Three goals and a victory on Wednesday were quickly followed by three prizes on Thursday for Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy (right).

The Irish boss had left Lansdowne Road last Wednesday night with a broad smile after his side had beaten Finland 3-0 to end the year 2000 in winning fashion and thus maintain their recent excellent run of form and results.

The following day, McCarthy was still smiling as he collected three prizes at Powerscourt in the Forte Posthouse Hotel's golf outing, held as a thank-you to their clients.

Not only was McCarthy on the winning team, but he also won the longest drive prize at the 10th and was the nearest-the-pin winner at the 13th. Not a bad return from two days work!