Cill Dara and Christy Roche complete fairytale journey to clinch Jimmy Bruen Shield

In a past sporting life, Christy Roche could be relied on to keep the whip in hand and drive on to the winning post with all his might. He won the Irish Derby three times and famously steered Secreto home to win the Epsom Derby in 1984: and, at Carton House on Saturday, Roche showed all of that old steel and nerve in holing the winning putt as Cill Dara claimed the Jimmy Bruen Shield after a great battle with Athenry.

As Co Sligo usurped Castle in the Irish Senior Cup where a rather younger golfer – 23-year-old Ruairi O’Connor – came up trumps, it was Roche, a seven-times Irish champion jockey, at 66 years of age, who partnered Paddy Hopkins to a 19th hole win over Ciarán Coughlan and Séamus Burke at the first extra hole to dramatically claim a green pennant for the Kildare club which, rather appropriately, is located on the edge of the Curragh plains.

In the anchor foursomes, Roche and Hopkins edged matters with a winning par at the first tie hole. “You just hate to see a loser, nobody deserved to lose,” said Roche after holding his nerve to claim victory. “It’s a super win for a small club like Cill Dara, a social club you could call it. We have a limited amount of members and to take on the powers-that-be, to beat Muskerry and Athenry, is fantastic.”

If Cill Dara – a nine-hole club with approximately 300 members – performed one giant-killing act after another to get through regional, provincial and finally national sections of the Jimmy Bruen, two giants of the club game went head-to-head in the final of the Senior Cup with Co Sligo also edging home by a 3-2 margin and also at extra holes in the decisive match.

With wins on the board for Co Sligo from David Brady and TJ Ford and for Castle from Irish close champion Alex Gleeson and Daniel Holland, it all went down to the singles between O’Connor and Robert Moran. One down playing the 18th, O’Connor produced a stunning 220 yards approach to 12-feet for a birdie which forced extra holes. And, on the 19th, O’Connor’s eight-footer for birdie found the left edge of the cup and dropped in to give them a fifth Senior Cup pennant.

Irish Senior Cup

Co. Sligo 3 Castle 2 (Co Sligo names first): David Brady beat Peter McKeever 4&3; Declan Reidy lost to Alex Gleeson 2 holes; Ruairi O’Connor beat Robert Moran 19th; TJ Ford beat Jim Mulready 3&2; Mark Morrissey lost to Daniel Holland 2&1.

Jimmy Bruen Shield

Cill Dara 3 Athenry 2 (Cill Dara names first): Ray Mackey & Christopher Harhen lost to Ethan Regan & Oisin O'Connell 2&1; James Dunne & Ciaran Ryan lost to David Flaherty & David Mooney 2 holes; David Kelly & Desmond Scahill beat Sean O'Connell & Paul Molloy 3&2; David Fox & Declan Plunkett beat Ian Kelly & Mark Moran 2&1; Patrick Hopkins & Christy Roche beat Ciaran Coughlan & Seamus Burke 19th.