In 2000 the Irish Team organised the first Coup on their home soil. Gerry new a hotel through a friend of his, Mick, who had been/(was?) the cook at The Sands in Portmarnock.

We stayed near At The Clare Inn near Drumoland Castle. Apart from the great craic, the overwhelming memory was of a very wet stay and the absence of Gerry Canavan and Mark Linzey due to the trials of trying to put S3 live.

Despite the rain and and the absences, the Coup survived. I particularly remember someone  putting a “closed” sign on one of The Ladies loos, so that all the the women from a wedding going on on the Saturday had to walk past where we were sitting.

Being rained off the course on the second day was also a feature. A completely drowned Bill Cunningham and I (+David Kent I think) escaped on a golf cart to the warmth and dryness of the clubhouse probably on the 13th). I think it was just as wet when we played on the hotel’s own course.