2024 Munster Charity Golf Outing
Everyone was delighted to be back at Fota Island Golf Club for the IRFU Charitable Trust’s second Munster Golf Outing in aid of seriously injured rugby players. The event took place on Friday 21st June, once again, kindly sponsored by Pinergy, and we were also delighted to welcome back three of the seriously injured players from Munster: Brendan Glynn, Mick O’Connell and Danny Noonan … although we still haven’t been able to answer Danny’s question to host Daire O’Brien! Thanks to Daire O’Brien for hosting again this year and as with last year, the Q&A was outstanding with very special guests Laura Guest and Keith Wood, talking about all things rugby, including the upcoming Ireland tour to South Africa, and the missed chances by both Leinster and Munster (with the URC final the day after the golf event). Thank you to Laura, Keith and Daire for being there and making the event extra special.
We were also joined by Munster stars Alex Kendellen and Shane Daly, who were with us last year, as well as Scott Buckley and Alex Nankivell. Big thanks to you all for joining us and it was great to see these current players chatting to Brendan, Danny and Mick as well as their guests. Brendan was joined by his daughter Grace, his brother Aidan and Aidan’s son Conor, as well as cousin Eoin. Danny was with his friends Paddy and Michael; and Mick was once again joined by his father Gerard. Thank you all for being there; and thank you to the staff at Fota Island, in particular Clodagh, Eimear and Alex; as well as our super AV provider, Billy at BMG Audio Visual Events.
To the golf! A wet start! But with the course in immaculate condition and the sun eventually bursting out, by the time scorecards were handed in, everyone was in flying form and the outdoor BBQ in the sunshine was the icing on the cake. There were two Goody Bags again this year which always goes down well – thank you to everyone who contributed to the Goody Bags. Guests were also treated to complimentary Guinness and Rockshore, once again kindly sponsored by Diageo. Thank you again to Pinergy, who also sponsor the Leinster Golf Outing and for the very first time this year, our Connacht Golf Outing, and we would also like to thank Munster Rugby and our event media partner the Irish Examiner for their support in promoting the Charity Golf Outing. Both Munster Rugby, with team captain Philip Quinn, and the Irish Examiner, with team captains Tony Leen and Donal Lenihan, fielded a four-ball each on the day. Larry Ryan from the Irish Examiner spoke with seriously injured player Mick O’Connell before the Golf Outing – to read the interview, please click here. We would also like to thank Eddie O’Hare from the Irish Examiner for joining us and taking photographs – some of which appeared in the Irish Examiner the following day, including a very cheerful shot of Munster and Ireland legend Mick Galwey!
Driven by the Charitable Trust’s Munster Team of volunteers: Pat Collins, Michael Keane, Feargus O’Donoghue, Bertie Smith, and again led by Ed Kenny, we would like to thank the Munster Team and all the volunteers who were there on Thursday and Friday, along with Linda Black, Marc Sheridan and Michael Whelan from the trust; with special thanks again to Sandra Collins and Hilary Sheridan for running the Raffle. The Raffle Prizes were incredible again this year with a TV up for grabs kindly donated by Fireblock, a €500 Aldi Voucher and another bottle of Midleton Very Rare once again kindly donated by Dave Ryan. Please have a look at the Table Card on this page to see all the Raffle Prizes, Goody Bag content and of course the Silent Auction.
The Silent Auction once again included some amazing and unique prizes including a signed and framed jersey from Jack Crowley from his winning Guinness Six Nations home match against Italy this year; a team signed and framed Munster Jersey from this year; and a team signed Munster Jersey from last year’s URC Champions … and we were all delighted when Brendan Glynn’s nephew, Conor was the winning bid! Thank you again to everyone who donated Silent Auction Lots; and of course, massive thanks to all of you for placing bids.
Before the final bids were placed, the IRFU Charitable Trust Chair, Michael Whelan welcomed everyone, introducing the Trust’s Head of Operations, Linda Black to the stage who thanked everyone for making the event an incredible success again this year. Following the Q&A, Bertie Smith and Michael Keane presented the golfing winners: Mark Duggan and Kevin Madden on the Pinergy team for the two “Nearest the Pinergy”. Scott Buckley won the men’s Longest Drive; and despite Keith Wood entering the Ladies Longest Drive, Wendy Keenan was the winner! 3rd place went to the Munster players, Scott just mentioned along with Shane Daly and Alex Kendellen, ably supported by IRFU President Greg Barrett (prize sponsored by Tipperary Crystal). The runners-up were Hickey and O’Connor Partitions & Ceilings (prize sponsored by Conscious Convert). And finally, the winners for 2024 were Rochestown Nursing Home who finished second last year, with the first team prize sponsored by Pinergy! Congratulations to all the winners! And in particular, congratulations to Rochestown Nursing Home as they are invited to the IRFU Charitable Trust “Irish Rugby 150th Golf Cup” tournament which will take place Friday 6th June 2025 on The K Club’s Palmer North Championship course – only a few months before The K Club host the Irish Open! Thank you to all the sponsors and in particular thank you to all 24 teams who participated and made the outing a day to remember; including the many guests who joined the golfers for the BBQ and evening entertainment. In addition thank you to those who sponsored a Tee Sign, in particular Kearys Motor Group.
Once again, the support shown by the Munster Rugby (and golfing!) community was heartening and humbling. Without the support of our rugby family the IRFU Charitable Trust could not continue to care for the 36 seriously injured players and their families across all four provinces.
Finally, on behalf of all our seriously injured rugby players and their families, thank you again to everyone for your support.
