Headlining the 72 competing pairs in Sunday’s National Non-Mixed Foursomes tournament are the holders John Murphy & Alan O’Mahony. Fellow competition for the Bishopstown pair will be provided by Daniel Broderick Junior & Derry O’Sullivan (Deerpark).
Firm friends and 2025 Munster Non-Mixed Foursomes champions at Cunnigar, Paul Boreham & Ciarán White (Bishopstown) link up again.
An all-Irish champion pairing will be on show along with a combination of two Munster individual champions and vying for the Best Gross prize - Ray Murphy & Darren Collins (St. Anne’s) plus Jason Cregan (Tralee) & Damien Fleming (Deerpark). Cregan was a provincial Best Gross winner beside at Alan Hobbert at Tralee in 2022.
Aidan O’Sullivan visited the provincial podium in 2023 (for best 2nd 18) together with Peadar McCarthy. Now he unites with another Bruff clubmate John Farrell.
2025 Best Gross winner (alongside Frank Ryan), Ian Dillon of St Bridget’s returns with a new partner, John Kelly (Athgarvan).
Stephen Lynch & Paul Lynch (Rathfeigh) will bid to progress from their Best 1st session performance last year; a quest similar to that of Aidan O’Rourke & Martin Hayes (Cunnigar), who claimed 2nd session honours at Collinstown twelve months ago. The Lynchs served further notice of their credentials with a provincial runners-up display back in April.
There they finished just ahead of fellow Meathmen Mick Bowe & Brendan Walker (Bellewstown)
Father and son team Tony Blake & Jamie Blake triumphed at Bishopstown in the 2024 Provincial tourney but have split up for this campaign, Tony to partner Tralee colleague Darius Liepins and Jamie to combine with Michael Conway (Tralee). Jamie Blake was a Munster Non-Mixed Foursomes runner-up (with Dan O’Leary) at this year’s national venue back in 2022.
Tralee’s Jason O’Regan picked-up a Best 2nd 18 prize (with his son Mark) at Tralee in the 2022 Munster Non-Mixed Foursomes. Kerry Inter-County team colleague Christopher Gibney (Listowel) will be Jason’s partner on this occasion.
Ian Leech now combines with his St. Anne’s Club Chairman Charlie O’Sullivan having previously pooled resources with Michael Long to a runners-up slot in 2019. Leech & Long also claimed provincial 1st 18 honours in 2019.
Other strong Best Gross candidates will be David Sexton & John Cahill (Fermoy) who lifted the Munster scratch title at Cunnigar in 2025.
2023 National Matchplay champion Stephen O’Reilly has been in outstanding form all season and here teams up with long-time Hillview ally Alan Brannigan with whom he won a Munster Schools tournament title for CBS High School, Clonmel 20 years ago.
The lone all-female couple on view, Eileen McCarthy & Ciara Lowe (Deerpark), is bidding to surpass the achievement of Ashlene McKevitt & Anne Jackson (Cloghogue) who claimed second place in the Leinster Non-Mixed two years ago. Or even that of another Cloghogue combination, Valerie Rogers & Patricia McGovern, 2nd session victors on that occasion.
2024 kingpins Brian Cahill (Riverdale) & Mark Cahill (Lakeside) take their place in the final again, accompanied by Loughlinstown pair Justin Gill & Eamon Quill, who annexed Best 2nd 18 in the recent Leinster tournament at Rathfeigh. The Cahills also coalesced in a Munster 1st session success last term.
John Fitzgerald partnered Matthew Buckley to second place four years ago and now forms a new partnership with fellow Hillview player John Cawley. Cawley & Fitzgerald were 2025 Munster runners-up at Cunnigar.
Niall Bennett has swapped his 2025 Leinster Non-Mixed winning confederate James Fagan for another Loughlinstown man, Stephen Finn.
World Over-55s Pairs champion John Walsh (Collins) teams-up with his son Ryan Walsh. John Walsh has one National Non-Mixed Scotch Foursomes Best Gross to his name – that was alongside Frank Dineen (St. Anne’s) in 2024.
The Walshs will play with Custume combination David Reddin & Kieran Rosney Senior. Pitch and Putt Ireland President Davy will be the fourth NEC Officer into action during the tournament, following John Cahill and Tullamore twosome Darren O’Connell & Mark Hogan who are drawn in the first wave.
The first session tees-off at 9.30am
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