Yardage books and school books for Olivia Costello's teenage Dromoland Castle dreams

Olivia Costello will be packing a lot more than her golf clubs when she sets off on the winding road from Roscommon to Dromoland Castle to play in the upcoming KPMG Women's Irish Open.

The prestigious Ladies European Tour returns to these shores after a 10-year absence and while Costello’s father, Michael, will be charged with prepping her golf bag, the 14-year-old second year student is intent on bringing her school books for the duration.

Roscommon native Costello is one of Ireland’s brightest prospects in what appears to be a golden age for female golf in the country, and while Leona Maguire will be the main attraction at the County Clare-hosted event, there is already a connection between Ireland’s present best and future hopeful.

Costello was over at the recent Women’s Open in Scotland, following Maguire around the iconic Muirfield links when she got word of her invitation to the Dromoland event; the two golfers also share the same coach, Shane O’Grady.

"My dad bought tickets for me and a few of my friends and we went down (to the Women’s Open), and just when we were heading over to Carnoustie to play the British Under-18 Amateur, my dad got a call about the invite," said Costello, speaking to RTÉ Sport.

"Leona was the one person that we were going down to follow around, and after we watched a few holes, we also got introduced to some of the really big names, but Leona was the main player I wanted to see.

"I also met her over at the British Amateurs and we had a bit of a chat about the home internationals and she was asking how I got on."

O’Grady is one of Ireland’s leading golf coaches, based out of Black Bush Golf Club in County Meath, and helped Maguire become the best in the world at amateur level, while also coaching