Great win for Offaly man in Irish Intervarsity Golf Championship

A YOUNG Offaly man had a great win in the Irish Intervarsity Golf Championship on Friday. Eanna Mulhare showed nerves of steel to eagle the second hole of a sudden death play off to secure victory at Carne Golf Club in Belmullet, Mayo on Friday.

A member of a famous Cloghan GAA family, Eanna was competing for TUS Midwest. Played over three rounds, 20 year old Mulhare overcame difficult windy conditions to claim the biggest golf win of his life.

The Mulhare's are synonymous with St Rynagh's and Offaly GAA. A distant relation, Paudge Mulhare is one of the county's most cherished GAA individuals, an Offaly senior hurler and footballer in the 1960s, a County Board chairman in the 1980s, Offaly senior hurling manager in 1990 and a selector on All-Ireland winning teams in the 1990s.

His father Enda was a long serving dual player for St Rynagh's footballers and hurlers, playing in the 1991 All-Ireland U21 Hurling Championship final loss to Galway and managed Offaly minor hurlers a couple of years ago as well as Seir Kieran senior hurlers. His uncle Paudie was an Offaly dual senior hurler and footballer in the 1990s and 2000s, winning an All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship medal in 1998.

While he has developed as an excellent young golfer, Eanna also has a great passion for football and hurling. He was in goals for Offaly minor hurlers in 2023 and has continued to play hurling and football since then.

While the wider St Rynagh's area is now synonymous with hurling, football remains hugely important in the Cloghan end and the Mulhare's are very much to the forefront to this. Eanna was in the attack on the Cloghan team that won the Minor Football Championship in 2023. St Rynagh's are among the favourites for the U20 Football Championship this year and Mulhare showed remarkable dedication to the cause when leaving Belmullet on Wednesday after this first round in the golf to play in their win over Shamrocks in Shannonbridge that evening, returning to Mayo after it.

Golf also oozes through his veins as his uncle Joe Lyons has been one of the best amateur golfers in Ireland for years and is now doing very well in seniors golf – Joe Lyons is a native of Banagher but is based in Galway and his sister Michelle is Eanna's mother.

After a blustery start to the week, when just two players broke par in the opening round, Mulhare took advantage of more benign conditions in round two, carding a three under par round of 69 to take a four-shot overnight lead heading into the final round.

The high winds returned on Friday morning, presenting another strong challenge on the west coast as Mulhare looked to protect his advantage.

With winds blowing at over 30 km/h, he negotiated the front nine with eight pars and a single bogey, strengthening his position as his closest challengers struggled in the conditions.

A member of Birr Golf Club, he continued to make pars early on the back nine and, despite a second bogey of the day at the 13th, remained in control. Mulhare held a five-shot lead over Sean Cooper (Maynooth), Ryan Lyons (Maynooth) and playing partner Patrick Curran (National College of Ireland) as he teed off on 14.

Mulhare’s 12th par of the day would come at the 14th, but the closing stretch brought a dramatic twist to an already eventful championship. Mulhare bogeyed the 15th before a double bogey at the 16th and another dropped shot at the 17th saw his advantage disappear.

Cooper was already in the clubhouse on two over par after producing the round of the day, a two-under-par 70, leaving Mulhare needing a par on the 18th to force a playoff.

Mulhare held his nerve to make par, sending the pair back to the first tee for sudden death. The players halved the opening playoff hole in five before Mulhare produced the decisive moment on the second, reaching the green in two before holing his eagle putt to secure his first Irish Intervarsity Championship.

“It feels brilliant,” said Mulhare afterwards.

“You’re just trying to take one shot at a time. I got a bit ahead of myself, overthinking a small bit over some shots. Made a bad mistake on 16. I suppose you learn from these things. I reset going back out to the playoff and it made me hit a few good shots instead of holding back.”

“I would have backed Sean to make his birdie, so I thought I have to give this a go. I can’t be lagging it up and thank God it went in.”

“It’s a first win for me of any championship in Ireland. It gives me a bit of confidence going forward that I can compete. Hopefully I can push on a bit further from this now.”