Carrickmines Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club was the excellent venue for the 4th women’s GC match between Ireland and Spain. This time the Spanish sent a team to match the Irish players DGrades, after decisive victories for Spain in the first three encounters. The format was a mixture of doubles and singles and at the end of the first day the Spanish had a slight lead. This was reduced to one game by lunchtime on Sunday with Clair Whyms taking a game off Spain’s no 2 Luz Maria Prado to reduce the lead to 23-22. However, the Spanish took 10 of the remaining 12 games to win the match comfortably 33 games to 24. Three of these games were close 7-6 battles so the match was closer than the overall score suggests.

The weather was grey and misty for most of the weekend this didn’t dampen the spirit of conviviality and bonhomie. The two teams were treated to an excellent barbecue on Saturday evening by Master Chef Alan Looney and coffee and cakes were very welcome on both days. Many thanks to Carrickmines for hosting the event on its superb lawns.

Irish Team: Jane Morrison (c), Clair Whyms, Patricia Whitty, Patricia Mulcahy, Sylvia Briggs, Celine Reilly and Hillary Whitty.
Spanish Team: Maria Angeles Alvear (c), Luz Maria Prado, Beatriz Cabeza de Vaca, Maria Eugenia Ortiz, Paloma Casanova, Enriqueta Cuartero.