Cork's Gillian O'Leary excited about the future of Irish women's golf

This week three women from Ireland will take on the world looking to make history at The Tampines Course in Tanah Merah Country Club, Singapore.

Beth Coulter, Áine Donegan and Emma Fleming will hope to replicate the heroics of 2016 when Leona Maguire, Olivia Mehaffey and Annabel Wilson claimed a bronze medal in the World Amateur Team Championships in Mexico.

Gillian O’Leary was one of the trailblazers who laid the foundations for this year’s team, and fittingly captains the side this week.

The Cork native came through the Irish system at a time when Danielle McVeigh and Maria Dunne were also leading the way, while the Maguire sisters, Leona and Lisa, were among the best in the world.

However, O’Leary who has also experienced high performance golf at the coalface in Wales in recent years, believes this could be ‘the best place that it’s ever been’ in Ireland.

Sara Byrne, Anna Foster, and Annabel Wilson all secured their LET cards at the end of 2024, while Canice Screene also gained status on that Tour. Lauren Walsh has since moved closer to her elusive victory, while Leona Maguire and Stephanie Meadow are some of the stars on the LPGA.

“It’s probably in the best place that it’s ever been,” said O’Leary.

“All the girls on Tour at the moment, that’s just amazing. I don’t think if you said that to people 20 years ago that they’d believe you, that there’d be so many Irish on tour and doing well.

“Then even the addition of the Irish Challenge there a few weeks ago in Malahide, giving so many of them an opportunity to play with pros, and obviously the Women’s Irish Open is getting bigger and bigger every year.

“It’s just brilliant to see for young girls that there’s not just Irish teams to play for, but there's a career and they can go as far as they want with it.

“They have role models who will hopefully pass on their learnings and help them too because I know that they’re all super people and have loads of experience.

“The rising tide lifts all boats, it’s exciting.” O’Leary grew up in Mitchelstown where her late father Fanahan was involved in the golf club and her mother Patricia was also an accomplished golfer.

The family remained in Mitchelstown until O’Leary was five and when they relocated to Middleton she joined Youghal Golf Club as a teenager, before she took up membership in Cork.

O’Leary was a late developer and didn’t make an Irish girls’ team, she was 23 when she established herself on the scene and first represented her country in 2007.

She had one of her biggest wins three years earlier at the Quinta de Cima course where O’Leary claimed the Portuguese Amateur. She would go on to spend five years at international level.

“When you put it all together, Danielle, the twins, some of the older crowd that were there as well,” said O’Leary.

“To me it seemed like a bit of a change, a lot of people that I played with had ambitions to turn pro, whereas that wasn’t necessarily the case ten years before that.

“The twins would obviously be a good bit younger. I would have seen them right from when they were winning their first Munster Championships, I’d say they were maybe 12 or 14, up until they turned pro so it was a good bunch to be around.

“Everybody was a bit more professional and put more into preparation, it became more high performance at that stage.

“Everybody was looking to improve, not just golf, but everything that they were doing.” O’Leary emersed herself in sport, she began working with the ILGU in 2008 in junior development and she was intrigued by all things high performance.

She studied Science at UCC before she completed an MSc in Business Management at DCU and later specialised with an MSc in Sports Development & Coaching at Ulster University.

In late 2016 an opportunity presented itself at Wales Golf, as their Director of Performance, and she jumped at the chance to help mould some future stars.

“I really enjoyed my time in Wales, they’re great people but it was a different culture to Ireland,” said O’Leary.

“Not massively different but I learned to look at things in different ways and what I learned most was about people and dealing with different people.

“I did a lot of work with the men’s and the boys’ there as well, I was performance director for the whole of Wales Golf and I learned at the end of the day, they’re all individuals. They have parents and coaches who are trying to help them, that you have to work with.

“It’s to meet the person where they are, try and help them where you can, but also do the best you can for Wales Golf, as a whole. My job was to do the best for Wales Golf, not necessarily the individual.

“I was trying to put that all together and make sure you’re doing the best job that you possibly can.” O’Leary began to build her own sports consulting business and since leaving Wales Golf in February 2024 she has taken on some projects for Golf Ireland.

While last November it was announced that she would Captain the Irish women’s team.

“It is full circle,” said O’Leary.

“When I finished playing, it was nice to be involved with young players and teams.

“When I left Wales, I love golf and trying to help players get better and seeing them succeed, so when the opportunity came up for captaincy, I thought it’d be nice to give something back.

“I worked with U14s and U16s in Ireland years ago, I was with Beth on the first trip that she went representing Ireland. I’m pretty sure I was on Áine’s first trip as well. I know them from their very first outing with Ireland and it might be their last, so it bookends.

“Then Emma, I remember she came to an open session for girls U12. We did six of them around Ireland, and she came to one in Leopardstown. I remember her and her sisters.” O’Leary and her players begin this quest today to compete at the top table and challenge for world medals, just like they did nine years ago.

“They’re class, each of them,” said O’Leary.

“They’re all very different but fabulous people as well as good golfers, they’re all just really sound and good craic and they know what they’re doing.

“There’s very little for me to do really, it’s just trying to keep them comfortable and confident.”