The Prodigious Son Returns

They came from miles around, some with pieces of paper to sign, some with babies to be anointed, some with bald patches to be slapped…

Others came with lifelong buddies who clearly didn’t know how to use a camera…

Yep, Greystones and his sister was out tonight to give Paul Dunne a great big hug for all his incredible golfing achievements over the last two years.

With speeches from local councillors and Wicklow County Council officials opening proceedings, it was Greystones Golf Club captain Barry Massey who really kicked off this civic reception, with tales of the young lad who went and put Greystones on the golfing map.

There was talk of his 2010 Irish Youths Amateur title win, of heading to the University of Alabama to play college golf, being named the 2014 Conference USA Golfer Of The Year, and becoming the Blazer’s top golfer as a senior, with a scoring average of 71.9. It was only a hop, a 2014 Open Championship and a 2014 Palmer Cup before Dunne’s amateur days were suddenly history after representing Ireland and Great Britain in their 16.5 to 9.5 victory over the United States in the Walker Cup.

The rest… well, you may already know what happened to golfer Paul Dunne after that. 

Dunne was quick to reflect the glory onto others, none moreso, perhaps, than his mentor and early coach, Karl Holmes.

And he seemed pretty chuffed with his groovy Caroline Galligan framed print of Greystones too, featured yours truly and young Max.

With proud parents Colum and Michelle in the front row, alongside sister Alison (London-based brother David couldn’t make the trip) and girlfriend Sophie, along with extended Dunne family members, this was the sort of homecoming that every teenager dreams of having one day. Even the shy ones, like Paul Dunne.

We were going to just record Paul’s closing words here, but, hey, we thought you might like to catch all the speeches  – and the cheers and jeers – tonight, just in case anyone said something truly witty, or insightful…

You can follow Paul Dunne’s incredible rise over the years right here.