Years 1977 - 1981
1977
The roots of Old Conna Golf Club goes back to The Dublin Sport Golf Club, which played out of The Golf Course belonging to and held under Licence from The Dublin Sport Hotel, Kilternan, Co. Dublin. The Hotel itself was formerly The Pat Quinn Club in the early to mid 1970's, and prior to this period was owned by the Opperman Brothers, which had traded as a Hotel and 5 star restaurant. During this time an 18 Hole Golf Club attached to the Pat Quinn Club was formed under the name of Kilternan Golf Club where on the 27th October 1973 an application was made to the Leinster Branch of the Golfing Union of Ireland to join. The application was signed by Patrick D Conroy as Secretary and Patrick J Quinn (Pat) as Chairman and is on file.
Following the demise of The Pat Quinn Club, and being offered for sale by Public Auction, jointly by Lisney & Son, and Keane, Mahony, Smith, on Wednesday 10th April 1974, Patrick Cosgrave (Paddy) purchased the Club; Changed the name to The Dublin Sport Hotel and opened the Course for casual Green fees in June 1975. An advertisement was placed in the Irish Times on June 17th 1975 to this effect. A letter dated 1st September 1976 inviting applications for an Annual Green Fee Membership was also circularised.
As the numbers playing increased to 120, some of those Members got together with Patrick Cosgrave and decided to investigate the forming of a Golf Club again under the auspices of the G.U.I. A General Meeting of the Annual Green Fee Members was called for Tuesday 28th June 1977, in The Dublin Sport Hotel, at which approximately 100 members attended. It was chaired by Mr John Kavanagh, Manager of the Hotel. Mr Brendan Walsh, Solicitor for the hotel attended on behalf of the Management. Mr Ivan E.R. Dickson, General Secretary, Leinster Branch G.U.I. was also in attendance. A Working Party was set up which consisted of the following people: Dr Lorna Browne, Jim Meaney, John Byrne ( John L ), Jim Cluskey, Bob Pelissler, Reg. Keating
The Working Party understood its brief to be:
1. To negotiate with Hotel Management on behalf of the members, in order to secure satisfactory tenure of the Golf Course and other necessary facilities in return for a reasonable fee.
2. To ascertain the requirements of the G.U.l. for Club affiliation and to submit proposals for fulfilling these requirements.
3. To recommend to the Members, a suitable Club Constitution and proposals for working arrangements with the Hotel.
4. To conclude the above and report back at the 2nd Meeting of Members on 26th July 1977.
The Working Party duly reported back to a General Meeting, again held in the Hotel on Tuesday 26th July 1977, with the following Agenda:
1. Adoption of Report.
2. Resolution to form Golf Club.
3. Resolution to adapt Club Constitution and Rules.
4. Resolution to apply for G.U.I. Membership.
5. Resolution to agree to be bound by G.U.I. Rules.
6. Nominations for Officers and Council Members.
7. Election of Officers and Council Members.
8. A.O.B.
9. Conclusion
The Working Party had held a number of Meetings during the period and came back with a lengthy report setting out the priorities and requirements of establishing a Golf Club under the auspices of the G.U.I. and to meet the wishes of the Hotel they had suggested the name “Dublin Sport Golf Club” . The following is a summary under the various headings from the Working Party:
1. Demand for a Club. From the attendance at the first Meeting, they were satisfied that that demand existed.
2. Club Structures.
3. Club Facilities.
4. Co-Operation with Hotel. Hotel throughout negotiations confirmed their goodwill for the formation of a Club.
5. A Proposed Constitution. See under Constitution.
6. G U I affiliation.
7. Tenancy Agreement. The Hotel had undertaken to prepare draft of same, which the Party considered would be fair and reasonable.
8. Membership Limited to 200, perhaps expanded to 250 by year end.
9. Fees. Because of limited numbers the Hotel required a further £5.00 raising the hotel share of Membership to £30.00 and a further £8.00 to run the Club and pay G U I fees for 1978. If however G.U.I. affiliation was achieved in 1977 an additional sum may be required.
10. Entrance Fees. The working Party suggested that an entry fee be charged for new members, but not to those who had paid the Annual Members Green Fee of £25.00 for the current year, the amount to be decided by Incoming Council.
11. Other Membership Classes. Associates to include, Lady, Six Day, Five Day, University, Junior, Juvenile, and Family Associate.
12. Casual Green Fees. To be remitted in Full by Club to the Hotel. Conditions to be agreed.
13. Hotel Guests. Hotel required Golf facilities to be made available to their Guests.
14. I D tag to be provided.
15. Bye-Laws. Suitable Bye-Laws to be introduced by Incoming Council.
16. Insurance. To obtain advice regarding what insurance is required immediately.
Constitution.
1. The name of the Club will be “Dublin Sport Golf Club.”
2. The Game. Played under the Rules of the Royal and Ancient Club of Saint Andrews.
3. Management. To be vested in Council. With President, Vice President, Captain, Vice Captain, Hon. Secretary, Hon. Treasurer, 4 Members and 1 person nominated by the Hotel.
4. Election of Council. All Officers and Members to be elected at the A.G.M. to be submitted in writing 10 days before the A G M signed by 2 Members of the Club along with the nominee signing, that if elected, is willing to act as an Officer or Council Member of the club.
5. Vacancy on Council. Shall be filled by Co-option subject to holding office until next A.G.M.
6. Annual General Meetings.
a. To be held in the Month of May each year.
b. The Agenda to be drawn up by the Hon. Secretary to provide the following:
1. Hon. Treasurers report.
2. Hon. Secretary’s Report.
3. Election of Officers and Council Members
4. Notice of Motions.
7. Any Motion proposing alterations to or additional Rules, must be in 28 days before A.G.M.
8. Voting by Ballot requiring a vote of two thirds plus one vote to succeed.
9. Quorum to be 20 Members.
Annual Subscriptions for 1977/78
Full Membership £38.00 Hotel received £30.00 with the G.U.I. receiving £3.00
Lady Associate £23.00
6 Day Associate £30.00
5 Day Associate £20.00
University Associate £20.00
Juvenile Associate £10.00
As can see from the above figures there was not much surplus to run a Golf Club.
On Monday 18th September 1977, a meeting of the Ladies section was called by the Lady Captain, Dr Lorna Browne. In attendance were Dr Lorna Browne, Mrs Geraldine Barrett, Mrs Phil Browne, Mrs Symes, Mrs Sally Beattie and Mrs Margaret Barrett. A number of ladies who had applied to become Members, Mrs Mary Barron, Mrs Marie Gallagher, Mrs Rosaline O’Leary, Mrs Margo Smith and Nancy O’Sullivan, also attended. A small Ladies Committee was formed, consisting of Dr Browne, Geraldine Barrett, Margaret Barrett and Sally Beattie. The first Ladies competition was held on September 25th at 12 noon, with the Hon. Secretary writing to Mrs Rita Kenny I.L.G.U. seeking affiliation, with Mrs Kenny proposing the Club at the October meeting of the I.L.G.U.
The number of founder members was 103 of which five were Lady Members: Dr. Lorna Browne (FM3), Sallie Beattie (FM5), P Browne (FM8), Margaret Barrett (FM9) and Geraldine Barrett (FM10).
Listed in the Appendix are the original Founder Members,, along with the complete list of Members on the 1st of January 1978.
On 1st August 1977 a Licence Agreement was signed with the Hotel. This agreement allowed the Members to use the Course subject to the payment of the required Fees and subject to 1 years notice to terminate. There was reluctance to sign the agreement as it fell far short of what was expected in terms of security of tenure. It was this unsatisfactory arrangement which led in later years for Members to consider purchasing their own Course elsewhere. At this stage the Club motto “Pax et Comitas” was adopted which means “Peace and Friendship”.
At this stage the Hotel supplied both the Labour and Maintenance for the Course, which was to prove unsatisfactory even then as the Course became unplayable during the late summer of 1977. As compensation, the Hotel gave a concession of not charging for the use of the Course until 1st January 1978. The Club then changed its year end to 31st December in light of this arrangement.
On the 3rd August 1977, R S Pelissier as Hon. Secretary applied to the Leinster Branch of the G.U.I. for affiliation for a 9 Hole Golf Club having 86 Full and 5 Lady Associate Members. G.U.I affiliation was obtained on the 20th September 1977. At this stage only 9 Holes were in play, but in poor condition, the original 18 having become overgrown.
On 21st September 1977, Dublin Sport Golf Club was officially opened to great fanfare, by the late Christy O’ Connor Senior in front of many local dignitaries, politicians, Club Members, local club Captains and was followed by an Ecumenical Blessing by local Clergy.
The first bank account for the Club was opened in Allied Irish Bank on 8th August 1977. The first cheque written was for £5.00 and on 21st September 1977 a cheque for fees of £100.00 was paid to Christy O’Connor Snr. for the carrying out of the official opening of the Club.
Bill Magill (future Captain 1980) was the first male new member elected on 19th October 1977, Ref No. M1 while Marie Gallagher (future Lady Captain 1985) was the first lady new member on 21st October 1977, Ref. No. M3. John Shinners (M2) future Hon. Secretary was elected 26th October 1977.
On 9th November 1977 the following new Lady Members were elected:- Rosaline O’Leary (M4), Elizabeth Burke (M5), Mary Barron (M6), Dolores Wadkin (M7), Theresa Fitzpatrick (M8), and Pat McGrath (M9).
On 27th September 1977, Ivan E R Dickson, Secretary, Leinster Branch G.U.I., wrote to Reg Keating,Captain, informing him that at their Meeting on 21st September 1977, Dublin Sport Golf Club was affiliated to the Golfing Union of Ireland. He also asked that he be informed when the full 18 holes were opened so that they may examine the Course to allocate a Standard Scratch. The Course was extended to 18 Holes in the following month, October 1977.
1978
From the early days great emphasis was placed on the Social element along with communication with the Members through the format of Newsletter “Fore” of which both the first and last issues along with many of the intervening years are archived within the Club. A Press Release stated that the first Annual Ball was to take place in February 1978, in the Hotel. This again proved to be a success with the Who’s Who in the area attending, including Captain’s and Lady Captains of 6 neighbouring Clubs, along with G.U.I. Officers. The Social scene was also used as a means of fundraising, and from what we can see, all Social Events were well supported and generated a profit.
A Council meeting on 29th March 1978 approved the club crest and motto “Pax et Comitas”
Captain Reg Keating held the first Captain’s Dinner on 15th April 1978 in the hotel.
In May 1978, the club received drawings from architects to build a club house for the Golf Club but the Club could not proceed without the control of the lands.
The first hole in one was recorded on the 3rd Hole by Ken Gleeson on 13th May 1978 with his marker on the day being John Mooney.
On the 30th May 1978 the first Annual General Meeting takes place in the Carrick Room of the Hotel, attendance 67, with accounts produced for the period of 26th July 1977 to 31st March 1978 showing an excess of Income over expenditure of £2001. The undated Secretaries report and 1st A.G.M. Minutes are held on file along with Application Forms for Membership and some receipts for Subscriptions.
Following the A.G.M., John L Byrne as Captain writes to the Members with an update along with the Officers and Council for 1978 as follows:President, Patrick Cosgrave, Captain John L Byrne, Vice Captain, Bill Magill, Hon. Secretary David Balfe, Treasurer and Registrar Brian O Kelly, Council Members, Andrew Austin, Ray Byrne, James Cluskey, Michael Cluskey, Dermot Hitchcock, John Mooney, Michael Stafford and Reg Keating.
A further meeting was held in July 1978 with the hotel to discuss a separate Club House for the club, a watering system for the greens, increasing the length of the 16th hole, locker rooms with showers, etc.
The Social Committee held a meeting on 6th Sept 1978 and decided that Club Nights would be held on first Friday of every month.
The Captain’s Drive In was held on 21st October 1978 and attendances included the Captains and Lady Captains from 8 neighbouring clubs.
An EGM was held on 22nd November 1978 to agree the annual subscriptions for 1979. Attendance 65.
The Ladies Committee at this stage were paying their out of pocket expenses for postage, phone, and sundry items themselves and Geraldine Barrett as Hon. Secretary and Margaret Barrett as Treasurer applied to Council for £100.00 expenses to cover their costs.
The first NewsletterThe first Newsletter “Fore” was produced by David Duke and Jackie Hayden and a note regarding a vote of appreciation appears in the Minutes of the Council Meeting of 1st March. ”Fore” continued as the Club Newsletter for many years under various Editors.
The possibility of employing Bill Brampton as Club Professional was discussed
The first mention of the Batchelor Cup appears in the Minutes of 22nd March, which states that the Cup is to be insured for a value of £350.00 and which was provided by the Vice Captain, Bill Magill who worked for Batchelors Ltd. Another Cup, The Gibbons Cup, was presented by Jim Gibbons who worked for a subsidiary company of Batchelors (Green Isle Frozen Foods Ltd) for a Junior Section competition in 1978. This cup was afterwards re-engraved for use in a Ladies Competition.
Frank Kelly with the Dublin Sport Cup. Con and Marie Gallagher
The Hotel presented the club with the Dublin Sport Cup in 1978 for a competition to start in 1979. Con and Marie Gallagher started the Gallagher Cup Competition in 1978. The Gallagher Cup continued to be played for and sponsored by Con and Marie up to the playing in May 2017. Con and Marie were Captain and Lady Captain in 1985.
In September 1978 Jim Cluskey resigns from Council and the following January from the Club stating that he was not happy with the condition of the Course and did not see any potential for improvement.
Also in September, The Captain again writes to Patrick Cosgrave setting out summary of agreement reached at a recent meeting.
On 14th December 1978 the Men’s handicap analysis was:
Handicap 1 to 9 13
Handicap 10 to 14 10
Handicap 15 to 18 56
Handicap 19 and up 53
Total male membership = 132
Subscriptions for 1979.
Total Due To Hotel Entrance Fees
Full £68.00 £50.00 £75.00
Lady £40.00 £25.00 £40.00
Junior £20.00 £10.00 £20.00
Juvenile £15.00 £7.00 £15.00
Again in December a Christmas Dinner Dance was held by the Club in the Hotel and for the period 1st April to 31st December the excess of Income over expenditure was £449.78.
1979
On 23rd January 1979, the Captain, John L. Byrne wrote to the G.U.I. Leinster Branch requesting a review of the Standard Scratch of 70, being used on a course with a Par of 68. The standard scratch was revised to 66 in October 1979.
The Hotel purchased a new 5 Gang Mower for use on the Course for £2,500.00 on 24th January 1979.
As this particular winter was extremely harsh, with snow falling up until March, the Club wrote to the Ski Club advising them not to Ski on the Golf Club grounds when covered in snow.
Brian O Kelly was appointed Day to Day Manager of the Club and Course.
The Club’s Second Annual Dress Ball was held on 2nd March 1979 with invites issued to the Captain’s of local Clubs and to G.U.I. Officers. 250 tickets were sold at £7.50 each.
Captain John L. Byrne held the second Captain’s Dinner in the hotel on 26th May 1979, with entertainment by the comedian, Hal Roche.
Bernard Gibbons was appointed as the first Club Professional on 5th June 1979.
Again during 1979 negotiations continued with the Hotel Management with regard to the issuing of a Lease to the Golf Club, which was not forthcoming, and to try to force the issue the Club withheld £5000.00 and deposited it with Credit Finance at a deposit rate of 17% . However the Hotel still refused to grant the Lease but continued to grant a Licence at an increased cost of 15%. The inflation rate at the time was 14%.
In September 1979 the total membership was 261 which included 216 full members.
The Club’s A.G.M. was held on 3rd October 1979.
A very successful Fancy Dress night was held on 28th October 1979.
The Council decided at their December meeting that the time had arrived to enter Teams in the following G.U.I. Competitions, Pierce Purcell Shield, Junior Scratch Cup, Barton Cup and the Best Cup which was organised by Malahide Golf Club. Following a meeting with Ivan Dixon, Leinster Branch GUI a cheque for £19 was sent to the G.U.I. on 19th December 1978 for the 1979 Entry Fees into the Barton Cup, Metropolitan Trophy and Pierce Purcell Shield.
As the number of people applying to join the Club was increasing, Pat Keogh (the current 2017 Captain of Old Conna Golf Club) along with Des Horgan-Gaul were elected as Full Members, while Greta Quigley and Dolores Keller were elected as Lady Associates at the December Council.
Sketch from Dublin Sport Golf Club Newsletter
1980
Council for 1980:- President, P Cosgrave, Captain Bill Magill, Vice Captain John Mooney, Secretary, David Balfe, Treasurer Brian O’Kelly, Council Members, John L. Byrne, Ken Gleeson, Dermot Hitchcock, Dermot Murphy and Michael Stafford.
The Licence agreement had by now been agreed with the Hotel, a number of changes having been agreed. The Trustees of which Bill Magill was now included, were now empowered to sign same on behalf of the Club. As part of the agreement the Club was to be given first option in the event of the Course being offered for sale. The signing took place on 28th April 1980. A copy of it is on our files.
As part of the agreement the subscriptions for the year were as follows:-
£85.00 for Full Member of which Hotel received £57.50
£50.00 for Lady Associate of which Hotel received £25.00
£20.00 for Junior of which Hotel received £10.00
In April 1980, a list of Ladies Section telephone numbers showed 33 lady members.
Batchelor Challenge Cup
Silver Anniversary Cup
Dublin Sports Hotel Cup
Gallagher Cup
Jim Gibbons Cup
Mooney Cup
Ladies Anniversary Cup.
In 1980, the Club ran an Open week, which produced a surplus of £1158.00, however the accounts for the year ending 30th June 1980 showed an excess of expenditure over income of £413.00.
As of August the number of paid up Members reached 320.
In September 1980 the Hotel was again looking for increase in the contribution for 1981 from £57.50 per Member to £77.50 per member. After discussion a figure of £72.00 for Full Members, £30.00 for Lady Associates, £12.00 for Juniors and £7.00 for Juveniles was agreed with the Club to fund the cost of Maintenance of the course. A grant of up to £3000.00 was allowed to the Club to go towards the maintenance.
| Annual Subscriptions 1981 | Entry Fees 1981 | Hotel to Receive | |
| Full Members | £100 | £100 | £72 |
| Lady Associates |
£60 |
£60 | £30 |
| Junior | £25 | £25 | £12 |
| Juvenile | £20 | £20 | £7 |
Where a wife of a Member was elected, the Entrance Fee would be reduced by £20.00. The Annual Fee was to be paid to the Hotel on a pro-rata basis for new Members.
Green Fees from 1st October 1980 were to be increased to £3.00 Weekdays and £4.00 Weekends. Members could sign 3 visitors at half the charge provided they were playing with the Member.
At this stage the Seekers Competitions, for handicaps of 18 and over, were in full swing with an end of year competition held on 11th October followed by a Stag Night in the Copper Room of the Hotel.
1981
In 1981, the Ladies Committee was very active with a number of new initiatives taking place in the year. Bridge was introduced by Frances Buckley as part of the Social Activities and lessons were arranged at a cost of £28.00 for 10 Lessons with the Hotel charging £10.00 room hire. The Lady Associate Members were granted the concession of the First Tee from 1 pm to 2.30 pm when the Full Members normally had their lunch, however, any Full Member that arrived on the Tee had right of way.
Tuesday was also designated Lady’s Day with the Seekers, Mondays and Wednesdays. The first Ladies Open Competition took place and was sponsored by Mary Barron and Loctite. The Ladies Committee requested a nominee on the Greens Committee, a position to which Peg O Dwyer was appointed.
At the end of June 1981 the excess of income over expenditure was £9546.24. This was a significant turnaround from the previous year.
Around this time the first discussions were taking place privately on the possibility of the Club acquiring its own lands along with further discussions with the Hotel on the purchase of the Grounds/Lease from the Hotel. Gilbert Leon White was instructed to put a valuation on the Freehold Interest of the approx 88 acres. He returned a valuation in the order of £240,000.00
Captain Dermot Hitchcock wrote to Members requesting that they all make a special effort to attend the formal Dinner Dance on 12th December and to which 182 attended. Entertainment was provided by the Ladies Dramatic Group on the night.