Laurel Hill College, Limerick, won the Irish Girls' schools finals at Milltown yesterday by an impressive 17 shots. Sheila Galvin, who also collected the Mary Nolan Trophy as leading individual, shot a round of 86 and team-mate Orla Walsh was just one shot adrift to record a team score of 173, with Leinster champions Santa Sabina, Sutton, finishing runners-up on 190.
Convent of Mercy, Roscommon, (195) and Friends School, Lisburn, (218) failed to make a significant impression.
Irish Close champion Ken Kearney and former Walker Cup player Garth McGimpsey have teamed-up on many an Irish team . . . but the pair will be in opposition this weekend in their respective roles as non-playing-captains of the Connacht and Ulster teams in the Interprovincial Youths' Championship at Connemara, starting on Friday.
McGimpsey captained Ulster to success in last year's championship at Clandeboye and Ulster are actually seeking to make it a hattrick of titles this weekend. Ulster enter the championship as favourites, although Leinster - who include Lee Dalton, recent winner of the Connacht Youths' - have strong hopes of claiming their first title since 1995.
Ulster: R Boal (Scrabo), M Hoey (Shandon Park), D Jones (City of Derry), P Martin (Balmoral), G McDowell (Rathmore), M McGeady (City of Derry), R Symes (Shandon Park). NPC: G McGimpsey (Bangor).
Munster: A Harty (West Waterford), C Martin (Nenagh), M Murphy (Waterville), M Owens (Mallow), D Sugrue (Killarney), A Thomas (Tramore), R Walsh (Tralee). NPC: M Burns (Tramore).
Leinster: M Campbell (Stackstown), D Carroll (Grange), L Dalton (Waterford), S Gorry (Sudbury), J Kehoe (UCD), G McNeill (Waterford), A Murray (Greystones). NPC: J Long (Rosslare).
Connacht: D Cunningham (Galway), M Flanagan (The Island), M King (Galway Bay), A Lynch (Northants), C Moriarty (Athlone), S McTernan (Co Sligo), M O'Sullivan (Galway). NPC: K Kearney (Co Sligo).
Warrenpoint's Alison Coffey, who last week won the Leinster Women's Open Championship, continued her good form when finishing runner-up to a Danish player in the Scottish Open Strokeplay Championship at Royal Troon at the weekend.
