Tested pairings delivered a highly significant dividend at Dundalk yesterday, when Co Sligo became only the second club ever to win the Bulmers Barton Shield for a third successive year.

In a sparkling achievement for the same four players who had given them a breakthrough in 1995, the westerners beat Carlow by three holes in the final.

Conditions were ideal on this, the opening day of what has become a splendid, annual festival of interclub golf. Bright sunshine meant that for the most part, competitors played in shirt-sleeves on terrain that had been prepared admirably by local greenkeeper Ollie English.

Meanwhile, the democratic nature of the competition was reflected in the fact that the closing stage of a Pierce Purcell semi-final attracted the biggest gallery of the day. It proved to be a remarkable climax for the manner in which the anchor pairing on the Ballyclare team, fought from three down with three to play to win on the 19th.

Everything hinged on the outcome of a match in which Oughterard seemed to be comfortably in control. But in the best traditions of matchplay, Stephen Cosgrave and Arthur Laverty kept plugging away in what had become classic, whiteknuckle combat. And they eventually emerged victorious with a conceded par at the first tie hole.

The outcome of the Barton Shield final effectively hinged on the play of two crucial holes. Down the long 12th, Carlow's Danny Hutton aand John McHugh were two up against David Dunne and Kevin Flanagan while behind them, Tommy Lennon and Jason Farrell were level with Kenneth Kearney and Seryth Heavey.

Where Carlow looked like winning the hole in the top match, however, they halved it in bogey. Then came a blocked three-wood second shot from Kearney into the hazard running down the right. Again, Carlow seemed to be in command but after a penalty drop, Heavey played a most glorious sandwedge to within a foot of the target for a half in par.

After that escape, Kearney and Heavey moved up a gear. With a beautifully-struck three-iron into the wind at the 178-yard 13th, the Irish champion left the ball eight feet from the pin. Then Heavey rolled a treacherous, left to right breaking putt into the cup for a winning birdie.

Up ahead, Dunne sank a five-foot birdie putt for a winning birdie at the 14th and the teams were level overall. From there, Dunne and Flanagan won the next with a par to give Co Sligo the lead. Suddenly, an extremely tense match had become no more than a modest challenge for the experienced Westerners.

Indeed a measure of Co Sligo's new-found dominance was Heavey's nine-iron approach to five feet at the 15th where Kearney didn't even have to hole the putt for a win: Carlow had emphatically relinquished the initiative through slack driving by Farrell.

"The 12th and 13th holes meant a three or four-hole swing for us," said Kearney afterwards. "They changed the entire complexion of the match."

In fact Dunne and Flanagan won the 16th with a bogey, after Carlow had twice been in rough. All of which meant that the westerners had a surprisingly comfortable cushion of three holes overall, when the second match was called in on the 18th fairway.

So, having had to wait until 1995 for their first Barton Shield success, Co Sligo have now emulated the achievement of the great Portmarnock teams which swept all before them prior to the second World War, including three successive wins in this event from 1928 to 1930.

Interestingly, both these clubs are in opposition this morning in the semi-finals of the Senior Cup. Co Sligo have one change from their winning line-up of last year with Sean McTernan coming in for Heavey, while Portmarnock have reinstated amateur, Niall Goulding, back in their line-up.

A particularly interesting aspect of the other semi-final is the presence of Ricky Elliott in the Royal Portrush side against Limerick, who are led by Tim Rice. Both these players are on scholarships at Toledo University in the US and have been flown back by their clubs especially for this week's activities.

Footnote: Kearney was named yesterday with Jody Fanagan (Milltown) to represent Ireland in the international Simon Bolivar Cup at the Lagunita CC in Caracas, Venezuela, on November 23rd to 30th. Interestingly, this is the course where Ronan Rafferty made his professional breakthrough in winning the Venezuelan Open in 1982.