It had to come for a club which has shown remarkable spirit over the past 15 years as it added the new Glashedy Links to its old links, built a magnificent new clubhouse and hosted several important events. An amazing feat for a tiny village of only 220 which now boasts five hotels and is internationally regarded as the Dornoch of Ireland.

Indeed, Donegal now has a fine collection of links golf, and one might whisper it is an even better collection than Kerry. A brave statement but consider that Ballyliffin is joined by Rosapenna, Portsalon and the magnificent Murvagh with both Murvagh and Ballyliffin listed amongst the top 60 courses in Britain and Ireland.

The Ballyliffin golfers had to fight through seven matches to gain their title but had it more or less sewn up going to Castleblayney as they had won the first leg of the final at home with a whitewash. That allowed them to enjoy the Monaghan hospitality in Muckno Park where the Christy O'Connor jnr-designed course adorns the lakeside estate that once belonged to the Hope family and whose history is too interesting to ignore.

The Hopes moved in 1916 but, before that, the family had owned the notorious Hope Diamond, a stone which was said to be cursed. The 112carat gem was reputed to have been stolen from a statue of the Hindu goddess Sita, wife of Rama.

That started the celestial tempers boiling.

Louis XIV acquired the gem, had it cut to a 67-carat heart-shaped stone and named it the Blue Diamond of the Crown. It is well known Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette later suffered a reversal greater than any Ryder Cup team and when Versaille was ransacked their diamonds moved on.

In the early 1800s the diamond became the property of King George IV but his debts were so enormous that his valuables were sold and the Great Blue was bought by Henry Hope. The diamond passed to his nephew and on to Lord Francis Hope who, in 1901, obtained permission to sell to pay off debts.

The diamond was next owned by a European prince who gave it to an actress whom he later shot! Then, a Greek owner and his family plunged to their deaths in an accident; and the Turkish sultan Abdul Hamid II barely had time to admire his new jewel before a revolt caused him to move home in 1909.

The last private owner was American Evelyn Walsh McLean who bought it in 1911.

Her son was killed in a car accident, her husband died in a mental hospital, and her daughter died in 1946 of an overdose. In the 1950s, the diamond was given to the Smithsonian Institute and things have settled down!

Anyway, the Ballyliffin team was captained by Keith Marston and the players were Tony O'Brien, Aiden Ruddy, Charlie Duffy, Christy Friel, Kevin McLaughlin, Paddy Harkin, JC Furnival, Donal Carey, Julian Theseira, Gerard O'Donnell, Alan Gracie, Liam Grant, John Doherty, Neil McLaughlin, Michael Doherty and Benny Glover.