Latest news with #Ballyconnell
Irish Independent
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Leona Maguire chasing Major glory at Evian Championship after making hole-in-one in opening 65
Leona Maguire of Ireland celebrates a hole in one with Perrine Delacour of France on the second hole during Round One of The Amundi Evian Championship in Evian-les-Bains, France. (Photo by) Feeling refreshed and ready for a Major test after the non-stop demands of last week's windy KPMG Women's Irish Open, the Co Cavan star (30) took advantage of calm conditions and followed an opening bogey with four birdies before acing the 164-yard second. A birdie four at her 16th hole gave the Ballyconnell star a share of the early lead alongside American Andrea Lee and Australia's Gabriela Ruffels and she's looking forward to challenging for her maiden major title at a venue where she shot a record equalling 10-under 61 en route to a tie for sixth in 2021. "Just played really nice," said Maguire, who is playing her fifth event in a row but still feels refreshed after being spared a Wednesday pro-am appearance for the first time in "four or five years". "Hit a lot of fairways. Hit a lot of greens. Gave myself some really good chances sort of 11, 12, 13 to start the day. Yeah, pretty stress-free as it can be around here. "Obviously, the hole-in-one on two was pretty special. I think my first one on the LPGA, so a nice place to do it." The ace put her five under for the day and came with the added bonus of a donation to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital on her behalf. "It was just taking a little bit off an eight-iron for me," she said of her ace at the downhill second. "Looked good in the air. You're never sure on that hole until the ball actually lands. Sort of a perfect morning for it. Not much wind, which is nice, especially on that tee box. Yeah, pretty good highlight to the day. "The pin was in this little back right bowl. You don't want to go over, but at the same time, it does land pretty soft hitting from like 30 yards down from there. "Overall, it was just a really nice shot. Looked good all the way. Then nice to be able to walk down this hill without a putter in your hand." It's been a difficult season for Maguire, who has fallen from 47th to 85th in the world rankings this year and recorded just one top 10 finish since she won the LET's Aramco Team Series-London 12 months ago. While she finished a jaded 21 strokes behind amateur Lottie Woad at last week's Women's Irish Open, she's found this week's Major test far less demanding in terms of commitments and weather conditions. "The home support was incredible last week," Maguire said. "A lot of people out there to brave the wind and the rain and all of that. "That's almost like a mini Major to me, so it's very good preparation, the whole sort of environment of that, the intensity of that. "And then it almost seems like a little mini-break to come here. So it's nice to have a bit of a quieter week this week being a Major, but it's one of my favourite stops on Tour. I really like coming here. Yeah, looking forward to three more days." Maguire said patience was key to her low opening round, though she felt she could have gone lower. "I feel like I left a few out there today," she said. "Would've been nice to hole a few more putts, so work on that that afternoon. And then it was an early start this morning. It was half four alarm, so maybe a little nap and we'll get ready to go again. "I think with Irish Open last week and everything being so busy, this is week five in a row for me, so it was nice knowing what I was coming to and sort of no panic trying to play a lot of practice rounds." Maguire, Ruffels and Lee had a one-shot lead over Australia's Minjee Lee, who won her third major when she captured last month's KPMG Women's PGA in Texas.
Irish Examiner
03-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Maguire left trailing Fleming, Foster and Donegan as putts fail to drop at Carton House
Leona Maguire insisted she must remain patient and wait for the birdies to come after a one-under 72 left her five shots off the early pace in the KPMG Women's Irish Open at Carton House. The 30-year-old Solheim Cup star made two birdies and two bogeys on her opening nine on the O'Meara Course but could only make one more birdie coming home as a strong west wind made scoring difficult. Switzerland's Chiara Tamburlini made seven birdies in a six-under 67 to lead by a shot in the clubhouse from England's Hannah Screen and Mimi Rhodes, and Swedish duo Lisa Pettersson and Madelene Sagstrom. Elm Park amateur Emma Fleming led the home challenge after the morning wave, carding a four-under 69 as Anna Foster and Lahinch amateur Aine Donegan shot two-under 71s. Maguire was impressed by playing partner Donegan, who made three of her five birdies in her first four holes. 'She played great,' Maguire said. 'She got off to a very hot start. Two under is a very nice start for her. I played with her in this a few years ago in Dromoland and I was kind of surprised she didn't actually turn pro this this week. But she's a great player, and it will be a great experience for her this week.' As for her own round, the Ballyconnell star admitted her score was not a great reflection of how well she hit the ball from tee to green. 'I played some really nice golf,' she said. 'I feel like I've left quite a few shots out there and didn't take advantage of some of the shots on my back nine, but overall, it's still an under par round to start off the week. 'I felt like I hit a lot of good putts but I had a nasty lip out on three, hung over the hole on 10, hung over the hole on 12 as well. I mean, that's golf, but overall, I'm happy with how I gave myself lots of chances. Hopefully I can take more advantage of the par fives tomorrow.' Starting on the back nine, Maguire bogeyed the 11th but birdied the par-five 15th from four feet before rolling in a 30 footer at the 16th to get into the red. But she bogeyed the 18th after being forced to chip out from behind the trees and while she made birdie at the par-five first, nothing else dropped for her coming home as the wind gusted over 40 kmph. 'When the wind's like that, it's very easy to get greedy, and it's very easy to try and force the issue, and then you make a few silly mistakes,' she said. 'I thought I did a good job at staying disciplined today and not trying to force the issue too much, even when the putts were sort of hanging on the edges. 'The greens are obviously slower than what we're used to, but I actually thought they were rolling quite nice today. 'There were a few putts that just needed another couple of inches on them. But, I'll roll a few this afternoon and we'll see what happens tomorrow. 'You see a few going in early, and you can go on a run. It's a fine line between being patient and not trying to force the issue too much.' Tamburlini (25) finished fourth at Carton House last year en route to winning the Rookie of the Year award and the LET Order of Merit. She went to the turn in five-under 31 alongside Sagstrom and Kildare's Lauren Walsh, who birdied two of her last four holes to salvage a two-over 75. 'I'm very happy with how I played today,' the 25-year-old Swiss star said. 'I had an incredible group, and playing with Lauren and Madeline, and think of the front nine, Madeline had a bit of a birdie feast as well. 'So we kept just going, which was really cool. It was really motivating to just be birdies all around.' Sagstrom raced to eight-under for the day when she eagled the fourth with a brilliant four hybrid to three feet. But she while she triple bogeyed the fifth after shanking her third, the European Solheim Cup star was pleased with her start. 'I was telling my (Irish) caddie, Shane (Codd), I was like, I just had a massive brain fart there on five,' Sagstrom said. 'And I was like, what just happened? I was on a roll. And then I'm just, like, fighting for my life here, but I'm really pleased with the day.' Elm Park rookie Foster got to five under with seven holes to play before making four bogeys and a birdie coming home. 'I'm happy to have made six birdies in the end,' said Foster, who tied for fourth in the German Masters on Sunday. 'I got off to a really nice start, the hole was looking big, then I was able to make a good few pars there. 'I think overall, I'm happy with how I played. Obviously, you're going to make mistakes. But there's a lot of golf left to be played. And two under is still respectable round.' In the end it was her Elm Park club mate Fleming who led the home charge after the morning wave with a five-birdie 69. 'I really enjoyed it,' UCD student Fleming said. "I struggled a bit with pace putting. I holed a couple of nice putts for par, around six, eight, nine feet and that kept my round going. 'I missed the cut last year and made the cut the year before so hopefully I can do better this time."
Irish Times
03-07-2025
- Lifestyle
- Irish Times
Golfer Leona Maguire: ‘I wanted to beat my twin Lisa. She wanted to beat me'
Bags of clubs are lined up like sentries outside Carton House in Co Kildare where golfers from all over the world are preparing for the KPMG Irish Women's Open. I'm here to talk to Leona Maguire, a trailblazing pioneer of Irish women's golf. Inside the clubhouse, some of the golfers, athletic-looking types in pristine sportswear, are helping themselves from a protein-forward buffet. One woman walks past carrying an abstemious looking plate loaded with three boiled eggs and a lump of brown soda bread. Maguire, it turns out, is also fond of an egg. I find this out during the quick-fire round of our interview. I've only been given half an hour with the Irish golfing legend so I figure I better get as many questions in as possible and hope a few rapid inquiries towards the end of our chat will prove an efficient use of the time. When I ask about her favourite post-round snack or meal she says she loves breakfast. 'I'd have breakfast for any meal.' The Cavan woman is picky about her eggs, though. 'We grew up with chickens and hens at home, so I'm very particular about my eggs. They have to be real eggs; they can't be any of the powdered stuff sometimes you get in some hotels. They have to have yolks with almost an orangey tint to them.' I tell her about the woman I saw earlier with the boiled eggs. 'Yeah,' she says, confirming the eating habits of her fellow golfers, 'there's a lot of ham and cheese and boiled eggs.' The hens and chickens she grew up around were in Ballyconnell, Co Cavan, where she and her twin sister Lisa were golfing child prodigies with two schoolteacher parents. Does she remember her first experiences with golf? 'Dad got us three clubs and we started off at the par-three course down at the Slieve Russell' (the golf and country club formerly owned by businessman Sean Quinn). READ MORE They soon went further afield, 'playing with the boys, four-hole competitions. It was a Mars bar for the winner kind of thing.' Were they beating the boys? 'Probably not in the beginning … eventually we graduated to nine holes and 14 holes and then we were playing with the boys more regularly … they quite enjoyed having the help and there was slagging if they lost, but they were always very good about it.' [ Leona Maguire factor clear for all to see as 15 home-based players join her at Irish Open Opens in new window ] There seemed to be no other girls playing at the time; the Maguire twins were a golfing anomaly. She remembers there was the attitude of 'ah, girls playing golf – when they get to be teenagers, they'll give it up. But Dad saw past that. He saw there were opportunities out there for women in sport.' It helped to have a twin also in the game. 'There were two of us. That was a nice thing. We always had each other.' They were only 11 when they were asked to carry the Ryder Cup trophy into the K Club for the presentation ceremony in 2006, the year Europe beat the US in a decisive victory. The pictures show two grinning girls, ponytails swinging, wearing matching red trousers as they hold the cup high. Leona Maguire (right) with her twin sister and caddie Lisa at a pro-am event before the Irish Open at Mount Juliet Estate in Co Kilkenny in 2022. Photograph: Ross Kinnaird/Getty I met her twin Lisa earlier, while Leona was getting photos taken. Lisa turned professional in 2018, the same year as her sister, but retired a year later. She's now a newly graduated dentist, starting a job in Cork later this year. Were they competitive growing up? 'Oh, definitely,' she tells me. They're still close. Lisa spent the past few weeks with her sister in Detroit, while Leona played the Dow Championships as part of a duo called the Irish Goodbyes . 'We were very close, but also I wanted to beat her as well,' Leona smiles when asked about rivalry with her twin. 'We were competitive from a young age. It didn't matter what it was. My mam always said we'd fight over snakes and ladders. I wanted to beat Lisa. She wanted to beat me, but if I didn't win, I wanted to see her win as well. So we'd fall out and fall in just as quickly. It never lasted very long, but I think that brought us both on without realising it.' Was she disappointed when Lisa made the decision to retire? 'I mean, it'd be nice to have her out on tour but at the same time it's nice to see her happy and doing well and excelling in something that she's good at. I think she deserves a lot of credit for choosing her own path.' Long before turning professional Maguire, who is now 30, made her mark on golf. She was ranked best in the world for a record 135 weeks as an amateur, winning the Mark H McCormack Medal three times for being the top-ranked woman amateur globally. On a scholarship at Duke University in the US, where she studied psychology and marketing management, she won several college titles and awards for outstanding play. The wins kept coming when she turned professional in 2018. The following year she won two tournaments on the Symetra Tour. In 2022, she became the first Irish woman to win on the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golfing Association) tour landing the historic victory in the Drive On Championship. She played a starring role in Europe's Solheim Cup victories in 2021 and 2023. Leona Maguire celebrates with the Solheim Cup after Europe's victory over the United States in Toledo, Ohio in 2021. Photograph: Maddie Meyer/Getty Last year was a big one: she became the only Irish woman to win on the LGPA European Tour, won the Aramco Team Series event in London and was inducted into the Women's Golf Coaches Association Hall of Fame. If you go on the LGPA website and search for her name, you learn that since turning professional seven years ago she's racked up just over $5 million (around €4.2 million) in prize money. What does she spend it on? 'We came from a modest background. I don't need a lot of money to keep me happy. I'm not big into material things. I don't have a big handbag or watch collection.' She tells me she's building a home in Cavan which will make a fair dent in her savings and, as a keen cook and baker, she likes going to fancy restaurants when she travels. There is a lot of travel. She's been competing in China and Singapore in the past year – the golf season is long, beginning in January and not ending until November. [ Leona Maguire: 'I was in China and Pádraig rang me from Arizona to give me his opinion on things' Opens in new window ] When I tell people I am going to interview Maguire, inevitably some golfing enthusiasts look for tips. One of my brothers has a more existential question: 'Will you ask her why I play so well some weeks and so badly other times?' Maguire laughs, feeling my brother's pain. 'Time, it's just time,' she says. 'We always joke with people in the pro ams that if they are very good at golf they are probably not spending enough time in the office. It's one of those annoyingly frustrating sports … even for us at our level there are things you'll be great at one day and not so good the next. But you always hit one shot that keeps you coming back the next day'. In this, the psychology degree comes in handy, especially when experiencing a dip in form: 'Golf is one of those sports where you lose more times than you win. So you have to take the lows with the highs and you have to be resilient and mentally strong.' Leona Maguire: 'When we were growing up women weren't allowed in some clubhouses.' Photograph: Scott Taetsch/Getty She's a huge sports fan herself, enthusing about her colleagues in elite Irish sport, listing women such as 'Katie Taylor, Kellie Harrington, Rachael Blackmore and Sonia O'Sullivan.' 'I'm a huge admirer of theirs and we swap stories'. She's been to the Olympics three times. [ Irish women on top of the sporting world Opens in new window ] Golf is traditionally a male-dominated sport – 'when we were growing up women weren't allowed in some clubhouses'. Maguire has seen women's golf evolve over the past 20 years. How could it be better promoted? 'I think it would be nice to see it on TV more often and in better time slots,' she says. 'It used to be just a highlights package at midnight on a Thursday or something like that. It's starting to get more and more prime-time slots. 'The big thing is getting as many people out to Carton House this week. When people come and watch, they're very impressed with the standard and even a lot of men would say when they come out to watch us it's more relatable, and they pick up more things about the rhythm and the timing and the accuracy of it. They're quite impressed. So I think the biggest thing is getting more eyes on it, and then once the eyes are there, we can retain the fans.' We have a few minutes left for the quick-fire round. Coffee or Tea? 'Tea,' she says quick as a flash. 'I don't drink coffee.' Morning round or afternoon tee-off? 'Morning.' Who would win in a putting contest between her and her twin sister Lisa? 'Well, probably me now but back in the day, I don't know,' she says smiling diplomatically. Any golfing superstitions? She tells me about a lucky ball marker she's carried around in a pouch for 15 years, it has a shamrock on one side and the Slieve Russell on the other. Golfers typically have long careers, Maguire could have another 30 or 40 years in the sport. 'I don't know about that but I don't see myself stopping any time soon,' she says. 'I enjoy what I do. I always say I've one of the best offices in the world. It changes every week. I'm very lucky to have the job I do. It's brought me to some incredible places.'
Irish Times
02-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Pizza maker invests €12.5m on extended Tesco deal
Pizza maker Crust & Crumb is spending €12.5 million on boosting production as it extends a deal with supermarket chain Tesco . The Ballyconnell, Co Cavan-based company will hire 120 more workers and double the size of its production facility to 7,430sq m after agreeing to supply Tesco with new premium pizza varieties. Crust & Crumb already employs 282 workers and makes 30 types of pizza for the supermarket chain, including five new lines that began selling in recent weeks. The pair's relationship began five years ago when Tesco sought to move production of its own-brand pizza range to Ireland. READ MORE Ford chief Lisa Brankin on accelerating the switch to electric vehicles Listen | 41:35 The contract is worth more than €10 million a year to Crust & Crumb, which increased production 35 per cent on the previous year in 2024. Tesco commercial director Joe Manning said the deal highlighted the chain's commitment to using Irish suppliers and growing jobs locally. Crust & Crumb chief executive Mark McCaffrey noted that his company's relationship with Tesco had grown over the past five years. 'Brexit presented many challenges as we know, but also offered some great opportunities to home-grown Irish suppliers like ourselves,' he said. Mr McCaffrey confirmed that support from groups such as Tesco allowed the firm to invest and expand.
BreakingNews.ie
21-05-2025
- Automotive
- BreakingNews.ie
Boy airlifted to hospital following e-scooter collision in Co Cavan
A boy had to be airlifted to hospital last night after a road collision involving an e-scooter in Co Cavan. It happened at around 7.15pm at the Black Ridge roundabout near Ballyconnell. Advertisement Gardaí and emergency services were called to the scene and a boy was taken by helicopter to Temple Street Children's Hospital in Dublin with serious injuries. A second boy was taken to Cavan General Hospital for treatment of injuries believed to be non-life-threatening. The road is closed for a technical examination and local diversions are in place.
