Like most projects of its nature, my decision to write A Farewell to the Fairways had its origin in the prompting of working colleagues. We had gathered for a lunch in Howth last December to mark my departure from the “Sunday Independent” after 21 years as a golf columnist.
Given that I had already written two lengthy columns as my swansong, it seems logical to Paul Kimmage and the sports editor, John Greene, that I should consider doing a book, an extension of those pieces if you wish. The more I thought of it, the more the idea appealed to me, not least as a formal ending to my journalistic career. After all, I would be celebrating my 84th birthday in eight months.
First, however, I had another book to write! I had promised golfer, Jimmy Kinsella, that I would tell the love story of how himself and his late, departed wife, Bernie, had come together through golf for what proved to be a partnership lasting 60 years until her death in August 2021. The book was called “Links of Love” and was launched in Skerries Golf Club last May. That’s when “Farewell” began in earnest to dominate my waking hours.
In planning the book, which would have its basis in pieces I had written for the “Sunday Independent”, I realised that there were quite a few stories that were essentially unfinished. Like the one concerning James McCarthy from Ringaskiddy in Cork, whom I had written about back in 2007 when he caddied in the US Open at Oakmont CC in Pennsylvania. On a visit to his home last April, I was to learn the tragic news that he had since died from cancer, as had his brother, whom he had joined fishing in Alaska.
Then there was the story of Lillian Behan from The Curragh, who had stunned the golfing world when winning the British Women’s Match-play Championship as a raw, 20-year-old, back in 1985. On seeking her out, I made the fascinating discovery that she was now a member of the greenkeeping staff under Gerry Byrne at The K Club. She has found a new career approaching her sixties!
My interest in Lillian also led me back to the issue of equality in golf in which I had become seriously involved as golf correspondent of “The Irish Times”. So I found myself piecing together in a special chapter, the dramatic events which led ultimately to the launch of “Golf Ireland” in January 2020.
I also revisited a piece I had written about Paul McCormack who created quite a stir when winning the President’s Prize at Portmarnock Links, despite being virtually blind. In his capacity as a senior New York policeman, McCormack began to lose his sight in the aftermath of 9/11, where he was among early rescuers on the scene of the disaster. It is suspected he was among those affected by the poisonous gasses emanating from what became known as Ground Zero, which forced him into early retirement.
Reflections on my varied and fascinating working life also involved much humour, as well as quite a deal of sadness. And there was the opportunity of examining why it was that I finished up in a career in journalism which lasted 63 years. Was I extremely fortunate in finding such a pursuit at a time when guidance counsellors were unheard of in the classrooms of my day? Or was it that I learned writing as a craft, which was developed with the help and advice of enlightened spirits who had gone before me?
This is the 16th book which I have written either in its entirety or to which I have made a significant contribution. Most of the earlier productions, let me add, were commissioned undertakings such as golf-club histories. So, I have taken advantage of this latest effort to explore the craft of writing, from my perspective. This process was greatly facilitated by a letter I received back in September 1996 from Tom Mullins, Lecturer in Education from the Department of Education at University College Cork. He wrote: ‘As you may be aware, a committee of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment has been revising the Leaving Certificate English Syllabus for some time and its work is now nearing completion. Besides drafting a new syllabus, the responsibility of this committee is to produce a comprehensive set of Teacher Guidelines on the teaching of language to facilitate the implementation of the revised syllabus. It is in my capacity as Director of this project that I am now writing to you …’ In specific terms, he requested a piece of between 500 and 1,000 words on the topic ‘Why I write’ or ‘My approach to writing’ and ‘A short commentary on an exemplar of your work.’This, in part, is how I replied: “Firstly, let me make it clear that I consider myself to be a craftsman rather than a creative writer. In other words, I’m someone who applied himself to the actual business of writing, without having had any great talent in that direction.
“The most important thing I learned was to grab the reader’s attention and then try to hold it until the final full point. From early, short pieces, I became keenly aware of the importance of thinking things through. “If I were to hold a reader’s interest, I realised I would need to spread attention-grabbing facts through the piece, while saving an appropriate tailpiece for the end. So, effectively, the story had to have a top, middle and end.
“I also learned the importance of how it was written. For instance, long sentences – of more than 40 words – were to be avoided. And where unavoidable, they should always be followed by a short sentence, otherwise the overworked reader would soon lose interest.” I probably broke many of my own rules in putting “Farewell” together. But I thoroughly enjoyed the actual process, possibly for the first time in my career.
(c) Dermot Gilleece
About A Farewell to the Fairways by Dermot Gilleece:
A lifetime in sports journalism began for Dermot Gilleece as a 19-year-old in 1960. That was when he reported for the Evening Press on a Monday morning play-off for the Hospital Sweeps Tournament at Woodbrook, won by Christy O’Connor Snr.
A Farewell to the Fairways is essentially a reflection on 63 years of golf reporting for Ireland’s national newspapers. Gilleece’s appointment as golf correspondent for the Irish Times in March 1981 coincided with a dramatic expansion in coverage of sport overseas, especially golf. It meant a trip to Cypress Point in California in August 1981 and later coverage of the Masters, US Open and US PGA Championship, where he met and interviewed the game’s top players, including Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Tiger Woods.
Meanwhile there was the opportunity to write about leading Irish exponents of the game, like O’Connor Senior and Junior, Rory McIlroy, Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke, Graeme McDowell, Shane Lowry, Leona Maguire and Paul McGinley, along with our leading men and women amateurs during the latter part of the twentieth century. There were Dunhill Cup and Ryder Cup team triumphs and many individual achievements which transformed the shape of the Irish game.
It was also a time of profound change in basic club activities. From the mid-1980s, equality for women golfers developed into a national issue in which Gilleece became deeply involved, notably by promoting the so-called three-tier constitution. This became a key element of change which led ultimately to the formation of Golf Ireland in 2020.
A Farewell to the Fairways will appeal to everyone with an interest in sports writing and the development of golf in Ireland over the past 60 years.
Order your copy of A Farewell to the Fairways by Dermot Gilleece online here.
