From his involvement in administration with the New York Metropolitan Golf Association, Paul Dillon became a keen admirer of Joe Carr. And as an accomplished artist, he suggested to Portmarnock GC that he would love to do a painting of a great player, who was actually reared in their clubhouse.

Now, in the hallway leading to the Harry Bradshaw Room, the painting adorns the wall. With a broad smile and sparkling eyes, it captures the subject perfectly. And Carr is thrilled with it. "Normally these things don't tend to flatter you, but this one is different," he said. "It's absolutely magnificent."

Dillon, who did the painting from two photographs sent to him by the club, was present at the recent unveiling. It came as a total surprise to Carr and the mood of the occasion was captured beautifully by Portmarnock captain, Joe King, who quoted from the club minutes: "The Master Carr has been practising too much on the fairways. He will have to be admonished."

"I spent the first 17 years of my life in the clubhouse, where my parents were manager and manageress," Carr recalled. "It was where the great Willie Nolan gave me my first set of clubs. Though I represented Sutton all my life, my heart was always in Portmarnock, which makes the painting all the more special."

As a fascinating footnote, Dillon is not one of your run-of-the-mill amateur artists. He happens to be the father of movie actor Matt Dillon, whose recent work was as a slippery private detective in "The Trouble with Mary."