Sponsored by
Voice of Midwest Golf . . . with Ivan Morris
He vividly remembers teeing it up beside the South of Ireland legends Stanley Martyn and John Burke, playing with hickory-shafted clubs and having to contend with stymies.
He watched in awe as the celebrated power-hitter James Bruen and the elegant Henry Cotton played a famous exhibition match during An Tostal Festival at Little Island, Cork in 1954. A mere 55 years ago, he won a captain's prize playing off an 8-handicap. He helped to found Ireland's oldest golf society - the Commercial Travelers in 1959.
Surely, the evergreen and ever sprightly, Joe Kirby is Ireland's, let alone Limerick's, most senior, seriously active golfer? By 'seriously active' I mean someone who carries a current handicap, plays regularly (would you believe three or four times weekly) and still enters 18-hole competitions on a regular basis.
Joe had just finished playing his regular Wednesday game at his beloved Ballyclough when I caught up with him for a most enjoyable chat. Joe began by telling me that he always refuses to tell people his age, but then he winked and admitted that he had taken his first swipe at a golf ball as a teenager in 1941. That was the year he joined Limerick Golf Club on the invitation of his mother's brother Pat Hayes, who lived with them as one of the family. Uncle Pat kindly paid the annual subscription and continued to do so until Joe could afford to pay it himself.
"The fee was probably two pounds, but certainly not more than three. We lived just up the road from Ballyclough. We cycled everywhere, to the club and even into town. Pat Hayes was an extremely keen golfer and a staunch member who presented the Ballyclough Cup to the club in 1929, it remains one of the most prestigious cups that the members compete for annually.
"Pat was always asking me to join him on the links, but as a young lad I could never imagine myself playing golf. Eventually I relented and never regretted it. I would never have been a golfer, but for him. All told, four generations from my family have been members of Limerick Golf Club. My son, Jos, plays and his younger son Hugh (aged 9) is out playing with the juniors at what we call the Paddock (Practice) Hole as we speak. My other son, Sean, was quite a good player as a schoolboy, but he emigrated to the USA and hardly ever plays now. My daughter, Maura who lives in Cork, is also a lifelong member. Limerick Golf Club is in our blood," explained Pat.
"I definitely attribute my longevity to golf. It's a great interest and it gets me out in the fresh air taking exercise. On the days I don't play, I walk three or four miles. I love the chat as we go around the course and I look forward to every game I play.
"My all-time favourite is Rosses Point (Co. Sligo GC) where I saw John Burke, Cecil Ewing and Joe Carr in action back in the 1940s. I used to enjoy playing at Lahinch and Ballybunion when I was younger, but they are much too tough for me these days.
"My greatest thrills in golf were winning the late, Jack O'Mara's Captain's Prize in 1954 – a beautiful set of Henry Cotton Autographed irons made by George Nicol of Scotland; they were the Rolls Royce of clubs in their day and I played with them with great pride for many years. Playing as a qualifier in the JP McManus International Pro-Am in 2000 was most memorable and hugely exciting!
"I'll always remember the way my teammates Dermot Molony and Michael McMahon collaborated with me when reading the long, curling putt that found the bottom of the cup on Castletroy's 18th green that secured our invitation.
"It was amazing to rub shoulders with so many great personalities in the game.
"We were wined and dined to such an extent that I had never experienced anything like it in my whole life and don't expect to ever again either.
"JP McManus is a great man. The money he raises for charity is mind-boggling for somebody like me."
Email to a friend
Print this page- First drift karting facility in Europe is ready to take off on outskirts of Limerick
- Newport gun victim is mourned at funeral in Limerick city
- Man appears in court following County Limerick drugs seizure
- Protest march in Parteen over preferred route of relief road
- Luxury eight-bed home in Adare now on sale for €1.9m
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Weather for Limerick
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 7 C to 9 C
Wind Speed: 22 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 8 C to 11 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: South
