Even though he has not appeared in any of this season's domestic championships due to college commitments in the United States, the Irish selectors have decided to include Shandon Park's Michael Hoey in the team for the European Amateur Championships at Monticello in Italy on June 29th-July 3rd.
Ironically enough, Hoey's inclusion appears to have come at the expense of Royal Dublin's Eamonn Brady, another golfing scholarship student in America, who returned home to compete in the East and the Irish Close inside the past two weeks in an effort to press his claims for a place. His failure to contend for honours ultimately militated against him.
Hoey, last year's Irish strokeplay champion, will be making his first appearance in the biennial championship, which was staged at Portmarnock in 1997 when Ireland finished third. Indeed, the six-man team is a mix of experience and youth: Ciaran McMonagle, the 23-year-old winner of the Irish Close in Killarney midweek, and Gary Cullen, the 25-year-old Irish strokeplay champion, will also be making their debut appearances in the Europeans.
However, the side is completed by three vastly experienced campaigners: Paddy Gribben, the current European strokeplay champion, is considered a certainty for this year's Walker Cup team and was a member of the British and Irish team that won last year's Eisenhower Trophy (world team championship) in Chile; Garth McGimpsey has over 100 caps for Ireland and is a former Walker Cup player, while Ken Kearney is a past Irish champion and showed his current wellbeing by recently winning the East of Ireland.
Five of the six have also been named to compete in the European strokeplay championship at Celtic Manor near Cardiff in August when Gribben will defend his crown. The exception is Hoey, who will be replaced on that occasion by Brady.
Irish team for European Championship (Monticello, Italy) on June 29th-July 3rd: G Cullen (Beaverstown), P Gribben (Warrenpoint), M Hoey (Shandon Park), K Kearney (Galway), G McGimpsey (Bangor), C McMonagle (Dunfanaghy).
