26.06.2014
Clergy Golfers Lose Out to Colleagues Stateside in Cranmer Cup
Five intrepid Church of Ireland clergy joined the Great Britain and Ireland team which contested the Cranmer Cup earlier this month in North Carolina. The Ryder Cup–style golf tournament is held every two years with priests from Great Britain and Ireland taking on their Anglican colleagues from the United States and Canada.
This year the United States and Canada prevailed and held onto the cup which is named after Thomas Cranmer, former Archbishop of Canterbury and author of the first Book of Common Prayer.
The five Church of Ireland team members were Archdeacon Ricky Rountree, Archdeacon David Pierpoint, the Revd Ian Gallagher, the Revd Gary Dowd and Canon Terry Scott. Archdeacon Rountree has been part of the team since 2002 and is the only member of either team to have played in each tournament since then.
The event has been held once in Ireland at Rosses Point Golf Club in 2008 when the Great Britain and Ireland captain was the Revd Ian Gallagher and the ‘home team’ retained the cup.
The tournament consists of five rounds of match play and the tradition has been carried on for 14 years now. Apart from the golf, the clergy enjoy great fellowship and networking during the tour.
The 2016 tournament will take place at the Celtic Manor Resort in Wales.
Photo caption: Pictured in North Carolina are the Revd Ian Gallagher, Archdeacon David Pierpoint, the Revd Gary Dowd, Canon Terry Scott and Archdeacon Ricky Rountree.