The ladies of the Friday Falcons and Friday Drivers golf societies were delighted with the news. It was bitterly cold at Leopardstown golf course, but the Portmarnock ruling made it a feel good day, writes Patsy McGarry
Delighted too, it was suggested, would be the ladies of the Thursday Swingers society, not to mention the Friday Tigers.
However it remained to be seen how the men of the Eagle House, Blackrock, and Grange societies would respond. They only play Leopardstown on Saturdays.
"Fantastic...in this day and age when we have equality in all things," was the response of Ms Angela Fitzell (Friday Drivers) on hearing that the ban on women becoming members of Portmarnock was found to be in breach of the Equal Status Act.
She wasn't so much annoyed at the ban on women golfers there personally, as aggrieved at it for equality reasons.
Mind you, she wasn't too sure how much she would want to be a member of a club with attitudes like that.
But it was ridiculous that, for instance, women golfers in some clubs she could mention, who paid up to €22,000 to become members, were still not allowed play on Saturdays.
She couldn't understand any of it at all. "Women are great fun," she said, perplexed.
Ms Mary O'Neill, Ms Gay O'Carroll, Ms Ann Fennelly and Ms Monica Byrne were also "absolutely delighted" at this latest small step for women. There should never have been such a ban in the first place, they felt.
"Absolutely not. One for all," they chorused.
But, but...but was it not true that in 28 golfing societies at Leopardstown there were approximately 2,500 women and no men? Hmm. Ms Fitzell went off to check. She emerged with Ms Mary Ryan, president of the Friday Drivers society. "No man has applied to join," she said. "There is no discrimination, nor would the membership have any objection to men joining."
Besides, Ms O'Neill pointed out, women's societies were set up in response to the trouble women had in joining golf clubs.
"They made it difficult to join," said Ms Fennelly. All has changed now.
"Many of the women are members of other societies as well," said Ms Byrne.
None of the Drivers or Falcons members would discuss their handicap.
"Like age, that's a sensitive issue," said Ms O'Carroll.
Hovering in the background was Charlie "I'm a woman's man" O'Driscoll.
Self-styled "coach, greenkeeper and tormentor of women", he said the ladies golfing societies began at Leopardstown 12 or 13 years ago when he noticed five or six women playing on their own. Pointing to his balding pate, he remarked sadly: "I had a great mop of hair when we started."
Nowadays ladies golfing societies play at Leopardstown from 8.30 a.m. until 1.30 p.m., Monday to Friday. Sunday too. "No men in the mornings?" No men in the mornings?