Seapoint takes centre stage

Des Smyth will never forget the first time he saw Rory McIlroy hit a golf ball. "Oh my God," was his reaction. This weekend, a new generation of young Irish golfers will be at Seapoint for the Irish Amateur Close Championship.

Des Smyth and Declan Branigan: The boyhood pals were young stars of the 1960s.

Seapoint will be the centre of the Irish golfing universe this weekend when it hosts the blue riband Irish Amateur Close Championship for the first time.