Freedom of the County awarded to Paul McGinley

Professional golfer Paul McGinley was conferred with the Freedom of the County at a civic reception which was held in the Rosapena Hotel, Downings earlier this afternoon.

He was there as part of the Irish Legends Golf Tour which is hosted by the McGinley Foundation. It starts tomorrow, Tuesday, August 16, and runs until August 20.

The 55-year-old, who has strong Donegal connections with his father coming from Dunfanaghy, has won four events on the European Tour. At the 2002 Ryder Cup, he famously holed a ten-foot putt on the 18th hole in his match against Jim Furyk at The Belfry which won the Ryder Cup for Europe.

Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council, Cllr Liam Blaney, left, presents Paul McGinley

with the Freedom of the County scroll at the reception in Downings

He has been a European Tour player now for over 25 years. Despite winning several tournaments and being a former top 20 ranked player in the world, he is best known for his performances in team competitions. As well as winning the World Cup for Ireland with Padraig Harrington in 1997, he has represented Europe on 14 occasions as a player, Vice-Captain and Captain, winning an astonishing 13 times, most memorably in 2014 where he led Europe to a comprehensive Ryder Cup victory over America at Gleneagles in Scotland as Captain.

Tributes were paid to Mr McGinley and his family for their support of the county over the years and for bringing his Legends tour to north Donegal.