Strong finish sees Irish ladies and boys top the second flights

IRELAND produced strong finishes in both the European ladies and boys team championships in Germany and the Czech Republic respectively at the weekend to clinch an unusual double.

In both contests they ended up in ninth spot, winning the second flight the best they could do after failing earlier in the week to secure one of the top eight places for the matchplay phase.

And what pleased the country's golfing chiefs more than anything was overcoming Celtic cousins Scotland to wrap up in style in the womens' contest over Germany's Frankfurter course and Wales in the boys' showdown over the Astoria course at Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic.