100 years ago our founding members lay a golfing foundation in what was little more than a tract of open wilderness in Stickillin Ardee. As your Centenary Captain I feel profoundly both the history of that occasion and the enormity of the honour that has been bestowed upon me.

From the humble beginnings in Stickillin to our present challenging 18-hole course and magnificent clubhouse, this symbolises the quality of the imagination, the predominance of courage over apprehension and an appetite for the love of golf. The imaginary initiative and indignation of our members built a golf club where progress and development were the servant of our needs and where traditional values and idealistic vision were never buried.We gather here on the threshold of our Centenary Celebration and we may ponder as to what will be the legacy of our vanishing century we leave behind. How will we be remembered or judged.

To the members past and present who have shared in the establishment and eventual progression of Ardee GC I have only the highest regard for you. You embrace the ethos and integrity of golf and you ensure that future generations within the club will appreciate everything that is positive about the game of golf and Ardee Golf club. We are but heirs ourselves to Ardee GC, passed on to us by the hard working members since 1911. Their enduring fortitude and determination sets Ardee GC as one of the best examples of a successful Golf Club. However these great members need no eulogy from me. They have written their own history and written it on the fairways and greens of Ardee Golf Club.

Ardee Golf Club should remember and celebrate that it is a place where Men, Women and children can enrich their knowledge and enlarge their talent of the game of golf. It is a place where men and women as equals constantly renew their challenge, the demands and their desire for the game of golf.

I would ask of you one thing for 2011 and that is to enjoy Centenary year together. Within sports clubs they are rare and should be appreciated for what they are, a celebration of what we have achieved and how we achieved it.

Brendan Healy

Captain