GAA legends raise €50,000 for various charities

OVER €50,000 was raised for various charities nationwide by the second annual GAA Legends Golf Charity Inter-Shield Championship held recently in La Cala in Spain.

Former greats from both codes participated in the event which was founded and organised by ex-Meath All Star Bernard Flynn and which is served by former Armagh manager Joe Kernan as secretary.

The Tipperary team took home the overall prize of €25,000 for their chosen charity, the Tipperary Hospice. Overall, over 120 former greats took part in the event earlier this month.

Each of the 32 counties was represented at the event by a team of four, all of whom must have at some time played on the senior football or hurling team for their county. Each team had raised €5,000 as an entry fee with many players donating from their own pockets which covered the costs of running the event as well as the prize fund.

The overall prize, won by Tipperary, was garnered for the best accumulated score over the three days play, with provincial prizes of €5,000 won by teams from Monaghan, Roscommon, Kildare and Waterford.

Three daily prizes of €2,000 were also scooped for the best individual displays and GAA president Christy Cooney was on hand at the prize-giving ceremony in Mullingar last Friday to present the winning teams with their prizes.

Bernard Flynn, chairman of the organising committee, said: “The event is about a group of past players coming together with one goal in mind – to raise much-needed funds for local charities of their choice.

“Players like ourselves formed a great bond on the pitch which we try to keep alive on the golf course,” he added.

Of the 128 players who took part, over 60 boasted a single-digit handicap with the average handicap of the participants between 10 and 11.