Johnny May was one of the great characters of Delgany GC, not only a great golfer but a talented singer and entertainer who even in his 89th year had the youthful appearance of a much younger man . Johnny was one of six boys and five girls. Apart from Golf he was a talented soccer player playing for Bray Wanderers and at one stage moving to the Workman’s Club in Dun Laoghaire much to the displeasure of his compatriots from Bray. The six May boys often fielded a seven a side soccer team with the help of another Delgany man Vincent Byrne in goal.
Johnny had a short spell at Molineux with Wolverhampton Wanderers under their great manager Stan Cullis, but after only three weeks Johnny issued the ultimatum that “ this place isn’t big enough for both of us “ and as they say the rest is history.
Stuart Webster wrote a lovely article in the July Despatch paying tribute to Johnny, painting a lovely picture of his sunny personality and his many golfing triumphs. In that article Stuart mentioned that the Management Committee had been looking for a way to recognise Johnny’s huge contribution to Delgany when sadly he became ill and after a very short illness passed away.
Johnny’s son Liam has very kindly offered to donate Johnny’s very famous hickory shafted putter to the Club which will be mounted in a wooden case and placed in a prominent place for all to see. The putter will be presented by Liam to the Captain on the evening of the 9th of September.
To coincide with the presentation of Johnny’s putter there will be a Mix and Match six ball followed by a meal and some entertainment courtesy of the great Phil O’Neill with Ian Barret providing some insights into what the life of Johnny May was. The six ball will kick off at 4.30pm and will be a shotgun start. It’s a 9 hole competition and is run as a scotch foursome or Sixsome with three pairs in each team. Its quicker than you would think and is good fun with a lot of bodies visible on the course.
The time sheet cannot accommodate six names so when booking put one name down for each pair.
We hope to get a great crowd out so put it in your diary now. If the front nine fills up, we will open some holes on the back 9 so we should be able to get everyone out that wants to play. The entrance fee is €5.00 each for members and guests, the original intention was to take cash on the day but the prospect of over 100 players all arriving together foisting fivers upon us might be hard to cope with. Payment will now be deducted from your BRS Purse, as the time sheet can only accommodate three slots per line € 10.00 will be deducted for each pair. You may invite up to five guests. If we have 6 individual members playing they will have to swap fivers amongst themselves as 3 of them will have been charged €10 and the other 3 nothing.
The prizes are very kindly sponsored by Mark Wyse allowing us to donate all proceeds of the day to Greystones Cancer Support.
Looking forward to seeing you all on which will be the last Mix and Match of the season.
Jim Blake
