Malahide captain Orla McMahon praised her resilient players as they bounced back from a couple of final defeats to secure the Flogas Irish Mixed Foursomes at Oughterard.
Malahide got the better of Fermoy before Woodstock were also crowned All-Ireland champions after victory over Castlebar in the inaugural Irish Mixed Fourball decider.
For Malahide, the Dublin outfit had suffered the heartbreak of losing this final in 2015 and again last year but bounced back in style this time around.
On Friday, it came down to the 19th hole, where Achill Island were eventually defeated and the last two from288 clubs provided another classic with Paul O’Connor’s superb approach shot sealing the silverware.
“We’re absolutely delighted to get over the line this time. It was a very tightly fought match and Fermoy did everything they could to stop us in our tracks,” said McMahon.
“Down to the last match one of our players, Paul, he hit in and it was about three inches from the flag, so that was pretty much it. We were one up. They had to win that hole and thankfully we won that hole and got them through.
“It’s fantastic, we certainly didn’t want another play-off hole because we thought we’d rolled that dice a lot of late. So we wanted the clear win without sending down our play-off pair to the 19th again.
“We’re delighted that’s over and we can finally breathe.”
A total of 232 clubs entered the Irish Mixed Fourball at the start of the season, and it came down to a battle between Woodstock and Castlebar in the final for the first time.
Mark Corrigan and Margaret Tighe combined for the only win for Castlebar in the top match but Woodstock won all three of the other ties on the day.
“Great day, just in off the course myself, exhausted,” said Woodstock team captain Tony Neville.
“I got drafted in this morning, it just shows, we have a decent squad there. We have 12 or 13 very good players and we can chop and change to suit on the day.
“We met a fantastic Castlebar team. All credit to them, they were brilliant. We got a few putts early on today, it just made the difference.
“Everyone is delighted, to go home with a medal is a great achievement. It’s actually hard to fathom. Just a middle-sized club, to take on the best in Ireland and to beat them it’s just brilliant.
“Another All-Ireland for Ennis, for Clare.”
View the final scoring here
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