Galwayman is chief organiser of World Deaf Golf Championships

Talking Sport with Stephen Glennon

THE World Deaf Golf Championships will take place at Carton House Golf Course, Maynooth next week and the man charged with the smooth running of the tournament is chief organiser – or OC Chair – and Kilconly and Galway native, Paul Ryder.

In all, 115 amateur golfers from 19 countries around the world will take part in the event, which is sanctioned by the World Deaf Golf Federation (WDGF). Of course, between the men, women and seniors’ categories, there will also be a number of golfers taking part from around Ireland, with 26-year-old Ciaran Doyle, from Leixlip, making his championship debut.

Along with the competitors, Ryder and his organising committee are expecting another 450 people – management, officials, family members and supporters – at Carton House, which makes the logistics of this tournament a massive undertaking.

Ryder agrees: “I do have a team of eight people though who are helping me out organising accommodation, transport, the tournament, the opening and closing ceremonies, all that kind of stuff.

“As part of my background, I used to work for Deaf Sport Ireland for four years (as administrator and sports development officer) so, because of that, I have an experienced background to run this event,” he explains.

After his time at Deaf Sport Ireland, Ryder worked as a supervisor for Community Employment Scheme before taking up his current role as a property and facilities manager at CIDP (Catholic Institute for Deaf People). “So, because I have worked in three different jobs, that has helped me to organise an event like this.”

It all kicks off with the first arrival of delegates and officials from the World Deaf Golf Federation on Friday, with those involved continuing to filter into the Kildare venue over the weekend before players head out for their practice round on Monday.

The first round of the championships then tees off on Tuesday and runs until its final round on Friday when the presentation and closing ceremony takes place in Carton House and Golf Course.

Part of Ryder’s brief is to organise accommodation and transport, and all that which goes with hosting a tournament of this magnitude, but another area he has also had to keep on top of in the run-in has been communication, especially given all of the players have hearing difficulties.

“I can hear and speak,” outlined Ryder, “but we have had to do a lot of communicating through email. I did have one-to-one meetings quite a lot, particularly with the two managers in Carton House, and my work-relationship with the two managers is just fantastic.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.

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