Ireland amateurs fall short in European bronze medal match
While at the same time Italy were crowned champions after a phenomenal 6-1 victory over Denmark in the final played in sweltering heat.
Ireland did secure a precious bronze at the European Girls' Team Championship, with a fantastic 4-3 comeback win against Germany in Slaley Hall, however it wasn't to be for the men.
Ireland came so close to booking their place in an historic home final, when they lost to a rejuvenated Denmark side on Friday afternoon, and having lost the morning foursomes 2-0 to England, it looked set to be another tough result.
But the hosts piled on the pressure in the afternoon with Stuart Grehan winning his match 5&3 against Daniel Hayes before Matt McClean finished off Eliot Baker on a 6&5 scoreline.
England looked in trouble but they came roaring back and Tyler Weaver defeated Thomas Higgins by 1 hole. John Doyle continued his stunning week with a 19th hole win over Luke Poulter but Charlie Forster's brilliant pitch on the 19th hole of his tie with Caolan Rafferty, sealed Ireland's fate.
Meanwhile, the Italians had a comprehensive victory over the Danes with former professional, and team coach Alberto Benaghi, thrilled to see his passionate side come out on top.
'It's almost indescribable. We are very, very proud of what we did, especially when we play in Ireland with such a history in golf. To win on this course and to win in such style, because we really played great yesterday against England and very, very good today,' said Benaghi.
'Today we were really unstoppable so I am very proud of my team. We really enjoyed every single moment.
'The foursomes this morning gave us a lot of strength. After 2-0 you have the responsibility of winning so you can feel the pressure but we played so good that we were very convinced that we could do the job.
'Sport has to be like this, you have to have passion, obviously when you win you celebrate more but you have to live sport like that, something that is coming from the heart.' Italy laid the platform for a dominant afternoon when Giovanni Binaghi and Biagio Andrea Gagliardi teamed up for an impressive 5&4 win. The other morning foursomes match also went the way of the Italians with Filippo Ponzano and Michele Ferrero accounting for their opponents on a 3&2 scoreline.
The Danes were still dangerous, having bounced back from a 2-0 deficit against Ireland on Friday to secure their place in the final, but they couldn't replicate those heroics.
Instead, Italy pressed on and Riccardo Fantinelli won the top match 2&1. Two more points followed from Ferrero and Ponzano and Italy were crowned champions of Europe.
Elsewhere in Flight A, Sweden beat Finland 3-2 and France got the better of Germany 4.5 to 0.5. Switzerland won Flight B, while there were also wins for Poland, Iceland and Czech Republic.
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