New book celebrating 50 years of Westport Golf Club

IN 1973 a whole new dawn arrived at Westport Golf Club…. The club was moving to a Fred Hawtree designed course, providing championship golf on a beautifully laid out golf course with magnificent views.

To celebrate the golden anniversary of the club, Liam Friel has undertaken to record the social history, events and characters of the last 50 years in a new book, 'Westport Golf Club - A Social History 1973 - 2023. The Facts, Faces and Folklore'.

It is packed with over 1,600 pictures that are linked to a specific event and to a specific date. The 500 articles sourced from local and national press catalogue the importance of Westport Golf Club to the local community and at a national level.

Over 2,000 people (members present and past, competitors, visitors and neighbours) feature in the photos and articles. The format is deliberately presented around themes rather than in chronological and so is interwoven with coloured and black and white pictures.

This special collection is testament to the fact that Westport Golf Club is a special place; it is a place visited and valued by presidents and princesses, by politicians and movie stars, a place that always calls people back.

The book will be on sale on the night of the launch. Afterwards it will be available from the Pro-Shop at Westport Golf Club, Duffy’s Book Shop and McLoughlin’s Book Shop, Westport.

The club wish to acknowledge and express their sincere thanks to Portwest, Abbvie and the Castlecourt Hotel Group for their most generous sponsorship. That sponsorship ensures that the book will retail for just €20. The entire proceeds and profits from the sale of the book will go directly towards the continuous development of the wonderful 18-hole championship course at Westport Golf Club.

The book will be officially launched by Cathal Hughes, chair of council, Westport Golf Club, on Friday, November 3, at 7.30 p.m. in the clubhouse. All are welcome.