Determined Douglas: 'there’s a picture we constantly show of how depressed the girls were after that'

Douglas play fellow Munster qualifiers Tralee in the AIG Women's Senior Cup quarter-final at Carlow on Wednesday

The Douglas Women's Senior Cup team celebrate with the pennant after winning the 2024 Munster East final against Cork at Co Tipperary Golf Club.

Douglas captain David Barry and his team are determined to go one step further when they tee up Wednesday at the AIG Women’s Senior Cup Finals having felt the heartache of defeat in the final two years ago.

Four major Inter-Club trophies are on offer at Carlow this week, with the best club teams from across Ireland competing for the AIG Men’s and Women’s Senior Cups, AIG Women’s Senior Foursomes and AIG Men’s Barton Shield.

Head PGA professional at Douglas Golf Club, David Barry has been involved with the women’s team for several years, helping some of the finest talent the Cork club has to offer flourish as they have come through the junior academy and now in his role as senior team manager and team captain he is hoping to see the culmination of all their hard work come to the fore this week.

“They have put in all the work, and they are going to be trying to go one step better than two years ago but it’s about enjoying it and making sure that everyone is at ease and we look back at these things and as we say we want to win this badly, but these are meant to be enjoyable experiences that we can look back on in the future” said Barry.

“Everyone has put in all the effort and all the training and all the preparation so as long as that is done they will go out and try their best and hopefully we hole a couple of extra putts that the other team doesn’t hole and we progress.” 

Karen O’Neill, Clodagh Coughlan, Aoife Ní Thuama, Jemma Barry and Jessica Kavanagh were all a part of the team that lost out to Lahinch in 2022 and that group will return to the finals once more alongside new recruit to the side, Shannon Burke.

Barry and key member of the management team, Vicki McManus have been using that final defeat in Tramore as motivation for the side, reminding them that the hurt they felt at the time can be used as fuel to push them forward.

“We have kind of had a mantra of trying to use that as we walked away from that the second best team in Ireland and there’s a picture that we constantly show around of how depressed the girls were after that and we are trying to use that bit of hurt as motivation to just go one better because they are very, very self-motivated but they are very, very competitive,” said Barry.

“As much as we are able to look back after that time and say it was a superb achievement and they do recognise how good of an achievement it is to come runners-up, they are really trying to use that hurt to push them forward and hopefully be the All-Ireland champions.” 

The quarter-finals of the AIG Women’s and Men’s Senior Cup kick-off the four days of action in Carlow on Wednesday morning, before the Women’s semi-finals tee up during the afternoon session.

Co Sligo, Naas, The Island, Elm Park, Royal Co Down and reigning champions Royal Portrush will compete for the AIG Women’s Senior Cup with Douglas set to get their campaign underway against fellow Munster qualifiers Tralee.

Douglas have been one of the most successful Senior Cup sides in the country having won the prestigious Women’s championship no less than 13 times, taking home the title most recently in 2011, and that history serves as a reminder to the team of the importance of the championship, none more so than this year, when former champions lend their support to the players.

“The senior cup here has always been something that has been heavily followed by the membership and then you have the likes of Eavan Higgins who won a few of the Senior Cups for Douglas, she is caddying for Clodagh, we have our chair Kate McCann who is going to be caddying for Shannon Burke, she is one of those players that’s won multiple Senior Cups and had Irish caps, so they know how big a deal it is for them,” said Barry.

“It is part of the fabric in Douglas that we are expected to do well in it and thankfully we have generally done well but it’s just getting over the line, they have been to a good few All-Ireland finals now in the last six or seven years without getting over the line and it’s hopefully now the year that they do get over the line.”