Latest news with #Ballybunion
Irish Independent
7 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Tralee Golf Club to host Arnold Palmer Cup in 2026
The 30th staging of the Ryder Cup-style competition, which sees US men's and women's collegiate golfers playing against a team of their International counterparts, will be the sixth held in Ireland following Doonbeg (2002), Ballybunion (2004), Royal Portrush (2010), Royal County Down (2012) and Lahinch last year. Team USA leads the Rolex-sponsored series 15-13 with one match tied. 'We look forward to welcoming the world's best collegiate golfers to Tralee Golf Club to play boldly and honour the legacy of Arnold Palmer,' said Amy Palmer Saunders, board chair of the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation. 'In addition to introducing the next generation of young golf talent, this tournament celebrates camaraderie, honour and integrity – the qualities of good character that make a true champion.' Tralee Golf Club, perched dramatically on the Atlantic cliffs at West Barrow in County Kerry, is one of Ireland's premier links courses. As the first European course designed by Palmer, it holds a special place in Palmer's legacy. 'I may have designed the first nine, but surely God designed the back nine,' Palmer famously remarked. 'We are absolutely delighted and deeply honoured to host the 2026 Arnold Palmer Cup at Tralee Golf Club,' said Chairperson Brian Mehigan. 'This prestigious event is a perfect match for our world-renowned links, and we look forward to welcoming the world's best collegiate players to our spectacular course on the Atlantic.' General Manager Maurice O'Meara added: 'It's a privilege for our club to play a part in continuing Arnold Palmer's incredible legacy. We eagerly anticipate showing players, coaches, and fans from around the world the warmth of our welcome and the unforgettable challenge of links golf at Tralee.' In addition to its world-class course, Tralee Golf Club offers outstanding facilities including a state-of-the-art practice academy featuring advanced training technology, a par-3 short course, indoor simulator, and a driving range. The clubhouse offers panoramic views and fine dining, creating an experience as refined off the course as it is on it. Founded in 1896 and relocated to its current home in 1984, Tralee Golf Club has over 1,300 members. It will be a big year for amateur golf in Ireland in 2026 with Lahinch set to host the 51st Walker Cup matches from September 5-6.
USA Today
16-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
How does Royal Portrush rank among the best courses in Ireland and Northern Ireland?
All eyes are on Royal Portrush's Dunluce Course in Northern Ireland for this week's British Open (ahem ... Open Championship, if you please). This will be the third time the Open has been played at Portrush, following the 1951 event won by Max Faulkner and the 2019 tournament won by Ireland's Shane Lowry. But how does the Dunluce stack up against the best courses in Ireland and Northern Ireland? We can look to Golfweek's Best course rankings for a comparison. Each year we publish many course rankings lists, and the layouts of Ireland and Northern Ireland feature prominently in three of those: the rankings of top 50 modern courses in Great Britain and Ireland, the top 50 classic courses in Great Britain and Ireland, and the top 100 international courses outside the United States. The hundreds of members of our course-ratings panel continually evaluate courses and rate them based on 10 criteria on a points basis of 1 through 10. They also file a single, overall rating on each course. Those overall ratings are averaged to produce these rankings. The top handful of courses in the world have an average rating above 9, while many excellent layouts fall into the high-6 to 8 range. With all that in mind, below are the top 10 courses in Ireland and Northern Ireland: 10. The European Club Average rating: 7.28 Location: Brittas Bay, Ireland Designer(s): Pat Ruddy Year opened: 1992 Book your trip to the European Club 9. Carne (Wild Atlantic Dunes) Average rating: 7.30 Location: Belmullet, Ireland Designer(s): Eddie Hackett, Ally McIntosh, Jim Engh Year opened: 1992/2017 (The Wild Atlantic Dunes routing features nine holes that in 2017 were added to nine holes of the original course, which opened in 1992.) Book your trip to Carne 8. Portmarnock (Old) Average rating: 7.49 Location: Portmarnock, Ireland Designer(s): W.C. Pickeman, Mungo Park, George Coburn, Eddie Hackett, Martin Hawtree Year opened: 1894 Book your trip to Portmarnock 7. Waterville Golf Links Average rating: 7.50 Location: Waterville, Ireland Designer(s): Eddie Hackett, Tom Fazio Year opened: 1973 Book your trip to Waterville Golf Links 6. Old Head Golf Links Average rating: 7.58 Location: Kinsale, Ireland Designer(s): Eddie Hackett, Joe Carr, Ron Kirby, Paddy Merrigan, Liam Higgins Year opened: 1997 Book your trip to Old Head Golf Links 5. Rosapenna (St. Patrick's Links) Average rating: 7.66 Location: Letterkenny, Ireland Designer(s): Tom Doak Year opened: 2021 Book your trip to Rosapenna 4. Lahinch (Old) Average rating: 7.96 Location: Lahinch, Ireland Designer(s): Old Tom Morris, Charles Gibson, Alister MacKenzie, Martin Hawtree Year opened: 1894 Book your trip to Lahinch 3. Ballybunion (Old) Average rating: 8.31 Location: Ballybunion, Ireland Designer(s): Lionel Hewson, Tom Simpson Year opened: 1893 Book your trip to Ballybunion 2. Royal Portrush (Dunluce) Average rating: 8.55 Location: Portrush, Northern Ireland Designer(s): Harry S. Colt, Martin Ebert Year opened: 1929 Book your trip to Royal Portrush 1. Royal County Down (Championship) Average rating: 8.94 Location: Newcastle, Northern Ireland Designer(s): George L. Baillie, Old Tom Morris, George Combe, Harry S. Colt, Donald Steel Year opened: 1889 Book your trip to Royal County Down
Irish Independent
06-07-2025
- Irish Independent
From the Kerry archives, July 7, 2000: Courtroom fight, Ballybunion runs out of beer & Kelly talks GAA Presidency
Brawl breaks out in Tralee courtroom A mass brawl erupted in Tralee District Court on Wednesday morning moments after four defendants, including a 15-year-old boy and 16-year-old girl, were sentenced for their involvement in a high speed car chase through the town during which a Garda patrol vehicle was rammed. The incident appeared to be sparked when a woman who had been sitting in the public gallery attacked the girl, who had been the only defendant not to receive a custodial sentence. Within seconds, between 12 and 15 members of the public were fighting, with punches being thrown as people climbed over the court benches to join in the fracas. In the midst of the melee, the girl was pushed or struck to the ground. As the rest of the courtroom looked on in amazement, five Gardaí attempted to restore order. At least one man involved in the fight tried unsuccessfully to punch a Garda. One man was arrested as a result of the incident. As he was handcuffed and led away, he shouted-obscenities at both the legal system and the Gardai who he accused of trying to lynch him. When the fighting broke out, Judge Humphrey Kelleher immediately left the courtroom. The case, which arose out of an incident in the early hours of Wednesday morning, had earlier been described as extremely serious by prosecuting Inspector Barry O'Rourke, who said that it was part of the current rash of car thefts plaguing Tralee. Ballybunion runs out of beer during Irish Open Bring back the Murphy's Irish Open as soon as possible! That was the unanimous verdict this week from Ballybunion's business community — particularly its publicans, many of whom ran out of beer on Saturday night as thousands of thirsty punters thronged the North Kerry resort over the weekend. Ballybunion's debut as host club for the 2000 Irish Open was widely regarded as a resounding success. Murphy's Managing Director, Padraic Liston, declared it 'the best ever' as he handed the winner's trophy to 29-year-old Swedish golfer Patrik Sjöland beside the 18th green on Sunday afternoon. Already, the business people of the town have declared that they want the tournament back within the next few years. But committee member Fintan Scannell said the club must wait until agronomist Tom Kavanagh assesses what damage was done to the course by the estimated 40,000 spectators who followed the tournament over four days. Chairman of Ballybunion Development Company Kevin O'Callaghan said everyone involved in the tournament, particularly the Gardaí, who drew up an excellent traffic plan, could take a bow this weekend. "Ballybunion has proven itself now and there is no reason why we couldn't host another major golf tournament in the future," he said. A spectacular fireworks display and a street theatre production on Saturday night brough thousands of people into the town after the day's golf. Treasurer of the local vinter association, John Dee, said it was the biggest weekend the town had experienced in over thirty years. "I've never seen anything like the crowds. We had run out of cider, Budweiser and Heineken on Saturday night and so did other pubs. From a vintners point of view, we'd love to have it back. Fintan Scannell said the golf club may now set its sights on hosting the next Walker Cup in 2005. Kelly to seek GAA Presidency Kerry's Sean Kelly, current chairman of the Munster Council confirmed to The Kerryman on Wednesday that he would be allowing his name go forward for Presidency of the GAA in two years time. Mr Kelly, who withdrew from the race last year in order to give former Minister Council chairman Noel Walsh a 'free run', said that upon withdrawing from the race then, he had indicated that it was his intention to run for the Presidency next time round. "Once I am nominated by the Kerry County Board, I will be going for the Presidency," he said. "We have never had a Kerry President of the Association and if I'm nominated, I will be making an all-out effort to be elected. The nomination is not due to come up for another year but it's fairly well accepted that I would run.'
Irish Independent
22-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Kerry man Mark Murphy reflects on the 2000 Irish Open 25 years on from ‘his best week in golf'
Waterville native Mark Murphy was just 22 years old when he won the top amateur award at the Murphy's Irish Open at Ballybunion Golf Club in July of 2000; now a quarter of a century later, he spoke to Fergus Dennehy about his memories of that special week. Picture the scene. It's July of 2000 and at 22 years old and fresh off winning the leading amateur award at the Irish Open in his home county, Waterville native Mark Murphy, in his own words, feels like the world is his oyster. After four rounds at the stunning Ballybunion, he has finished in 77th place (with a score of 8+) in the national Open, beating out big-name players such as the late Seve Ballesteros (who missed the cut) while other stars of the future such as Justin Rose and Ian Poulter also went home early before the weekend. Related topics Fergus Dennehy
Irish Examiner
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Dance nights and beach days: Tony's photos provide a glimpse of Kerry in the 1950s and '60s
All of life's carnival is on display in a collection of photographs recently acquired by the Kerry Writers' Museum. Tony Fitzmaurice passed away in 2019 aged 87. Little did the wider world – including some close relatives – know of the archive he built up over half a century taking photos of his homeplace, Ballybunion, and the people of north Kerry. His photos from the 1950s in particular evoke the world of the Brooklyn film starring Saoirse Ronan, a time when cigarette-smoking was de rigueur. Kathy Reynolds, neé Kathy Fitzmaurice, left Ballybunion as a 13-year-old in the 1960s, emigrating to London. Her father was Fitzmaurice's guardian. She is a photographer, as is her English husband. They called to Fitzmaurice's house shortly after his death. Fitzmaurice's widow, Madeline, had asked them to do something with the photos and negatives that were stored in her late husband's office at the back of the house and in their loft. While rooting around, they stumbled upon Fitzmaurice's calling card, 'Tony's Photo Service: Kerry's Youngest and Best Ballroom Photographer'. As a child, Reynolds remembered her surrogate uncle's darkroom, effectively an 'oversized cupboard' at the bottom of the kitchen, but she had no appreciation of the photos he took. 'I had this vague impression he used to do photography, but I didn't realise he did ballroom photography,' says Reynolds. 'It's clear he did it to fund his photographic hobby. It was kind of a weekend thing.' Reynolds adds: 'My interest is in landscape photography. I talked to Tony umpteen times about landscape photography, about different films, different cameras, different lenses to produce particular types of shot. So when I got his archive, the first thing I said to Madeline was, 'I'm really looking forward to going through this because you'll have some fabulous landscape shots of Ireland.' And she looked at me and said, 'Why Kathy? He took people.' ' Jack Savage pictured in 1960. Picture by Tony Fitzmaurice, courtesy of Kerry Writers' Museum Fitzmaurice live out his life in Ballybunion. 'It was his inspiration, his subject, in that he took photos of its people throughout that time. The only place he stood for hours waiting for a sunset was on Ballybunion Castle Green. It was the first thing that surprised me – the fact he didn't do a lot of landscape photography, as he was in the most wonderful place. 'One of the early photographs I found was of a sunset in Ballybunion. It was taken in October 1968. It wasn't printed – it was a Kodak colour slide. "I've been in touch with archives in Ireland, like the John Hinde archive, and they haven't got anything like it. It's probably my favourite photograph because it's the castle of my childhood, what I remember as a child. If you go back there now, most of the top of the castle – what you might call the chimney part – is gone. So that's my childhood in Ballybunion.' Fitzmaurice was born in 1932. He spent his working life as a civil servant with the Kerry County Council, while moonlighting as a photographer. He got his first camera in 1953 as a gift for his 21st birthday, initially taking photos of family and friends, of young people in their late teens and early twenties, in their homes, and on the strand in Ballybunion, learning and developing his craft. His first recorded photograph dates back to 1954. 'The first commercial work he did was the annual Teacher's Dress Dance in Listowel in 1956,' says Reynolds. 'It was a big social event. Once we began digitising those photos, we realised they were amazing, that there was really good photographs of people. "People were dressed up to the nines in their evening wear, which tells us so much about the fashion, the social mores at that time. The fashion of the ladies was incredible. A lot of their dresses were handmade. After the war, cloth wouldn't have been that easy to get. 'I came across things like 1960 Confirmation Day in Ballybunion. That was amazing because it was the character of the kids that shone through. They were dressed up for their day. There are ones from a Wren Boys competition in Listowel. Most of them are around the dance hall, but those dances are very much community-based like The Pioneers' Social. That one is wonderful because there isn't a drink in sight. It's tea and cake, everybody sitting there. It's those moments captured that are important.' A couple at a dance. Picture by Tony Fitzmaurice, courtesy of Kerry Writers' Museum Reynolds and her husband spent 'three winters' digitising their haul. Then began the great search to put names on faces. They started posting Fitzmaurice's photos on a webpage. They reached out to the public through a variety of channels, including north Kerry Facebook pages and through a friend, Noelle Hegarty, a retired postmistress in Lisselton, who recognised people and connected Reynolds with others who could name those photographed. Last year, Reynolds's project kicked on a gear when she approached the Kerry Writers' Museum in Listowel, who agreed to archive and help restore the collection she has gifted to them. The Heritage Council has already invested €100,000 over two years in the restoration work. This includes the job of cataloguing more than 26,000 photos in a searchable database, and making them freely available to the public. In mid-May, there was a showcase event at the collection's new home, in which a 10x8-feet montage of 70 photos were put on display in the museum. The idea was to start a conversation with the community around north Kerry. There are plans for a book, and an exhibition based on the book, which is being led by the curator Ciarán Walsh. Mary Walsh (right) and an unnamed woman looking happy in one of Fitzmaurice's pictures. Picture by Tony Fitzmaurice, courtesy of Kerry Writers' Museum 'Kathy Reynolds liked the idea of the collection going into a small museum in north Kerry where it would not be monetised, but would be made publicly available to everyone,' says Walsh. 'She saw it was like handing it back to the community from whence it came. I suppose if you were to ask me one word that defines this collection it's 'community'. 'What stands out is how Tony had total access to the community of Ballybunion. The result is an extraordinary intimacy of portrayal. Take the girl in a floral dress where she's lying beside a couple wrapped around one another in the sand dunes. "Another photograph – and take that this is around 1954 – there's a family on the beach and the mother is sunbathing in her bra. It's that complete absence of difference between the photographer and the people he's photographing. There are no inhibitions, no walls. 'There's a photo we used on a poster of two girls lying on the grass. From a woman's perspective, the 1950s in Ireland were pretty grim. Here you have two young women full of life. It's so positive. It's a close-up. He must have been only about two or three feet from their faces. There's this wonderful intimacy about that photograph, but it's also the joy that comes through.' The Tony Fitzmaurice Collection is housed at Kerry Writers' Museum, Listowel, Co Kerry. See: and Other images from the Tony Fitzmaurice collection Men sip their tea a dance in Ardee. Pictures by Tony Fitzmaurice, courtesy of Kerry Writers' Museum A couple kiss in the dunes. A group of young people at a dance. A happy-looking couple at a dance. Three Kerry women, including one who is almost finished eating her apple. A woman shades children on the beach. A woman and man at a dance in Asdee in 1957.
