The Ireland Fund of Great Britain returned to St Georges Hill, Surrey, for its annual Golf Tournament. Once again the renowned golf course was the setting for an enjoyable day of golf and banter by the IFGB golfers who enjoyed beautiful autumnal weather.
That evening players were thanked by Golf Committee Chair Ruairi Conneely for their loyal support to The Ireland Fund of Great Britain and its Forgotten Irish Campaign. He introduced the new Executive Director Sheila Bailey who will be starting her post at the end of October. Sheila gave a speech outlining the great work of the Ireland funds and finished by saying how delighted she is to be joining such a wonderful organisation.
The after dinner speaker was Jamie Salmon, who played international rugby for both England and New Zealand, he kept the guest entertained with stories from his wonderful and varied career in the world of rugby. Other sports personalities on the day included Mick Fitzgerald, Irish National Hunt jockey, winner of the Grand National and Cheltenham Gold Cup and Jason Leonard English International Rugby Player.
The winning teams on the day were Devine Homes Group led by Jim Devine, Brian Comer’s team Comer Homes, who were last year’s winners, in second place and in third place was a team led by Garrett Hayes with fellow team mates Graham Cawley, Garreth Walsh and Jillian Howarth.
Prizes from Tipperary Crystal were presented to the winners and the Grand Draw prizes were kindly donated by Ashford Castle Co. Mayo, The Kensington Hotel London, St Georges Hill Golf Club Surrey, London Irish Rugby and The Irish Club, London. The auction prize, donated by WSM Sponsorship, a Colin Montgomery signed pin flag from this year’s Ryder Cup helped to raise further funds for The Forgotten Irish Campaign.