2022/23 COMMITTEE
Chairperson
Ed Maguire
Secretary
Oliver O’Connor
Honorary Treasurer
Adrian Downey
Handicap Secretary
Pat Morgan
Public Relations
Ed Maguire
Captain
Patrick Morgan
Chairperson
Ed Maguire
Secretary
Oliver O’Connor
Honorary Treasurer
Adrian Downey
Handicap Secretary
Pat Morgan
Public Relations
Ed Maguire
Captain
Patrick Morgan
WE
OUR FOUNDERS JIMMY & MAUREEN MURRAY
Jimmy and Maureen Murray have followed a philosophy throughout their life
; if you do nothing, you get nothing.
They have lived in Greenhills, Dublin for over thirty years.
They have experienced a very different Ireland through the last seven
decades.
Teeing is Believing will tell the charming story of Jimmy and Maureen Murray
and how living their lives in a blind Ireland has make them the people they
are today.
Maureen was born with very limited vision.
There was a stigma attached to blindness. “I cycled everywhere when I
in Monaghan.
I don’t know how I wasn’t killed”. At the age of 11 she moved to Dublin and
become a boarder at St
Mary’s School for the Blind
“This was a breath for fresh air, I could finally live my life as a blind person”.
She would return to Monaghan for summer holidays once a year. “It was
tough, but I survived”. By Maureen’s mid-teens she was completely blind.
I just knew no different.” When he was in 1st year in the local CBS, it was
discovered that his sight was deteriorating. Blind schooling just wasn’t
available so Jimmy moved to Dublin and went to St Joseph’s in Drumcondra.
jimmy is now very partially sighted.
From a very early age Maureen was a keen ballroom dancer and in 1973 she
was at a dinner dance in Tara Towers and so was Jimmy. “Jimmy asked me to
buy him a pint, the cheek of him and then he asked me to dance, we have
been together ever since.” It was a whirlwind romance and within a year the
were married and living in Greenhills. Brendan their only son arrived two
years later. Job opportunities for both were very slim. There were three
options, factory work, telephonist or work in sheltered employed. Jimmy
opted to work in Blindcraft and Maureen worked as a telephonist in Ulster
Bank. After 17 years in Ulster Bank, Maureen stepped aside to make way for
jimmy. “I had to train him in before I left”.
They have striven all their lives not to be defined by blindness and as new
technologies were introduced they embraced them, they were and are willing to try anything. The most adventurous thing Jimmy took up was golf and
together they run the Irish Blind Golf Society. While Jimmy was out on the
green, Maureen looked after the administration on her computer that talked back to her.
Jimmy and Maureen were determined to make blind golf a reality in Ireland.
in 2016, on the occasion of celebration the 25th anniversary of Irish Blind
Golf, Jimmy Murray was presented with a token of our appreciation for his
work over all the years he has given to IBG.
A Brief History of Blind Golf in Ireland The Irish Blind Golf Society (1991 -
2010) Recalled by founder member Jimmy Murray in January 2010
First Steps
In 1991, Northern Ireland Blind Golf (NIBGA) organised the British Blind
Golf Open in Donaghadee. They contacted Irish Blind Sports to enquire
if Ireland had any golfers interested in taking part. Jimmy Murray was on the I
irish Blind Sports’ committee at the time, and set about finding
some blind and visually impaired golfers in Ireland. An announcement was
made on the radio programme, “Listen and See,” and in Jimmy's words, "it went
on from there.”
First Blind Golfers
A number of people stepped forward to participate in golf, some experienced
and some who were new to the game. The first blind golfers in Ireland were
Jimmy Murray, Frank McDougall, Sam McMahon, Eddie Byrne (RIP), John
Fennelly, Owen Kyne and Seamus Ryan. The Spawell in Templeogue became
the centre of activity for the first years. John Nolan, a brother of RTE’s Liam
Nolan, set up the relationship with the Spawell. For many years, the Spawell
supported blind golfers, offering free practice and meeting facilities.
The first golf outing on an 18 whole course took place in Woodbrook.
The Guide Dogs for the Blind and the European Open
This fundraising event was organised by the Irish Guide Dogs (Dublin) at the
Spawell. It occurred at the time of the European Open, held at the K Club. This
attracted some of the world’s top golfers to play in an exhibition match
against Ireland's Blind Golfers. It was facilitated by Padraig Harrington's caddie
John O’Reilly, and supported by NCBI director, Jimmy O’Hanlon.
Professional golfers taking part in this event included Lee Westwood, Seve
Ballesteros, Sergio Garcia, Bernard Langer, Padraig Harrington and Paul,
McGinley. Just to even things up the professional golfers wore blindfolds. This
took place each year between 1995 and 2000.
The Irish Blind Golf Open
For several years, it took place in Bray. Mt Juliet was the venue in 1998 and
turvey in 1999. The event was supported annually by the NCBI and for two
years by the National Lottery. Golfers from Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland
and England participated. By staging this event, Irish Blind Golf
Society established itself as a strong force in the international blind
golf community, which is administered by the International Blind Golf Association.
Birth of The Constitution of the Society
Around this time, the first constitution was written. This document was
prepared with the assistance of the legal department of Ulster Bank, and set
out the structure of the society. For the first time in Ireland, the means by
which golf may be played by blind and visually impaired people was written
down.
Irish Blind Golf Society in 2010
In 2010, the Irish Blind Golf Society was restructured, whilst endeavouring to
build on the good work of Jimmy and Maureen Murray. This was facilitated by
prominent members, Peter Gorey (chairman), and Ian Corr (captain). There
were currently 8 playing members, plus associates. The Constitution was
updated along with a development programme focusing on areas outside of
Dublin. The immediate goal of the society was to host the 2011 Celtic Cup
match against Scotland.
Renaming in 2017
At the AGM in January 2017, members unanimously voted to change the ethos
of the society to a national body for blind and
visually impaired golfers in Ireland, and therefore we are now known as Irish
Blind Golf.
Our goals and commitments have not changed, in that we will continue to
support Irish golfers with visual difficulties to play in competitions at home and
abroad.2017 was an ambitious year where we hosted the Celtic Cup at Newforest GC, Tyrellspass,a competition held between Ireland and Scotland. We also hosted the ISPS Handa Irish Blind Golf Open at the Nuremore Hotel
and Country Club which was a tremendous success, attended by 42 golfers
from Ireland, Britain, Italy, Austria, South Africa, Australia and the USA.
We have most recently held The ISPS HANDA IRISH OPEN 2023 AT THE Mount Wolsley Hotel Golf resort were we had the biggest ladies field for visually impaired golfers from England,Northern Ireland,Sweden and Canada.
We had a total of 30 golfers from Holland.Spain,USA,Wales,England,Norther Ireland,Ireland who participated in our first open since 2017.
OUR FOUNDERS JIMMY & MAUREEN MURRAY
Jimmy and Maureen Murray have followed a philosophy throughout their life
; if you do nothing, you get nothing.
They have lived in Greenhills, Dublin for over thirty years.
They have experienced a very different Ireland through the last seven
decades.
Teeing is Believing will tell the charming story of Jimmy and Maureen Murray
and how living their lives in a blind Ireland has make them the people they
are today.
Maureen was born with very limited vision.
There was a stigma attached to blindness. “I cycled everywhere when I
in Monaghan.
I don’t know how I wasn’t killed”. At the age of 11 she moved to Dublin and
become a boarder at St
Mary’s School for the Blind
“This was a breath for fresh air, I could finally live my life as a blind person”.
She would return to Monaghan for summer holidays once a year. “It was
tough, but I survived”. By Maureen’s mid-teens she was completely blind.
I just knew no different.” When he was in 1st year in the local CBS, it was
discovered that his sight was deteriorating. Blind schooling just wasn’t
available so Jimmy moved to Dublin and went to St Joseph’s in Drumcondra.
jimmy is now very partially sighted.
From a very early age Maureen was a keen ballroom dancer and in 1973 she
was at a dinner dance in Tara Towers and so was Jimmy. “Jimmy asked me to
buy him a pint, the cheek of him and then he asked me to dance, we have
been together ever since.” It was a whirlwind romance and within a year the
were married and living in Greenhills. Brendan their only son arrived two
years later. Job opportunities for both were very slim. There were three
options, factory work, telephonist or work in sheltered employed. Jimmy
opted to work in Blindcraft and Maureen worked as a telephonist in Ulster
Bank. After 17 years in Ulster Bank, Maureen stepped aside to make way for
jimmy. “I had to train him in before I left”.
They have striven all their lives not to be defined by blindness and as new
technologies were introduced they embraced them, they were and are willing to try anything. The most adventurous thing Jimmy took up was golf and
together they run the Irish Blind Golf Society. While Jimmy was out on the
green, Maureen looked after the administration on her computer that talked back to her.
Jimmy and Maureen were determined to make blind golf a reality in Ireland.
in 2016, on the occasion of celebration the 25th anniversary of Irish Blind
Golf, Jimmy Murray was presented with a token of our appreciation for his
work over all the years he has given to IBG.
A Brief History of Blind Golf in Ireland The Irish Blind Golf Society (1991 -
2010) Recalled by founder member Jimmy Murray in January 2010
First Steps
In 1991, Northern Ireland Blind Golf (NIBGA) organised the British Blind
Golf Open in Donaghadee. They contacted Irish Blind Sports to enquire
if Ireland had any golfers interested in taking part. Jimmy Murray was on the I
irish Blind Sports’ committee at the time, and set about finding
some blind and visually impaired golfers in Ireland. An announcement was
made on the radio programme, “Listen and See,” and in Jimmy's words, "it went
on from there.”
First Blind Golfers
A number of people stepped forward to participate in golf, some experienced
and some who were new to the game. The first blind golfers in Ireland were
Jimmy Murray, Frank McDougall, Sam McMahon, Eddie Byrne (RIP), John
Fennelly, Owen Kyne and Seamus Ryan. The Spawell in Templeogue became
the centre of activity for the first years. John Nolan, a brother of RTE’s Liam
Nolan, set up the relationship with the Spawell. For many years, the Spawell
supported blind golfers, offering free practice and meeting facilities.
The first golf outing on an 18 whole course took place in Woodbrook.
The Guide Dogs for the Blind and the European Open
This fundraising event was organised by the Irish Guide Dogs (Dublin) at the
Spawell. It occurred at the time of the European Open, held at the K Club. This
attracted some of the world’s top golfers to play in an exhibition match
against Ireland's Blind Golfers. It was facilitated by Padraig Harrington's caddie
John O’Reilly, and supported by NCBI director, Jimmy O’Hanlon.
Professional golfers taking part in this event included Lee Westwood, Seve
Ballesteros, Sergio Garcia, Bernard Langer, Padraig Harrington and Paul,
McGinley. Just to even things up the professional golfers wore blindfolds. This
took place each year between 1995 and 2000.
The Irish Blind Golf Open
For several years, it took place in Bray. Mt Juliet was the venue in 1998 and
turvey in 1999. The event was supported annually by the NCBI and for two
years by the National Lottery. Golfers from Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland
and England participated. By staging this event, Irish Blind Golf
Society established itself as a strong force in the international blind
golf community, which is administered by the International Blind Golf Association.
Birth of The Constitution of the Society
Around this time, the first constitution was written. This document was
prepared with the assistance of the legal department of Ulster Bank, and set
out the structure of the society. For the first time in Ireland, the means by
which golf may be played by blind and visually impaired people was written
down.
Irish Blind Golf Society in 2010
In 2010, the Irish Blind Golf Society was restructured, whilst endeavouring to
build on the good work of Jimmy and Maureen Murray. This was facilitated by
prominent members, Peter Gorey (chairman), and Ian Corr (captain). There
were currently 8 playing members, plus associates. The Constitution was
updated along with a development programme focusing on areas outside of
Dublin. The immediate goal of the society was to host the 2011 Celtic Cup
match against Scotland.
Renaming in 2017
At the AGM in January 2017, members unanimously voted to change the ethos
of the society to a national body for blind and
visually impaired golfers in Ireland, and therefore we are now known as Irish
Blind Golf.
Our goals and commitments have not changed, in that we will continue to
support Irish golfers with visual difficulties to play in competitions at home and
abroad.2017 was an ambitious year where we hosted the Celtic Cup at Newforest GC, Tyrellspass,a competition held between Ireland and Scotland. We also hosted the ISPS Handa Irish Blind Golf Open at the Nuremore Hotel
and Country Club which was a tremendous success, attended by 42 golfers
from Ireland, Britain, Italy, Austria, South Africa, Australia and the USA.
We have most recently held The ISPS HANDA IRISH OPEN 2023 AT THE Mount Wolsley Hotel Golf resort were we had the biggest ladies field for visually impaired golfers from England,Northern Ireland,Sweden and Canada.
We had a total of 30 golfers from Holland.Spain,USA,Wales,England,Norther Ireland,Ireland who participated in our first open since 2017.