Irish Open baby holds out until the final tee-off
Killarney Golf and Fish-ing Club general manager Maurice O’Meara had just overseen a dramatic conclusion to the big event on the Killeen course on Sunday night when he received a call that his wife, Claire, was going into labour.
Their third child wasn’t due until yesterday but clever Charlie opted to arrive that little bit early to steal some of the limelight from Irish Open winner Simon Dyson.
Luckily for Maurice, he didn’t have far to travel from the presentation podium to be at his schoolteacher wife’s side as they live less that half a mile from Killarney’s three championship golf courses at Fossa. Following a quick dash across the county bounds, with Maurice at the wheel, Charlie made his entrance at Cork University Maternity Hospital at 12.21am on Monday, tipping the scales at an impressive nine pounds.
“I was still at the golf club about an hour after the presentation to the winner when Claire rang. I drove her to Cork and we got to the hospital at around 9 o’clock,” the proud dad explained.
“Everything went wonderfully and Claire’s timing was perfection personified. It was a perfect end to a perfect week. I believe there were quite a few pints raised in Charlie’s honour in the clubhouse and that several bets were waged that we would name him Simon after the Open winner.”
Maurice and Claire have two other children, four-year-old Grace and one-year-old James, who arrived with a healthy bawl close to Killarney’s hosting of last year’s Irish Open.
Club captain Pat Cussen said: “Claire’s timing was impeccable. We send them our heartiest congratulations. Maurice worked incredibly hard in the lead up to, and during, the golf tournament and he now deserves a break.”
The birth couldn’t have come at a better time for an exceptionally busy Maurice who had spent every waking hour of the previous four days ensuring everything was going according to plan at the golf bonanza, which attracted a record crowd to an Irish Open.
A whopping 85,170 spectators packed the greens and fairways over the four days, with the championship worth an estimated €30 million to the local economy.
Despite the pressure of hosting such a prestigious event, Maurice insisted he would love nothing more than getting it back to Killarney for the third year in a row next summer and he is confident it will happen.
His optimism is shared by the club captain, who said Killarney has proved it is more than capable of hosting such a major event.
“We put on a good show last year and an even better show this year,” Mr Cussen said.
But he stressed that the event, promoted this year by Discover Ireland, needs a major title sponsor if it is to realise its full potential and attract more star names from the golfing world.
“This year we ran a five-star event on a three-star budget. You have no idea what’s involved. There are a lot of tired bodies around Killarney this week,” said Mr Cussen.
