Ireland And England Name Teams For Under-16’s Match
The Ireland team who are taking on England this weekend in the annual U16 matchup between the two sides has been named.
The Girls’ team features the trio of Maddie Armstrong, Eva Branks and Qingyun Elsa Chen who were recently announced as members of the 2026/27 U18 Girls’ High Performance Squad. Meanwhile the Boys’ team includes 2026 McGregor Trophy Champion Ollie McEvoy, who will be hoping to replicate his individual success on English soil in July when he tees it up this weekend alongside his teammates.
The match is being held at Wallasey Golf Club featuring two rounds of foursomes on Saturday followed by a slate of Sunday Singles to decide the overall winners.
U16 Girls’ Team
Maddie Armstrong (Knock)
Eva Branks (Malone)
Qingyun Elsa Chen (Grange)
Grace Dowdall (Forrest Little)
Ella Louise McCorry (Lurgan)
Mirah Mijumbi (Roganstown)
Team Captain – Sara Rose Shelly (Dun Laoghaire)
Team Coach – Michelle Carroll
U16 Boys’ Team
Jack Conroy (Belvoir Park)
Ruairi Cooper (Enniscorthy)
Justin Dennehy (Douglas)
Ollie McEvoy (Ballycastle)
Sean Nolan (Dun Laoghaire)
Ruben Rivas McHugh (Tralee)
Team Captain – Des Molyneaux (Ballybunion)
Team Coach – Ian Kearney
England Golf has also name it’s team for the match.
The six girls include Selina Bartarya, Maybel Brooks, Mariella Buchanan, Ava Gadsby, Millie Marsh and Georgia Richardson, while Max Blake, George Cooper, Ezra Hartland, Oliver McEvoy, Alfie Turner and AJ Van Emmenis are the six boys named in the squad.
England romped to a 14-4 victory in the fixture at Ballybunion, Ireland last year, and were narrow winners (16-14) in the last home fixture at Burnham & Berrow following an amazing comeback in 2024.
England Golf Team Captain India Clyburn said: “It’s a great opportunity for both teams to gain valuable international match play experience, and it’s a match we always enjoy competing in. We have a great venue in Wallasey for this match which will hopefully provide a good test of golf for our players.”
U16 Boys’ Team
Max Blake (Corhampton, Hampshire)
George Cooper (Doncaster, Yorkshire)
Ezra Hartland (Cooden Beach, Sussex)
Oliver McEvoy (Thorpe Hall, Essex)
Alfie Turner (Trentham, Staffordshire)
AJ Van Emmenis (Wentworth, Surrey)
U16 Girls’ Team
Selina Bartarya, Royal Blackheath (Kent)
Maybel Brooks, Chelmsford (Essex)
Mariella Buchanan, Bristol & Clifton (Gloucestershire)
Ava Gadsby, East Herts (Hertfordshire)
Millie Marsh, Sherwood Forest (Nottinghamshire)
Georgia Richardson, Stoneham (Hampshire)
Photo at top: Maddie Armstrong and Sean Nolan will represent Ireland at Wallasey Golf Club. (Photo: Inpho)