Royal Tara golf club Meath

Members Achievements

The Ladies of Royal Tara Golf Club were Runners-Up in the Final of Leinster North Women’s Junior Cup in on Sunday 30th July 2023 when they lost out to Dundalk Golf Club by 4-matches to 1-match.

Young Hannah Guerin was selected on the Leinster Girl’s Under-18 Interprovincial Team played at Ballykisteen Golf Club on 21st and 22nd August 2023.
The other members of the team were Caoimhe O'Grady & Niamh O'Grady (The Royal Dublin Golf Club), Anna Abom (Edmondstown Golf Club), Sinead Ni Cheilleachair (Tullamore Golf Club), Ellen O'Shaughnessy (Co. Louth Golf Club) and Ella Cantwell (Esker Hills Golf Club).
They were Captained by Stephanie McNiff (Tullamore Golf Club) and Managed by Mary Farrell (Carlow Golf Club).

The Ladies of Royal Tara Golf Club qualified for the All-Ireland Quarter-Final of the Irish Senior Foursomes at Slieve Russell Golf Club on Saturday 10th September 2022 and lost their match against Roscommon Golf Club by 2-matches to 1-match.
Hannah Guerin with Angela Reilly led them out who won their match by 4 and 3 against Olivia Costello with Anne Quirke, next on the tee was Niamh Carroll with Marian Cleary who lost their match against Sinead Benedetti with Leah Lennon by 4 and 3 and in the bottom and deciding match Ann Gorman with Emily Davis went up the 19th before relinquishing the all-important point against Blaithin O’Brien with Anna Higgins.   

The Ladies of Royal Tara Golf Club won the North Leinster Final of the Irish Women’s Junior Cup when they beat Co. Louth Golf Club at St. Margaret’s Golf & Country Club on Saturday 20th August 2022.

The Ladies from Royal Tare Golf Club qualified for the All-Ireland Quarter-Finals of the Women’s Junior Cup at Knightsbrook Golf Club on Friday 16th September 2022 and were drawn against the Ladies from Castlebar Golf Club and lost their match by 3-matches to 2-matches.
Ann Gorman led them out and went up the 20th before relinquishing the point to Sarah Pendergast, she was followed by Katie Daly who had a 1-hole win against Lorna Irwin, next on the tee was Emily Davis who had a very convincing 6 and 4 against Breege Finnerty, in the penultimate match Terrie Cahill lost her match by 4 and 3 against Sheila Baynes, in the bottom and deciding match Angela Reilly lost her match against Carmel Moran by 3 and 2.                    

Royal Tara Golf Club won their regional Final in the Irish Mixed Foursomes and qualify for the All-Ireland Series at Strandhill Golf Club, Co. Sligo from Thursday 30th September to Saturday 2ND October 2021.
They met Letterkenny Golf Club in the All-Ireland Quarter-Finals on Thursday 30th September and won by 3½-matches to 1½-matches.
They were led out by Brian Reilly with Anne Donnelly who had a 1-hole win against Ryan Griffin with Kate Gallagher, they were followed by Mark Reilly with Alice Stanton who had a very comfortable 6 and 5 win against Kevin Kiely with Angela Kilgallen, next on the tee was Sean Duffy with Catherin Colgan who halved their match against Darren McMenamin with Anne Condon, in the penultimate match of Nicky Horan with Ciara O’Donoghue had one of those days when they lost out to Cian Harkin with Celine Bradley by 6 and 5 and in the bottom match Tony Maher with Deirdre Byrne booked their place in the Semi-Final when they beat Simon Stephens with Monica McDonagh by 3 and 2.

Having accounted for Letterkenny by 3½-matches to 1½-matches on the Thursday they met Rockmount Golf Club the following and lost their match by 4-matches to 1-match.
First on the tee Brian Reilly with Dolores O’Sullivan who lost their match by 4 and 3 against Ryan Wilson with Patricia McDonnell, next on the tee was Mark Reilly with Alice Stanton who lost their match by 5 and 3 against Colin McClenaghan with Rosemary McCrea, the two matches of Brian Newman with Jane Hughes against Martin and Frances Lawther and Tony Maher with Deirdre Byrne against James Roberson with Sue McDonagh were halved when called-in and the bottom match Sean Duffy with Catherine Colgan lost their match against Adam Douds with Leonie Power by 5 and 3.    

The Ladies of Royal Tara Golf Club qualified for the All-Ireland deciders of the Intermediate Cup at Limerick Golf Club on Thursday 16th September 2021 by winning their Leinster Regional Finals and were drawn against Newtownstewart Golf Club in the All-Ireland Quarter Finals; they won their match by 3-matches to 2-matches.
First on the tee was Vonie Macken who lost her match having gone up the 19th against Catherine Connolly, she was followed by Breda McGuinness who had a very comfortable 5 and 4 win against Margaret McCrossan, next up was Barbara O’Rourke who beat Marie McSorley by 4 and 2, in the penultimate match Theresa Brennan lost out to Hazel Faithful by 4 and 3 and the bottom match Deirdre Byrne went to the minimum against Caroline Ballantine.

Having accounted for the Ladies of Gort Golf Club in by 3-matches to 2-matches in the All-Ireland Quarter-Finals the previous day they met the Ladies from K Club in the Semi-Finals on the Friday and lost out by 3½-matches to 1½-matches
First on the tee was Vonie Macken who won her match by 3 and 1 against Pat Desmond, she was followed by Breda McGuinness who lost her match by 2 and 1 against Sally-Ann O’Connor, next up was Barbara O’Rourke who lost out by 6 and 4 against Carol Barry, in the penultimate match Deirdre Byrne lost out by 4 and 3 to Noreen O’Grady and in the bottom match Siobhan Magee halved her match with Beryl Bowden. 

Royal Tara Golf Club won the Leinster Final of the Pierce Purcell Shield in 2008. They made their way to Monkstown Golf Club to try and record the clubs first green pennant in the long history of the club. The were drawn against Ulster and reigning All-Ireland Champions Warrenpoint Golf Club in the All-Ireland Semi-Final on Thursday 18th September 2008.

Michael Burke with Pat Martin lead against Seamus Sands with Damian Flanagan and had one-of-those-days when they lost out by 6 and 4. Next up was William Donnelly with Sean Duignan against Andrew Ferguson with Paul Devlin, they lost out by 2 and 1 to the Co. Down men. They were followed by Francis Collier with Joe Mahon, who had a very convincing 5 and 3 win over Noel Devine with Seamus Pentony. The penultimate match of Ray Reynolds with Brian Gaughran against Kieran Caldwell with Michael McGivern went 2 and 1 to Warrenpoint. The bottom match between Des Foley with Paddy O?Brien was halved with Seamus Colgan with Raymond Jackson. So it was not to be for Royal Tara Golf Club in 2008.

Royal Tara Golf Club were Leinster Champions and were All-Ireland Finalists in the Pierce Purcell Shield in 2003, when the team was, Gerry Powderly, Jack Kane, Ger Toher, Ciaran Loughlin, Peter Henshaw, Pearse O'Dwyer, Michael Moran, Paddy O'Brien, Joe Mitchell, John F. Byrne, Francis Collier, Sean Clerkin, John Moylan, Dominic O'Brien, Jim Bannon, Pat Wade, Louis Murray, Michael Clarke and Allen Foley.

They won the Kestrel Cup in 2003 and the Balcarrick Shield the same year.

Noelle Ratty won the green Medal of the inaugural Ulster Bank Al-Ireland Medal Championship at Athlone Golf Club on October 6th 2002, when she returned a score of 73.

Congratulations to Michael Knight (11), Johnny Bennett, Archie Grimes (14) and Tommy Monaghan (10). They won the Mitsubishi Electric-Irish Independent competition for the Special Olympics at Hermitage Golf Club in August 2001. Then it was on to Mount Juliet for the National Finals, where they qualified for the Grand Final in the Algarve in October where they beat Woodbrook by 4pts. Johnny Bennett was unable to travel because he was struck down with pneumonia was replaced by Club Captain Michael Goggins.

Prior to 2001:

J. Byrne participated in the Boys Home International matches in 1995.

Royal Tara Golf Club won the Leinster Final of the Pierce Purcell Shield in 1980 and 1978.

They were Leinster Champions of the J. B. Carr Diamond Trophy in 1997, and were county champions in 2004, 2002, 1998, 1997 and 1996.

They won the Provincial Towns Cup in 1986, 1978, 1963, 1951 and 1936.

They won the Squire Ennis Trophy at Balbriggan in 1998.

They won the Hibernian Insurance Trophy in 1986.

Members who played representative golf for Country or Province;

J. Byrne represented Ireland at Irish Boys' level from 1994 to 1995 playing 4-times won 1-matches halved one and lost 2-matches accumulating 3-points;

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H. McQuillan represented Leinster at Senior Interprovincial level in 1976 playing 3-times won 1-match halved one and lost 1-match accumulating 3-points;

History of Royal Tara

The, original Bellinter Park Golf Club was founded about 1922, by disgruntled members of the Navan Golf Club founded in 1907. In the early 1960s the Land Commission acquired the Briscoe Estate, near Bellinter, on which the club had a nine course. Enough additional land became available to allow the, club expand to an eighteen-hole between 1966-67 at which time the club changed its name to Royal Tara.

The Royal in Royal Tara refers to the proximity of the Hill of Tara, the residence of the High Kings of Ireland. In 1995, an additional nine-holes were added and in the millennium year Royal Tara opened its magnificent new clubhouse.

What the Club tells us:

Royal Tara Golf Club, situated just two kilometres off the M3 motorway just seven kilometres south of Navan, celebrated the Centenary of its foundation in 2006. It is a tree-lined 27-hole layout, offering a haven of peace for member and visitor alike. The mature beech, oak and ash trees, combined with the addition of vibrant floral colours, give an aura of beauty and tranquillity.

The History of the Club, compiled to mark the 2006 Centenary celebrations, has a foreword by Padraig Harrington who talks about his victory in the Leinster Boys’ Championship in 1988 at Royal Tara, as being his first “major”, and how that experience instilled him with confidence for his future in both Amateur and Professional golf.

Situated just beneath the storied Hill of Tara, the Club started life as Navan Golf Club, situated just 5 kilometres from its current home, when it was founded in 1906. Possessing only a leasehold interest in the lands then available them, the search for a more commanding amenity brought it to the magnificent lands of the Bellinter Estate in 1923, the site of its current amenity, and the name changed to Bellinter Park Golf Club.

It was not until the mid-60s that a new band of forward thinking and inspired members were bold and brave enough to greatly expand the potential of this unique site by acquiring a freehold amenity over the lands and immediately moved to expand the facility to 18 holes and build a new Clubhouse.

With those arrangements financed and in place, the name of the club was changed to Royal Tara Golf Club to give its location an instantly recognisable geographical location. And while the club spent the next 25 years consolidating its position as one of the true gems of Irish inland golf, in the late 1980s an opportunity to purchase additional land to move the facility from 18 holes to 27 holes was taken. The outstanding re-development of the course by Des Smyth and Declan Branigan, featured sand-based greens for all-year-round playing. Play on the magnificent new facility commenced in 1990.

These new playing attractions inspired a greatly increased membership and, after a varying number of extension designs had been carried out on the then Clubhouse, in the late 1990s a decision was taken to construct a purpose-built Clubhouse to provide all facilities which modern day golfers expects of their Club. The result was the construction of one of the country’s finest ever private club complexes that, following it’s opening in 2000, has greatly been admired by member and visitor alike.