39 golfers  (and 1 non golfer, proving that the day is not all about the golf) from near and far (including 3 from the UK) turned up on a glorious day at Galway GC for the inaugural Phil Fogarty SJ Cup. The Cup is in honor of Philip SJ who positively influenced a lot of boys at Clongowes Wood during his tenure as headmaster.

The course was a gem and we were treated to a fantastic meal afterwards. We were very well looked after by the entire team and thanks to Joey Costelloe (OC 90 and current Galway GC President) for his input in bringing the event to Galway GC. Thanks also to our Golfing Society captain, Stephen McGee ‘00, for checking the scores and overall assistance on the day.

And to the the prize winners:

• Longest drive: David Clavin ‘00
• Nearest the pin: Tony Murphy ‘84

Team winners: Tom Lane, Tommy Delap, Philip Blake and Donald Binchy - all ‘81.

The winning team are great supporters of the Golfing Society and proved very popular winners - all pictured above with our esteemed Hon. Sec. and “missing” Cup - said esteemed person forgot to put it in the car……...although it was noted he didn’t forget to bring his golf clubs.

Not only did the ‘81 boys clinch the cup (from the ‘85 team) but they also won the draw for an automatic right to 4 of the coveted 36 places at Royal County Down in June 2025. Well done and very deserved.

The event was a terrific success with attendees spanning Rhetoric 1974 to 2024 - there were stories and laughs galore. It was also a great introduction for the ‘24 graduates to experience one of our outings and I like to think we will see them on the timesheets in 2025.
Front and centre of this august Golfing Society is its Hon. Sec., Willie McDonald ‘86. He invests a huge amount of his time during the year liasing with the golf clubs and caterers, not to mention his very effective (and hugely entertaining) communications to our members.

Thank you Willie for all your work and commitment.

Finally, the fixtures for 2025 are as follows:

• President’s. Prize - Rosslare GC, Saturday 5th April 2025
• Sir Abraham Sutton Cup: Portmarnock GC, Friday May 2nd 2025
• The Sheil Cup & Ulster Branch AGM:  Royal County Down GC, Friday June 27th 2025
• Captain’s (Stephen McGee OC’00) Prize: County Louth Golf Club, Baltray, Saturday August 30th 2025
• GB Branch GollyMocky Cup, Edgbaston GC, Birmingham, Date TBC in September 2025 
• The Phil Fogarty SJ Cup, Galway GC, Salthill, Date TBC in September 2025

Thank you to all our golfing friends for your support during 2024 and roll on Rosslare 2025!

Padraig Whelan (OC89),

Hon. Treasurer Golf Society