ONE of amateur golf’s great trophies returned to Dollymount when The Royal Dublin Golf Club scored a historic 12-hole victory over Galway Golf Club in the All Ireland Final of the Barton Shield at Carton House.
The Royal Dublin GC players in the final were Jeff Hopkins, Shaun Carter, Barry Anderson and Ian O’Rourke.
They were picked from a panel of a dozen players that make up the Royal Dublin Senior Cup and Barton Shield squads.
Club captain Sam O’Beirne received the famous green pennant and the historic trophy from team manager Michael Chambers and it made a very welcome return to the clubhouse where the man, after whom it is named, Mr Justice Plunket Barton, was a founder and an early President.
Speaking afterwards, Sam O’Beirne said: “We are thrilled to win the Barton Shield for the first time since 1968.
“We have great tradition and history at Royal Dublin Golf Club and our players are continuing that tradition and creating their own history.
“It is the culmination of several years of preparation and of building up our squad.”
Mr O’Beirne added: “The players and management were fantastic ambassadors for our club and we are very proud of how they represented us.”
The full team and management were: Michael Chambers (team manager), Gerry O’Donovan (assistant team manager), Mark Connolly (assistant team manager), Stephen Wade (assistant team manager) and players: Barry Anderson, Shaun Carter, Chris Drumm, Jeff Hopkins, Thomas Hackett, Liam Hutchinson, Richard Knightly, Kelan McDonagh, Gary McGrane, Bryan McSweeney, James Monaghan, Ian O’Rourke and Sean Ryan.
Inaugurated in 1911, the Barton Shield comprises four of the club’s best available players competing in two Fourball Matchplay, playing off scratch, where the accumulative scores decides the results. The last Northside team to win the competition was Portmarnock Golf Club in 2008.