Athlone Golf Club players and management are pictured following their Connacht Junior Cup win at Loughrea Golf Club on Sunday. Pictured, l-r, Tommy Reilly (club president), Jed Moylette, Declan Hynes (team manager), Shane Kelly, Marc Butler (team captain), Rod Tierney (team manager), Catherine Fitzgerald (Golf Ireland Connacht secretary), Adrian Kelly, Tommy Dolan (Athlone Golf Club captain), Taylor Kelly, Cian Mannion, Tony Ryan (Loughrea GC men's captain).

Athlone Golf Club claims Connacht Junior Cup crown

Ronan Fagan

Published: Mon 27 Jul 2026, 6:17 PM

Last updated: Mon 27 Jul 2026, 7:04 PM

Athlone Golf Club bridged a 31 year gap in Loughrea on Sunday when the men's representative team claimed the Connacht Junior Cup final.

Having defeated Galway Golf Club in the provincial semi-final on Saturday, the team, under the guidance of captain Marc Butler, had a comprehensive victory over Westport Golf Club at the East Galway course.

Team captain Butler praised his teammates for their collective contributions to the provincial win.

"We have two teenagers playing on the team, Taylor Kelly (13) and Cian Mannion (15). Both players have contributed to this long overdue success," Butler said.

The junior cup team played five matches on their way to Connacht success.

"We played 25 games during our five matches in the team's Connacht campaign, losing on just three occasions," Butler added.

Butler was a member of the previous Athlone Golf Club team which won the Connacht junior cup in 1995.

The team now progress to the All-Ireland stage of the competition where a quarter-final tie awaits at Millicent Golf Club in County Kildare on September 3.