All-Ireland Cups and Shields:Fantasy golf, but very much with a harsh reality for the losers. In a vintage week, the best was left until last. On Saturday, two rare old tussles caused heart palpitations to everyone except those with clubs in hand as Co Sligo and Muskerry captured the final green pennants up for grabs in the Bulmers Irish Cups and Shields finals here in Belfast. Both had to do it the hard way.

In the coveted Senior Cup, Co Sligo found a way to beat the so-called "dream team" of Banbridge, with David Dunne, a battle-hardened campaigner, sealing the deal for the Rosses Point club with a one-hole win over Jim Carvill.

And the Jimmy Bruen Shield produced an emotional climax for centenary-celebrating Muskerry, where Bruen had his first handicap, who finally overcame Scrabo at extra holes to claim this competition for the first time.

The lesson for both winners was that you keep going right to the death. For Dunne, who now has three Senior Cup medals to add to the four Barton Shield medals he has won in a fine career, his win over Carvill gave his team the third point in a 3½- 1½ win, with the Keith O'Neill-Connor Doran match, which had progressed to the 20th, called in.

Martin McTernan and Gary McDermott had supplied Co Sligo's other wins, over Rory Leonard and Alistar McCully respectively.

On Friday evening, after Co Sligo had defeated Castletroy in the semi-final, Dunne had wondered, "how are we going to beat Banbridge?"

They found a way, and it was through some super golf. For instance, the McTernan-Leonard top singles produced a run of five holes from the eighth won or shared in birdies.

"We'd a few old guys on the edge of the hill, but they produced the goods," remarked Co Sligo team captain Tom Ford. "We had a balanced team, and I knew we had a chance if everyone played the golf they were capable of."

Two of the team, McTernan and O'Neill, intend to turn professional, but via the club professional route rather than seeking a tour card. Banbridge's only winner was Richard Kilpatrick, who competes in European Tour qualifying school stage one at St Annes, starting tomorrow.

For Muskerry, these Cups and Shields finals will be remembered for a long, long time. In adding the Jimmy Bruen Shield to the Junior Cup - with four players on both teams - the 100th birthday celebrations have an added touch of spice.

But Muskerry's 3-2 win over Scrabo was dramatic. Ultimately, the destination of the pennant came down to the match between Jimmy Hornibrook and Neil O'Brien against Scrabo's Nigel Carson and Ross Henderson.

It was a foursomes that had everything, the momentum swinging regularly. On the short 15th, both Muskerry players left the ball in the bunker and had to concede the hole for the match to go all square. On the 17th, Muskerry's tee-shot finished in the water hazard down the right, yet they still won the hole with a bogey five. Then, on the 18th, Scrabo forced extra holes after their opponents veered from trees to bunkers for a double bogey six.

Yet, the golf improved dramatically in the extra-holes. The first was shared in par before Hornibrook rolled in a 20-footer for par on the second and then watched as Carson missed from 12 feet.

Muskerry, finally, had gotten their hands on the Jimmy Bruen Shield, the one trophy down the years that had eluded their clutches.