Muskerry’s Niall Gorey geared up for battle with ‘superstars’

It’s like the Champions League of golf but unlike the continent’s premier football tournament which has yet to be retained by any club, Muskerry’s Niall Gorey is hopeful the Cork club can become the first back-to-back winners of the AIG Barton Shield for 18 years.

The AIG Cups and Shields National Finals tee off at Carton House’s pristine O’Meara Course today with Muskerry facing what Gorey describes as the competition’s “superstar” team in Royal Dublin as Galway take on Ulster champions North West in the first of the semi-finals.

“With the golf we played last year, there wasn’t anything anyone could do about it,” Gorey said. “But All-Irelands are hard to win and foursomes golf is even harder, especially against good players. Everything seemed to go our way last year and everything went in. We are four good friends and that’s worth a couple of shots a round.”