IRISH LADIES GOLF UNION NEWS RELEASE
MARY McKENNA APPOINTED HONORARY MEMBER OF THE
ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE
The Irish Ladies Golf Union is pleased to announce to its members that Donabate’s Mary McKenna has been appointed an Honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in recognition of her services to sports.The award, bestowed by her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, is well merited following a long successful career both as player and more recently as administrator. On hearing of the news, Mary modestly remarked "It is quite a surprise to receive an envelope with "On Her Majesty's Service" stamped on it. I was really taken aback and very honoured to read they wanted to bestow the MBE on me. I love my golf and am very proud to have represented Ireland and Great Britain for many years, so recognition of this sort is something really special”. It is the icing on the cake that took many years to bake"
Mary made her International debut in 1968 and won her first Irish Championship a year later. It took her little time to establish herself among the elite golfers of the time and by 1975, the consensus that Mary was to take over the mantle of the retired Philomena Garvey was realised.
In an unbroken 22 years challenge from 1968 to 1989, she reached 12 finals, winning 8, seven of which were secured in a purple patch between 1969 and 1982 when it seemed as if she might seriously establish a base to threaten the seemingly unassailable total of Garvey’s 15.
While graciously Mary would acknowledge that the great Garvey was “positively worshiped” by the golfing youth of her day, the supremacy enjoyed by Mary in the Irish Championships afforded her similar status and respect. Power and length were twin characteristic assets that gave her a 1st tee psychological edge.
She represented Great Britain & Ireland on 9 successive Curtis Cup teams from 1970 and 10 Vagliano Trophy teams from 1969. During this time she collected many District titles including numerous 36 hole Scratch Cups and contributed significantly to Leinster’s domination of the Ladies Interprovincials for over 20 years.
More recently, Mary has captained the Irish Ladies team for two years from 2002 and later the Girls Junior European team in 2006. She was honoured with the captaincy of the GB&I Curtis Cup teams in 2008 and 2010 and the Vagliano teams of 1995, 2007 & 2009. She currently sits on the ILGU’s High Performance Committee supporting the development of the game at all levels and is never short of an encouraging word for her fellow competitors and in particular talented juniors.
Her determination to win was matched by a passion for the game itself. On reaching her 40th birthday on April 1989, at a time which coincided with 21 consecutive years on the Irish team, she retorted to a journalist who suggested it might be an apt landmark on which to ponder retirement “and why shouldn’t I continue to do what I most enjoy and do reasonably well? Golf is a game you can play as long as you can stand up and that’s fine by me”.
After her playing sequence of 24 years was ended by her non-selection on the Irish team in 1992, it was fully deriving that she should be restored by the Irish selectors the following year for it’s Centenary Year, 26 years after earning her first cap.
The philosophy of the Donabate player was in keeping with the many virtues found in her horoscope. Astrologers contend that those born under the sign of Taurus are said to be loyal, patient, practical and trustworthy – Mary can put her hand up on all counts.
Heralding her arrival as Irish Champion, Edmund van Esbeck penned the following in 1969 “A tranquil blue sky, warm sunshine and at the end of a perfect day, a new champion crowned. This was the setting that provided a fitting finale to a week of intense competition at Ballybunion, when 20 year old Mary McKenna swept away the frustration of defeat in last year’s decider by capturing the Irish Women’s Close Championship with a 3 and 2 win over Catherine Hickey.
That it has taken Mary just 12 months to crash the barrier that divides the agonising feeling of getting one hand on the Cup only to have it snatched from her grasp, to the more ecstatic emotion of placing it on her sideboard, is a striking tribute to the way she has learned her lesson and worked hard to achieve her objective.
And Irish women’s golf appears to have in her a player that has the potential to go on to greater things.”
That it has taken Mary just 12 months to crash the barrier that divides the agonising feeling of getting one hand on the Cup only to have it snatched from her grasp, to the more ecstatic emotion of placing it on her sideboard, is a striking tribute to the way she has learned her lesson and worked hard to achieve her objective.
And Irish women’s golf appears to have in her a player that has the potential to go on to greater things.”
A telling observation, considering what ensued, as Mary, just as it had been with Philomena Garvey, became the perennial favourite.
Labels: Amateur Ladies
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | 1:46:00 pm
<< Home