Maguire twins top Irish writers' poll

FROM THE IRISH LADIES GOLF UNION WEBSITE
The Maguire twins, Leona and Lisa, have been voted joint winners of the “2008 Women's Amateur of the Year Award” by the Irish Golf Writers' Association.
The 13-year-old identical twins dominated Irish women's golf in 2008. Leona won the Lancome Irish Women's Close championship, defeating Lisa in the final; but Lisa was to gain a measure of revenge by defeating her sister in the Irish Girls' Close championship and by also adding the prestigious European Young Masters championship to her list of honours.
The Maguires also received the Irish Times/Irish Sports Council Sportswomen's award for May following Leona's Championship win and Lisa's Leitrim Cup win as leading qualifier in the star-studded women's field.
Pádraig Harrington's outstanding performances where he retained the Open championship at Royal Birkdale in July before adding the US PGA Championship at Oakland Hills in August has earned him the 'Professional of the Year' award.
The Maguires and the other winners - Shane Lowry, winner of the 'Men's Amateur of the Year'; and Brendan Edwards, recipient of the 'Distinguished Services' - will receive their awards at a dinner, sponsored by AIB Bank, which takes place in Dublin on January 8, 2009.
Shane Lowry maintained his impressive amateur career with a fine 2008 that included individual wins in the West of Ireland amateur championship and the North of Ireland amateur championship, and he was also a key member of Ireland's six-man team which retained the European Team Championship.
Brendan Edwards, the recipient of the 'Distinguished Services' award, has served Irish golf magnificently as a player and administrator. As a player, he represented Ireland from 1961 to 1973 and won the North of Ireland amateur championship in 1973. He also captained Ireland to the European Team Championship in 1983 and served as a Walker Cup selector.