Fifty-three years is a long time to wait, but Edmondstown golf club finally achieved their ambition of winning a GUI competition when they beat The Island in the final of the Hibernian Insurance-sponsored Metropolitan Cup on Sunday last.

The south Dublin club laid the foundations for victory with a magnificent performance in the home leg two weeks ago, winning 8-1. Needing just two matches from the return leg, they were quickly into their stride, with Ray Martin, John Cousins, Michael Whelan and Con Kenny all taking vital leads in the early stages of their matches.

Kenny gave Edmondstown their first point when he mastered the difficult wind and rain to beat Paul Cullen on the 13th and two wins followed from Cousins and Whelan to give the Metropolitan Cup a new resting place. Team manager Peter Galbraith was generous in his praise for the 16-man squad, referring to their enthusiasm and effort since the competition started back in May. "Endless hours of practice has finally paid off, and I'm delighted for the players and the club. After a comfortable win in the first round, we won all our other matches up to the final 5-4," he said. Edmondstown's only other success came in the Dublin Team Trophy, and next Sunday they will be hoping for the double when this year's competition is staged on their home course. Thirty-five clubs will be represented at Edmondstown and the home side, fresh from their Metro success, should start as favourites.

Limerick chalked up a double at the weekend, winning the Munster section of the Barton Shield and of the Senior Cup, and they did it without the services of South of Ireland champion Pat Collier.

Passed over by the Munster selectors for the recent Interprovincials, Collier was also dropped by his club last weekend.

"It's very annoying, the worst thing I did was win the South, it seems," said a disappointed Collier, who now plans to change his allegiances to Lahinch.

Even without Collier, Limerick proved too strong for Tipperary in the Shield semi-final, winning by six holes. They had the same winning margin over Killarney in the final.

In the Senior Cup Limerick beat Monkstown 3 1/2 to 1 1/2 in the semifinal and scored a 4-1 win over old rivals Tralee in the final.

Ashbourne, beaten in last year's final by Malahide, will take a commanding 4-1 lead to The Island for the second leg of the Best Cup final on Sunday week.

Ashbourne will be hoping for a repeat of last year's semi-final, when they knocked out The Island. The home side won the top four matches in convincing manner and The Island's only success came from John Dowdall and Hal O'Donoghue who beat Greg O'Hara and Paul Kelly on the 16th. Kevin Shanahan and Chris Coyle were level with David Evans and Eugene Reilly after 10 holes but finished the stronger for a 3 and 2 win.

Played in two - won in two. That's Danny Allen's record in the Uden Cup. What makes Danny's record unique is that 44 years separated the two successes, and the two came with different clubs.

Danny won his first Uden Cup medal with St Anne's back in 1953 and last week helped Clontarf beat Deer Park in the final of the 1997 competition in Clontarf.

In the intervening years Danny has represented Clontarf at all levels. A winner of the Lord Mayor's Cup in 1963 and a finalist in 1971, the Clontarf man enjoys his golf as much now as he did when winning that first medal in 1953.