Tributes paid to golfer who died while on Cork course

Tributes have been paid to a man in his sixties whose body was found floating on a lake on a golf course in Co Cork.

Maurice Hennigan from Ballincollig, Co Cork, was playing golf on his own at the Lee Valley Golf Club in Clashanure, Ovens, when the incident occurred. There were no eye witnesses to the circumstances of his death. However, it is being treated as a tragic accident.

A postmortem examination was to be carried out at Cork University Hospital (CUH. It is thought he may have suffered a heart attack on the course. His body was found in a man made lake on the 12th hole.

David Keohane, director of the golf club, said it was a very sad day for management and staff onsite.

“It is tragic. He was a lovely person. He was a regular golfer, playing a couple of days a week. He usually played alone. It is tragic. There are no witnesses so we don’t know what happened. It was a shock. It certainly throws you.”

Mr Hennigan was a member of the club for eight years. He had gone out playing alone at 8am on Thursday.

The body was found by staff at the club at 11.30am on Thursday. Mr Hennigan was pronounced dead at the scene and his body was removed to CUH for a postmortem examination.

The golf course was closed on Thursday as a mark of respect to the late golfer. Funeral arrangements have as yet to be finalised. Mr Hennigan was a single man.