The Tydavnet Parish is steeped in a sporting tradition and it was inevitable that a Golf Society would one day be formed here.

The genesis of the Society can be traced to a discussion between Seamus McCarvill and Seamus McQuillan one night in Moyna’s Bar in Scotstown back in 1995. They decided they would organise a golf outing to Fintona (a humble beginning) for the Halloween Bank Holiday. 27 players turned out for this inaugural event which was played as a 3-person team competition. For the record, the winning team was Pat Sherry, Packie Caulfield and Gerry McCarville, with Pat Sherry’s 39 pts being the best score of the day. Many of those who played on that historic day are still members of the Society today and a glance at the handicaps makes for interesting comparisons with today e.g. Karl Cassidy (20), Shane Stirrat (28) and Eugene Sherry (23).  At a lively presentation in Moyna’s Bar that night, a decision was taken to have this as an annual event. Golf was here to stay in Tydavnet !

In 1996, the outing again took place at Halloween with Castle Hume the selected venue.  24 players took part on this occasion and the winning team comprised of Owenie Treanor, Karl Cassidy (still a 20 handicapper) and Paul Power. Seamus McCarville had the best score of the day with 39 pts but his team mates ensured he only came 3rd !

1997 saw the ground breaking decision being made to extend the outing to the men, women and children of Tydavnet and thus have a true Parish Society. For the first time, Rossmore was the venue for the Halloween event with 41 players turning out. The winners on this historic occasion were Category 1 : Seamus McCarville 38 pts. Category 2 : Bartley Sharkey 40 pts. Category 3 : Harry Cassidy ( R.I.P.) 36 pts. Ladies : Kathleen Dawson 31 pts. Bartley Sharkey, who was one of the Junior members, was the overall winner.  1997 also saw the first Christmas outing for the Society which was held in Clones.

1998 saw just the one outing, held at Rossmore at Christmas with 42 turning out. Brendan Beggan was the winner with Karl Cassidy (still a 20 handicapper) the runner up. Monica Macklin won the Ladies category. With an influx of new members, a special “non golfers” category was introduced for this event and a new star was found in the winner, Patrick O’Hanlon, who played off a 27 handicap. Playing in this category also was 22 handicapper, Dominic Smyth. More stars of the future launched at Tydavnet G.S.

1999 saw a more ambitious calendar of events mapped out with 5 outings scheduled. Greenore in March saw 43 turn up —- Winners : Ben Beggan, Pat Sherry, Paul Quigley, Kevin Boylan and Kathleen Dawson. Benburb in May saw 34 turn up —- Winners : Patrick O’Hanlon, Darragh Gilhawley, Seamus McQuillan and Nuala Kilroy. Rossmore in July saw 49 turn up —- Winners : Macartan McKenna, Sylvester Quinn, Liam Stirrat and Bernie McCague. Armagh at Halloween again saw 49 turn up —- Winners ; Bartley Sharkey, Seamus McCarville, Pat Meehan (then a 20 handicapper), Tony Gormley and Nuala Kilroy. Rossmore at Christmas saw 39 turn up —- Winners : Paddy Mulligan, Sylvester Quinn, Malachy Smyth, Gerry McQuaid and Mary Quinn.

2000 began with an outing to Carnbeg in April with 36 turning out —- Winners : Lee McKenna, Karl Cassidy (playing off 13), Paddy Mulligan and Jan Connolly. Next was Ballymacscanlon in June with 35 playing. A very popular winner here with 38 pts was Harry Cassidy (R.I.P.), with Pat Meehan, Paul Quigley and Bridget Gilhawley also in the prizes. Belturbet was next up in September where only 19 showed up. Winners : Seamus McQuillan, Seamus McCarvill and Stephen McQuillan. More usual numbers turned up at Rossmore at Halloween with 52 playing. Winners : Sylvester Quinn, Seamus McCarvill, Tony Gormley,Gerry McElroy and Bernie McCague. The Christmas outing at Rossmore saw 29 turn out for a team event. The winning team was Karl Cassidy (now down to 11), Vincent Gilhawley and Peter McLoughlin.

2001 kicked off in April at Nuremore with 35 playing. Winners : Peadar Mullen, Vincent Gilhawley, Paul Quigley and Grainne O’Reilly. June saw a return to Ballymacscanlon with 42 playing. There was a first here in the Society’s history with Bernie McCague being the overall winner to become the first lady to achieve this feat. The other winners were Johnny Bond, Stephen Corley and Bridie Corley. Loughgall in September saw 33 taking part. Winners : Paul Quigley, Pat Meehan, Gerry McCarville and Jan Connolly. Halloween saw 35 turn out in Killymoon. Winners : Vincent Gilhawley, Aidan McCague, Stephen Corley and Bridget Gilhawley. The Christmas outing was held at Rossmore with 41 playing. Winners : Sean Kilroy, Karl Cassidy (now down to 7),Tom Moyna and Kathleen Dawson.

2002 was to see the next ambitious moves in the history of the Society. For the first 7 years of existence, Seamus McCarvill and Seamus McQuillan carried the total organisation without any fuss. At this stage, it was decided the now established Society was worthy of a Captain —- after all, every Society appeared to have this figurehead. Who to pick for Tydavnet’s first Captain ?  From day 1, the values of the Society had centred every bit as much around having a laugh (no place for the overly sensitive !) as winning a prize and the general concensus was that the first Captain should personify our values. Peadar Mullen was the unanimous choice, with even Peadar himself in agreement. We had our first Captain.  Peadar soon took control and decided that a weekend away should be top of the agenda. Glasson in March (not a clever call !) was selected for that first ever “Tydavnet on Tour” event. Memories from that weekend —– Snow and frost on day 1 ; Gale force winds on day 2 ; Peadar Mullen’s generosity and a young French barman’s patience under serious pressure. The golf really was incidental that weekend but 41 did actually play some golf with Karl Cassidy, Gerry McCarville, Sean McKenna and Bridie Corley amongst the winners. More importantly, an annual bonding session had been founded.

Ardee in April saw 34 in action. Winners : Brendan McKenna, Sean Kilroy, Stephen McQuillan,Harry Cassidy(R.I.P.) and Monica Macklin. The next outing to Killen Park failed to catch the imagination with only 15 turning up. The winning team in a Scramble was Paddy Mulligan, Kevin Boylan and Seamus McQuillan. Early October in Rossmore saw our first ever Captain’s Prize event hosted by Peadar. The honour of being the first  recipient went to a rapidly improving golfer, Pat Meehan. Other winners on the day were Seamus McCarville, Kevin Carragher, Tom Moyna and Mary Quinn. The Halloween outing was to Dungannon with 33 taking part. Winners : Kevin Boylan, Karl Cassidy (now playing off 5), Liam Treanor and Nuala Kilroy. The winner of a special category here for those who had not previously won a prize was Brendan McCaffrey, then a 22 handicapper —–another promising career launched at Tydavnet G.S. The Christmas outing took place in Clones where 35 turned up and Patrick O’Hanlon was the overall winner. The winning team was Mary Quinn, Harry Cassidy and Vincent Gilhawley. Peadar concluded a most enjoyable year by nominating Karl Cassidy as Captain for 2003.

2003 Karl Cassidy

2004 Pat Meehan

2005 Seamus Mc Quillan

2006 Dominic Smith

2007 Malachy Mc Crudden

2008 Paddy Mulligan

2009 Vincent Gilhawley

2010 Shane Stirrat

2011 Eugene Sherry

2012 Brendan Mc Caffrey

Brendans Captains prize will take place in Rossmore on Saturday 11 th August tee reserved from 11 am to 12 30 pm.