Maynooth fire warning to Irish Senior Cup rivals

A Maynooth University team of considerable talent has emerged as warm favourites to capture the AIG Irish Senior Cup, having come through the Leinster qualifying section in highly impressive fashion.

The Paddy Harrington Scholarship programme is doing wonders for the Co Kildare academy which already has the 2012 Barton Shield at Kinsale on its honours list.

They have again shown their potential in disposing of tournament specialists Portmarnock by 3 matches to 1, with one called in.

Their number one player was Stuart Grehan, the recent winner of the South of Ireland Championship, while Alan Lowry, who captured the Mullingar Scratch trophy a few days before his brother Shane achieved his famous victory in the WGC Bridgestone Invitational, is another bang-in-form member of the squad.

Robin Dawson, who along with Grehan helped Ireland to regain the Home International Championship at Portrush last week, and two other well-known names, Ronan Mullarney and Sean Flanagan, complete the quintet.

It remains to be seen how these youngsters fare when they come up against the greater experience of Limerick, Knock and Athlone at Carton House on September 18 and 19. Limerick’s Pat Murray, Justin Kehoe and Michael O’Kelly have brought them a long way and are well acquainted with this tension-packed scenario.

Royal Dublin came out of the Leinster area thanks to a provincial final win over Laytown & Bettystown over their home Dollymount links. Their quartet is composed of Jeff Hopkins and Shaun Carter, this year’s winner of the South of Ireland stroke play championship at Little Island, and Barry Anderson and Ian O’Rourke, formerly of Co Sligo and Cork, respectively.

Muskerry are quietly confident of retaining their Barton Shield title after their team of Niall Gorey and Dave O’Donovan and Daniel Hallissey and Shane Whooley qualified from Munster over the weekend.

Connacht champions Galway include father and son Tom and Cathal Nolan and the experienced Joe Lyons while the Ulster semi-finals are set to be contested by Warrenpoint and Clandeboye and Dunmurry and North West.