Munster Rugby and his joy attending Ireland matches both home and away. Danny spoke about the impact the support of the rugby community has on his continued love for the game, and to mirror Brendan’s words from last year, how rugby for Danny is like a family, where friendships and bonds last a lifetime. Danny also spoke about the support he receives directly from the IRFU Charitable Trust and how this has helped him immensely in continuing to live his life to the fullest as best he can.
To the winners! “Best Drives” for ladies and men, kindly sponsored for the first time by Johnson & Perrott, were won by Laura Guest and Alan O’Donovan (Alan was part of the Occupli team) both winning IRFU 150th Titleist ProV1 Doz. golf balls and an IRFU 150th Golf Umbrella. “Nearest the Pinergy” Front 9 was won by James Webberley on the Midelton RFC team, and the Back 9 by Daire Keating from Pinergy. Emma Collopy from Pinergy presented the prizes, kindly sponsored by Pinergy: a set of Titleist ProV1x Doz. Golf Balls and a Pinergy Golf Umbrella for each winner. The third placed team, winning the back 6 on 88 points was Bramley Lodge, who were presented with IRFU 150th Commemorative Jerseys from IRFU representative Mick Collopy. With 89 points, the runners-up were Hickey & O’Connor Partitions and Ceilings; and were presented with beautiful Organic Cotton Throws kindly sponsored by Conscious Convert. As already mentioned, Galbally picked up the winners prizes, four Big Max Dri Lite Card Golf Bags kindly sponsored by the event sponsor Pinergy. PLUS – remember – Galbally RFC will be invited back to the Munster Charity Golf Outing next year to participate in the 2026 IRFU Charitable Trust “Irish Rugby 150th Golf Cup”. Thank you to all the winning prizes sponsors!
Thank you again to all 25 teams who took part – to each and every one of you, and your guests, we cannot thank you enough for your support and we hope to see you all again next year. In addition, we would like to thank everyone who donated to the Raffle, the draw for which took place after the winner presentations. With over 25 prizes up for grabs, the highlight was the Samsung 55” Smart TV kindly donated by Fireblock. Thank you as well to everyone on the day who took part in the Raffle – the funds raised from the Raffle continue to break records year on year in Munster. It is this generosity of spirit that helps the IRFU Charitable Trust continue to look after all 37 seriously injured players and their families; and for this we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. It was then time for the Silent Auction to end which saw an orderly q formed for golfers and guests to get their last bids in on time. Thank you as well to everyone who placed a bid, to the winning bidders – congratulations. And thank you to everyone who contributed to the six superb Silent Auction Lots – as mentioned you can check out all six Lots on the Table Card graphics below.
With the 2026 Munster Charity Golf Outing hosting the IRFU Charitable Trust “Irish Rugby 150th Golf Cup” next year, we hope to see you all again and we hope the support, including the incredible support from Munster clubs and schools, is repeated in 2026. We will be announcing the date and location in the coming months hence please check back for more details.
Many thanks again to everyone for your support.
