Thurles Golf Club Celebrates Centenary Year – Seeking Anecdotes And Memorabilia

daniel-oconnell-sugar-bowl One of the more successful, popular and historic golf clubs in Ireland, Thurles Golf Club, will celebrate it’s Centenary this year, 2009.

To mark this occasion the Club’s Committee are preparing a short historical type journal, which, it is hoped will to be completed and printed by the end of May 2009.

This Journal will reflect both the general events in Thurles town and country Tipperary, while recollecting at the same time a “meanwhile, back at the club house” sort of consciousness. To this end, the club’s committee are eagerly seeking information about Thurles Golf Club’s past and are in search of old anecdotes, photographs, trophies, indeed, anything that you, the public, can contribute would be greatly appreciated. The committee are anxious to point out that items loaned for copying, etc. will be returned quickly and in same condition.

The artifact appearing in the picture in this post, for example, reveals yet another Thurles secret, and is locally referred to as Daniel O’Connell’s Sugar Bowl. This bowl was used by “The Liberator” (Born Aug 6th.1775 Co.Kerry -Died May 15th 1847 Genoa, Italy) at a banquet given in his honour by Nicholas V.Maher M.P. in 1829 at his home (Now home to Thurles Golf Club). It was presented, as a souvenir of this historic event, to the Maher’s housekeeper. The housekeeper, Thurles woman, Mrs Anto Tobin (nee Butler), was, herself, a devoted supporter of O’Connell. This bowl presently holds ‘pride of place’ in St.Mary’s Famine Museum, Thurles, having been presented to the museum by a relative, Miss Alice Smith, Stradavher, Thurles, Co Tipperary, with the wish that it be enjoyed by lovers of local Thurles history.

Thurles Golf Club itself was formed, following an Inaugural Meeting held, in the Grand Jury Room at Thurles Court House on 21st January 1909.

The Members present at that inaugural meeting were:

L.J. Ryan, J.P.Carrigan, J.F. Haskins, P.J. Devlin, J.L. Johnston, J. Laide, P. Moloney, G.F. Knox, P.C. Barry, H. Harold-Barry, J.F. Crowley and S.R. Thorp.

At the moment members are trying to build a profile of background information on each of these ‘Founder Members’ and are seeking photographs or details of any memorabilia that may be available.

Any help, you the public can contribute to this project will be very much appreciated, not only by the many Thurles Golf Club members but also by the people of Thurles in general.