The Irish love their sporting heroes, and the most recent to enter their pantheon of greats was golfer Shane Lowry (32) following his stunning victory in the British Open on Sunday July 21, 2019, at the Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland, 68 years after it was first staged there. It was a magnificent overall performance, 15 under par, six shots clear of his nearest rival, a record of 63 on the Saturday for the new course layout, and his 54-hole total of 197 the lowest in the 148-year history of the British Open. Apart from the prize money and new sponsorship, the win gives him exemption into future British Opens, as well as a five year exemption into the other three majors: the US Masters, US Open and US GPA. He became the fifth Irish winner of the coveted Claret Jug, after Fred Daly (1947), Pádraig Harrington (2007 and 2008), Rory McIlroy (2014), and Darren Clarke (2011). After winning several local competitions, 2009, Shane caused a sensation in 2009 when he won the Irish Open as an amateur at Baltry, County Louth, after which he became a professional golfer. Following a top-ten finish in the British Open in 2014, he missed the cut in each of the following four years, which caused him to wonder if he was going to be successful in the competitive professional game. That is what makes his 2019 victory so sweet.
A native of Clara, County Offaly, Shane Lowry started playing pitch and putt at a young age before taking up golf. His local club was Esker Hills, two kilometres off the Clara to Tullamore road. Ester Hills Golf Club was designed by the late Christy O’Connor Junior and opened in 1996. Located in a beautiful landscape of plateau, valleys, natural lakes, and sand-based greens, no two holes are the same. It provides a challenging test even for experienced golfers. With just over 200 members, it is a huge achievement for the club to have produced a Major winner. Shane took the week after his victory off to celebrate with his family, friends, and indeed the entire country, which included a huge welcome in Croke Park, Ireland biggest sports stadium.
Sporting success is not new for the Lowry family. Shane’s father, Brendan, and two of his uncles, Seán and Mick, were members of the Offaly senior football team that won the All-Ireland football final in 1982, when they stopped a great Kerry team achieving history by winning five titles in a row. Seán Lowry was a member of the Offaly team that won the county’s first All-Ireland title in 1971, and which retained it in 1972. While working in County Mayo, Seán won a Connacht senior championship with the county in 1985. Like his sporting family, Shane is a very modest person. Many now believe that Shane Lowry’s golfing career is on an upward trajectory.

Exploring Mayo by Bernard O’Hara is now available Worldwide as an eBook for the amazon Kindle application.
The print version of Bernard O’Hara’s book Exploring Mayo can be obtained by contacting www.mayobooks.ie.
Bernard O'Hara's book entitled Killasser: Heritage of a Mayo Parish is now on sale in the USA and UK as a paperback book at amazon.com, amazon.co.uk or Barnes and Noble
It is also available as an eBook from the Apple iBookstore (for reading on iPad and iPhone), from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk (Kindle & Kindle Fire) and from Barnesandnoble.com (Nook tablet and eReader).
An earlier publication, a concise biography of Michael Davitt, entitled Davitt by Bernard O’Hara published in 2006 by Mayo County Council , is now available as Davitt: Irish Patriot and Father of the Land League by Bernard O’Hara, which was published in the USA by Tudor Gate Press (www.tudorgatepress.com) and is available from amazon.com and amazon.co.uk. It can be obtained as an eBook from the Apple iBookstore (for reading on iPad and iPhone), from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk (Kindle & Kindle Fire) and from Barnesandnoble.com (Nook tablet and eReader).