Three pop stars named in Irish Celeb Cup side
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The Irish have extra reason to celebrate St Patrick’s Day today (Monday 17th March) following the announcement that Ronan Keating (pictured) will joinfellow superstar singers Brian McFadden and Keith Duffy for this year’s Celebrity Cup golf tournament.
Duffy and McFadden were part of the Irish team that played hard and partied harder at last year’s inaugural Celebrity Cup battle of the four nations at Celtic Manor and they are bolstered this year by the inclusion of Keating, who is also no stranger to star-studded golf tournaments at Celtic Manor, having helped Europe to victory in the All Star Cups of 2005 and 2006.
Team Ireland will now hope to emulate their nation’s rugby players, who have just been crowned 6 Nations champions, and keep the celebrations going when the Celebrity Cup tees off from July 4-6.
Keating and Duffy shot to fame as bandmates in Boyzone, while McFadden made his name with another Irish pop sensation, Westlife. Between them they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and all have gone on to pursue successful television careers.
The popularity of the event among spectators and players alike is underlined by the fact that the first names announced for the English, Scottish and Welsh sides also return to the fold after enjoying last year’s dramatic showdown.
Two rugby aces will line up on opposite sides as Gavin Hastings defends the trophy for reigning champions Scotland and Mike Tindall bids to go one better than his second place with England in 2013.
Back in the world of entertainment, TV presenter Gethin Jones will again represent the home nation with pride at a course where he plays most of his golf as a Celtic Manor Resort ambassador.
Russ Lindsay, the Founder of Infinity Creative Media, is again recruiting the all-star line-up as the Celebrity Cup’s Executive Producer. He said: “We are delighted to announce the first star names for the 2014 Celebrity Cup and will announce the rest of the teams in due course.
“The first Celebrity Cup was a fantastic success and proved there is a real appetite for watching celebrities competing outside of their usual comfort zones on the golf course. Everyone who competed had a superb weekend and we’re looked after so well by Celtic Manor and their staff, proving it’s the perfect venue for this type of golf lifestyle event. We look forward to staging an even bigger and better Celebrity Cup this year.”
More stars are signing up to compete in teams of six for the event, which promises a full family day out with an interactive retail village and the opportunity to get up close to watch the celebrities in action.
Thousands of golf fans and celebrity spotters flocked to Celtic Manor to enjoy the first ever Celebrity Cup last May. Britain’s most popular TV presenters, Ant and Dec, also dropped in to join European Tour legend Colin Montgomerie for fun-filled skills challenges and they stayed on for a star-studded gala dinner which raised £65,000 for the Elizabeth Montgomerie Foundation.
