Services

no_space

Supporting Local News

Galway United stars of the past play their part for old colleagues

He may have made his name playing with a slightly bigger ball but, proving that class is permanent, former Galway United defender Denis Bonner was among the big prize winners at last week’s inaugural Golf Classic organised by the Irish Professional Footballers Benevolent Association.

The event at Limerick Golf Club attracted 40 teams of four on the day – and nobody was more surprised than the Donegal-born defender to find himself among the prizes.

“When they started calling out the winners, the first prize was for the longest drive – and it was Denis. We knew that we weren’t within 60 yards of the long drivers; lads who were hitting it over 300 yards,” said his old team-mate John Mannion.

“But Denis got it because he did have the longest drive on the day – 282 from Burtonport to Limerick Golf Club!”

His chances of repeating that win already look remote, because – less than a week after the inaugural Classic – John Mannion has confirmed the presence of another former Galway United team-mate.

Keith Lambert rang to say he was coming home from the US next year with a team.

And he won’t be the only familiar League of Ireland face around Galway at the end of next summer, because the second IPFBA Golf Classic will take place at the Galway Bay Golf Resort in Rinville on Friday, September 12 2025.

“We’re already making plans – and the level of interest is huge; both from those who played recently and will come back with their own teams of four next time, and from those who didn’t make it this time,” said John, who is both one of the organisers of the event and one of the drivers of the Galway branch of the Association with Gerry Daly and Kevin Cassidy.

Last week’s Golf Classic was very much a social occasion but there is a serious side to the work of the IPFBA, because it was founded by former Dundalk stars Harry McCue and Martin Lawlor – a defender who also served Galway United well – when they saw the difficulties that a significant number of their former team-mates and colleagues were encountering.

This was also about increasing their profile – but it will already have raised funds to help some of those players in need of assistance.

One of those who was quickest to show his support was former Irish striker Niall Quinn.

“The IPFBA is standing up to the crushing problem of ex-players who struggle to cope following retirement. The organisation deserves the moral support and financial backing from all connected in our game today to help it to succeed,” he said.

“The IPFBA cannot change the past but with buy-in from the wider Irish football community, the IPFBA will provide a better future,” he added.

The aim of the Association is multi-faceted – on one had to provide a social platform for former players to meet, but also to raise those funds for those ex-players who are struggling…financially, mentally or physically at this stage in their lives.

The Golf Classic was the first big fundraiser, with a clubhouse auction of sporting memorabilia adding to the coffers. A signed Bobby Charlton shirt, for example, sold for €1,000.

And the support from ordinary fans was equally impressive; life-long Galway United supporter and long-time San Francisco resident Dave O’Donnell, for example, rang John Mannion to sponsor and team and a tee-box just to show cause. And like others, he has also committed his support for next year.

There was a host of Galway United players from across the years in Limerick last week, with John Mannion and Gerry Daly joined by Mickey McLaughlin, Martin McDonnell, John Cleary, Kieran McDaid, Riche Blackmore, Des Kennedy, Martin Lawlor, Mick O’Donnell – and Galway United’s FAI Cup-winning manager Joey Malone, who is winning his battle against serious illness after several difficult years.

But everywhere you looked in Limerick Golf Club, there were household names – the O’Neill brothers, Alan and Dermot; the Hanrahan brothers, Joe and Peter; Harry Kenny, Gino Lawless, Fred Davis, Kieron Maher, Terry Evison, James Coll, and the local Limerick committee members like Ray O’Halloran (who also played with Galway), Johnny Walsh and Brendan Storan.

And in the midst of it all was perhaps the greatest Irish footballer of them all, John Giles, who at 83 has lost none of his ability to remember these players from his own and different eras who graced the League of Ireland.

“He was magnificent – remembering playing against me when I was just a kid. I couldn’t believe it,” said Gerry Daly.

“It was a fantastic day; great to meet up with players you played with and battled against after so many years – and the consensus was how tough it actually was. We were all amateurs, all working in full-time jobs and training three times a week.

“That – and comparing what surgeries lads have had to replace knees or hips!”

Pictured: Peadar Ryan, Gerry Daly, Martin McDonnell, John Mannion, Mickey McLaughlin, Derek Rodgers, Tony Mannion, Denis Bonner, Richie Blackmore and Terry O’Regan in Limerick for the IPFBA Golf Classic recently.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune:

Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App

Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.

Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.

Get the Connacht Tribune Live app

The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.

More like this:

Sign Up To get Weekly Sports UPDATES

Go Up