Nigel Beirth is an unlikely hero, but that's the position he found himself in at Carlow Golf Club on Saturday last. The Co Louth player took on - and beat - two of the game's young golfing lions and, in the process, had people shaking their heads in disbelief. Not at the fact that he won his two matches, but rather at the audacious act he performed with his final shot to the final green in his win over Derry's David Jones that helped Louth to glory in the Golfsure All-Ireland Inter-County Championship.
Picture the scene. One up on plus-four handicapper Jones playing the 18th, Beirth pushed his 3-wood approach to the par five into trees on the right which still left him 100 yards short of the green. The real problem was that his way was blocked by trees. "I knew I couldn't go over the trees, I was just too close," recalled Beirth, "so I took a gamble. I had the option of playing out sideways but there was a three feet gap in the trees and, since I was one up, and knew I was going up the 19th at worse, I decided not to let up and went for it." His bravery was rewarded. He proceeded to play a punched six-iron to six feet, and that was enough to secure a 2 holes win over the Irish international. Earlier, in the semi-final, Beirth had beaten Irish youths' international Dan Sugrue of Kerry in the top match.
In the high-pressure circumstances, Beirth admitted it was the best shot "I've ever played." Later, people retraced his steps into the trees, looked wonderously at the divot mark left as a legacy of the shot and shook their heads in disbelief that he had pulled it off.
Beirth's win over Jones set Louth up for a 31/211/2 victory over the hotly-fancied Derry team with Frank Gannon and Peter Rogers also winning their matches. Gannon, who'd been a star of their provincial campaign when he had seven successive threes and a two in his round, birdied three holes in succession from the 11th to turn his match against Des Ballentine, while Rogers was under par in beating Connacht youths' champion McGeady. Indeed, four members of Saturday's winning team - Gannon, Rogers, Seamus McParland and Barry Reddan - were also on the last Louth team to win the title some 14 years ago when they completed a four-in-a-row of successes. Louth manager Kevin Carrie paid special tribute to Beirth, a two-time runner-up in the East of Ireland championship, who assumed the responsibility of playing at number one. "Nigel said he was playing well enough to beat anyone," said Carrie, who added: "I was also happy for him because there were a lot of people who went around saying that he couldn't play outside Baltray, but he's certainly proved them wrong."
Beirth, though, won't be among those making the trip to Enniscrone this bank holiday weekend for the West of Ireland championship. "It's a bit hard to commit yourself to those events with a family and work," he said. Instead, his only championship appearance this season is likely to be the East of Ireland over the Co Louth links he knows so well.
Meanwhile, further evidence of how well Ireland's new crop of women players are adapting to the international challenge was provided in Scotland over the weekend. For the second year in succession, Alison Coffey, a member of the Curtis Cup training squad, had to be content with runners-up position in the Scottish women's amateur strokeplay championship for the Helen Holm Trophy played at Troon over the weekend. However, the Irish player's performance should be a further help in her bid to make the British and Irish Vagliano Trophy team for the match against the continent of Europe at North Berwick on July 23rd-24th, although her more immediate priority is the defence of her Ulster women's title at Belvoir Park next week.
Calling all former internationals from hockey, cricket, soccer and rugby who nowadays are handy with a golf club.
As part of his year in office, Brian Andrews, the captain of Elm Park Golf Club, has decided to hold a golf match in memory of his late father Paddy who excelled in all four sporting pursuits and who staged a golf tournament featuring international players from the four associations. Joey O'Meara, a former cricket and hockey international, is a member of the organising committee for the match which will be staged at Elm Park on May 28th and he would like to hear from former players from the various field sports who would like to participate. Already, the likes of rugby's Eric Miller and soccer's Con Martin and Tommy Eglington have expressed an interest in playing in the once-off tournament in memory of Paddy Andrews.
