Breda Maguire is a school-teacher in county Cavan.
She rushed out of Corlough national school on Monday evening, hit the road home to Ballyconnell and then turned on the television to watch the Solheim Cup. Friends and family had been in and out of the house all weekend, it hadn't been as busy in years, and that only added to Breda's excitement as she watched her daughter Leona outshine the best golfers in the world on the biggest stage of all.
Breda never played golf herself, as she revealed in a brilliant interview with Ian Dempsey on Today FM, but she knows the work Leona and her sister Lisa have put in since they were ten years of age and that's why she's proud as punch now.
There have been high hopes for the Cavan twins ever since they took the amateur game by storm as teenagers but this was Leona's finest hour, 2021 has been her best year and it meant so much to her and her family that Lisa was by her side for every single shot. As youngsters, they were inseparable but after taking up a scholarship in America, Leona was the one who progressed further. Lisa didn't have the length (her tee-shots were 220 yards compared to the tour average of 260) and some subsequent swing changes saw her game deteriorate before she retired in 2019 aged 24.
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In a managerial capacity, Lisa has supported her sister ever since and after her Solheim Cup heroics, Lisa paid an powerful tribute to her sister.
"I knew that Leona was incredible, everyone at home knows that Leona is incredible and now, the whole world gets to see how incredible she really is. We all couldn't be more proud and it's just been a fantastic week and a fantastic win for Europe. Leona dug deep, and it was just incredible to watch..."
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Speaking on Morning Ireland, as well as hailing her caddie Dermot Byrne, the twins' father Declan praised Lisa's support, her selflessness and emphasised just how influential she's been in inspiring Leona's breakthrough this year.
"Lisa has also been there, she’s given up her whole summer holidays to be out there with Leona and it just shows her upturn in fortunes, between Dermot and Lisa being there and supporting her the whole way," said Declan.
"I want to pay credit to Lisa for that."
Leona's the star, but this was a family affair.
