As Ireland’s oldest golf club, Royal Curragh has a rich and storied history, but All-Ireland success has proved largely elusive over its 174 years.
This week, team captains Ian Clarke and Cormac Aspell are looking to change that as they prepare their squad for the AIG Men’s Junior Cup Finals at Millicent Golf Club.
The Kildare venue will host both the AIG Men’s and Women’s Junior Cup finals, with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals taking place across Thursday and Friday.
For Royal Curragh, it is an opportunity to claim a first All-Ireland pennant since their Pierce Purcell victory in 2010, with the club making a special effort at the start of the season to breathe new life into their Junior Cup challenge.
“The whole club was behind us for the teams this year,” said Clarke.
“There was a big push from the captain and the committee to get more people involved in team golf. We put a sign up looking for participants in the Junior Cup and all the other different competitions this year. When we saw the potential panel, we thought there were some good players in there.”
Thus far, that drive for new blood has paid off, with the squad of Kevin Miller, Ozzie O’Toole, Shane Bracken, Michael Dixon, Rob Jacon, Kevin Donohoe and junior members Harry Tiernan and Daniel Campbell coming through tight encounters with Carlow, Millicent, Kilkenny and Abbeyleix to secure the Leinster Central crown.
“We were thrilled to win the Leinster. That was our target,” said Clarke.
“When we got through with the first few matches, we were saying, we could get a blue pennant and that was the focus all the way up to the final. It was a great feeling to bring that back to the club.”
“Harry and Daniel, who are junior members, they’ve really stood up and been counted and we’re delighted with them. They’re a credit to themselves, their families and the club.”
The AIG Women’s Junior Cup quarter-finals get proceedings underway at 8.30am on Thursday, when Corrstown take on 2024 champions Rockmount before the Men’s quarter-finals begin at 11.45am, with Clontarf facing Clandeboye, who are bidding to end a 57-year wait for Junior Cup success.
Royal Curragh face Connacht champions Athlone in their opening match from 12.30pm and, with Millicent just a short hop up the M7, Clarke will be hoping for more strong support this week.
“We got great support from the members at the Leinster final, and we’re looking forward to seeing a lot of them there on Thursday again,” said Clarke.
“If we get to Friday, I think there’ll be a bigger crowd there again.”
“From the whole team, we want to thank the Captain Dave Swan and the vice-captain Paul Murphy, the committee and all the members for coming out to support us. Only for them, I don’t think we would have got this far.”
With Clarke, Aspell and their team looking to break new ground for Royal Curragh this year, the prospect of being crowned All-Ireland champions would be a dream scenario for the Kildare club.
But the chance to add a new chapter to the club’s rich history is not yet on their minds, as focus remains on Thursday’s opening match.
“It would be the pinnacle for a lot of us,” said Clarke.
“You don’t get many chances in life to win an All-Ireland in any sport, so if we can get this home, it’d be great for the club to be All-Ireland winners again after a long time.”
“For the lads and for myself and Cormac, it’d be the pinnacle of a lot of our careers to get to win an All-Ireland at this level, but we’re just thinking of Thursday at the moment. It’s all about Thursday and we’ll see what happens on the day.”
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