Curragh seek first Senior Cup

Lillian Behan and Oonagh Purfield are poised to renew their Irish Close final rivalry when the ILGU Senior Cup Finals, sponsored by Douwe Egberts, take place at Dundalk Golf Club this weekend.

Behan, the national champion, will lead the Curragh in their quest to claim a first ever Senior Cup - but they have to meet County Louth, winners of the Eastern District, in Saturday's semi-final. Of the five clubs still in the hunt for the title, Co Louth are pretty much the aristocrats with eight successes to their name. However, the last time they achieved the feat was all of 33 years ago, back in 1965.

The Baltray side includes Purfield, Deirdre Smith, who won the Connacht championship last week, and teenager Jenny Gannon, while the Curragh side is backboned by Behan and interprovincial player Sinead Keane.

Meanwhile, Royal Co Down, who took the cup for a fourth time in 1996, will meet either Killarney or Claremorris in the other semifinal. Neither Killarney or Claremorris have ever won the event, and the winners of the quarter-final will be up against a Newcastle team that includes Alison Coffey, who has enjoyed a superb season to date and includes the Leinster and Ulster titles in her successes, Emma Dickson and junior international Joanne Black.

The Licensed Vintners Association - who are having their annual outing to Newlands on Thursday - are donating a specially commissioned bus worth £25,000 to Cheeverstown, the charity for babies, children and adults with a mental disability, based in Dublin. The LVA men's golf society is one of the oldest in Ireland and the new Ford Transit will be used to bring children and adults from their homes to Cheeverstown on a daily basis.