Last October, Larkspur Park members adopted a new constitution and a provision in the new document, allowed the Chairperson of the club, the opportunity to bestow Honorary Life Memberships for members who have given outstanding service over a number of years. The current Chairperson Darren Ryan, took this opportunity at the recent AGM, to honour two people in this way, when he awarded the first ever Honorary Life memberships to Catherine O’Connor and Seamus King.
At the meeting, Darren thanked both Catherine and Seamus for their decades of services and commitment to the development of the Park and its community. Without them, and members like them, Larkspur wouldn’t or couldn’t be the success that it is today, and he felt no one deserved to be the maiden honourees more than the pair who were selected.
In her reply, Catherine thanked Darren for the nomination. Catherine held the position of Chairperson of the Tennis Club and Treasurer of the Development Committee.
She spoke about joining Larkspur in 1970 when she first came to Cashel. She spoke fondly of all the friendships and camaraderie that exist to this day as a result of being involved in the club. There have been many significant improvements made to Larkspur Park over the years and it continues to be such a fantastic facility for the townspeople of Cashel.
Seamus King also expressed heartfelt thanks to the Chairman and the Larkspur committee for selecting him for the honour. He said it was something he will greatly treasure.
Seamus had been associated with the Larkspur Park from the beginning in 1967, initially as a Pitch and Putt player, but not long after, as a member on the committee, where he has served for many years in most of the club’s positions. The Park was a great development by the Cashel Lions Club, of which he is a member, and in the early days the main sport was Pitch and Putt.
One of his vivid memories of the early days was the attempt to set up a record for the greatest number of holes of pitch and putt in a day. The committee invited Guard Brown, a champion player from Mountrath, to achieve the record. He started at 7 am and kept going until 7 pm, by which time he had played 666 holes. He wasn’t alone, with the local flag flown by Joe Fahey and Michael Tatten, with Jim Devitt as a caddy and encourager, and they completed 576 holes. It was a great occasion at a time when the game of pitch and putt was dominant in the park.
Larkspur has flourished in the meantime with tennis becoming the dominant game, but as a recreational area Larkspur is an outstanding facility to have in the town. For Seamus, who was Chairperson of the Park for many years, it was great to have been associated with it for so long and it was an absolute privilege to be made an honorary member, together with another wonderful supporter of the place, Catherine O’Connor.
Larkspur Park congratulate Catherine and Seamus on their honorary life memberships and thank them again for their service to the club.