and Ollie Moran, Limerick – Photo: Arthur Ellis
Hurling stars of the past, Ollie Moran from Limerick and Galway’s Peter Murphy, will this week lead provincial teams as they swap colder climes for sunshine and a hurley and sliothar for a golf bag for the now annual Shannon Airport Cup Invitational this weekend.
In what is most definitely an inter-provincial with a difference, Moran will lead the Munster team, while former Galway goalkeeper Murphy will lead his Connacht comrades on the three-day trip to Malaga, Spain for the winter season, three-day golf classic.
Some 32 golfers will jet out tomorrow from Shannon for a tournament that will be played on the former Spanish Open course, Torrequebrada Golf Course, Benalmadena and will involve players from across Connacht and Munster.
Speaking ahead of their departure to Malaga, Andrew Murphy, Managing Director, Shannon Airport, a Shannon Group company said that it was a trip many would envy this time of year. “The guys will be leaving with a smile and it’s easy know why. The temperatures have dropped here and November is a quiet month for many so it’s certainly going to be a nice break for them in the run-up to Christmas.
“It’s a busy week in terms of the hurling world at Shannon as by the time the golfers depart, we will also have had the current Tipperary and Limerick teams heading out from here for the New York Classic. Any young autograph hunters will be having a field day here over the days.”
Said Fintan Ward of Golf Voyager, which organises the Malaga golf classic: “This is a really enjoyable event. All the rivalry of the year is very much suspended once you come to November so there’s a great sense of fun on these trips, though the lads like to be on top of their game with the golf as well.
“This is the fifth time we’ve held such an event. The last few years people played for their counties but we had so many counties involved that we are now going down the provincial route. It’s great also that we get to fly out from Shannon as it’s the perfect airport for both Munster and Connacht and so easy to use.”