More than half a century ago, five-year-old Bridget Gleeson-Healy was described as a \u201cpint-sized golf prodigy\u201d as BBC cameras captured her precocious skill on the fairways of Killarney golf club in Co Kerry.<\/p>\n
The charming footage of Gleeson-Healy\u2019s 1969 appearance on the teatime Nationwide programme, in which she was interviewed by the presenter Cliff Michelmore, was recently unearthed from the BBC archives. It was shared on social media during the Ryder Cup, delighting millions of viewers worldwide.<\/p>\n
But while the endearing clip beguiled a new generation, Gleeson-Healy said she had been unaware of its existence until recently.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe peculiar aspect is that I don\u2019t believe I\u2019ve ever viewed the footage previously,\u201d she said. \u201cDuring the late Sixties and early Seventies, I would surmise that the south of Ireland existed in a single-channel television landscape: RTE and nothing more. <\/p>\n
\u201cGiven that this was the BBC, I rather suspect I never had the opportunity to see it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The clip was sent to Gleeson-Healy, now a 62-year-old pilates instructor, by a friend. She was about to take a class and at first did not realise the video\u2019s significance.<\/p>\n
\u201cI could see this little girl and I went, \u2018Oh God, she looks exactly like me.\u2019 Then, as the reality dawned that it was me, one of my clients came in the door so I had to put it away. When I got back in the car, I turned it on and I was blown away by it,\u201d Gleeson-Healy said. <\/p>\n
She said Michelmore, who died in 2016<\/a>, had been an \u201cabsolute gentleman\u201d whose kind and gentle presence put her at ease. <\/p>\n \u201cHe was as lovely as you see him in the clip. You get a presenter like that who is really good with kids and good at coming to the level of a five-year-old, keeping it simple and encouraging,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n Also featured in the footage is John, her late father, who was the greenkeeper for Killarney for 40 years.<\/p>\n Gleeson-Healy said seeing him was \u201cvery emotional\u201d. A scratch golfer, John, 41 at the time, took pride in watching his daughter\u2019s star rise.<\/p>\n \u201cI have one sister and we were brought to tears by that. It\u2019s something very special when you see somebody that you loved so much and they are gone, then you see them as a young person hale and hearty, and doing their thing,\u201d Gleeson-Healy said.<\/p>\n Shortly after she learnt to stand and walk, her father gave her wooden spoons and sticks so that she could practise her swing. By the time she was two, it was clear that Gleeson-Healy had a gift.<\/p>\n An elite golf club<\/a>, Killarney was a popular destination for tourists. It was not long before Gleeson-Healy, whose childhood home was behind the 15th green, began beating opponents much older than her.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople would see me, this small little person. So I became a little bit famous. For starters, you would hardly ever see a girl playing golf,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n Gleeson-Healy said the sport had come a long way, both in terms of professionalism and opportunities, since she teed off for the first time.<\/p>\n \u201cUp in the north of Ireland where I did a lot of golf, the ladies would have their own little clubhouse and the men would have the big clubhouse. Really and truly it was a man\u2019s sport<\/a>. The women were all probably doctors\u2019 wives and people who had a lot of time on their hands. There just wasn\u2019t anyone else like me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n