From the archives: Work on Mayo tennis club started in October 1936

By Tom Gillespie

IN mid-October 1936 - ninety years ago - The Connaught Telegraph announced how work had commenced on the construction of the new tennis courts in Castlebar.

The newspaper reported: The club’s new grounds, recently acquired from Mrs. Pelly, are situated immediately at the rear of the Protestant School, on the Mall, a site that will appeal to everyone as being most central and easily accessible to all our townsfolk.

The contract for the laying down of the courts has been placed with the Irish Roads Improvement Co. Ltd., Dame Street, Dublin, whose achievement in this intricate and special work compares favourably with that of the leading English firms who are responsible for the construction of Wimbledon and other championship courts in Britain and the Continent.

Their patent ‘Dricour’ porous court marks a big advance in the construction of hand tennis courts, and amongst its many advantages are a firm resilient surface which cannot become loose or kick out and which gives a true bounce to the ball.

There will be no upkeep expense in the way of watering, raking or rolling. The surface, which will be perfectly porous, dries immediately after rain.

A foundation of clinker ash gives a resilience to the patent surface which eliminates the tiring effect of the average hard court, and the surface is finished as to render it non-slippery. The surface is a coloured bright grass green with lines inlaid in best stainless enamel. It is very strong and durable and not affected by heat or frost. The wisdom and enterprise of our local committee in selecting this type of court is manifest.

Situated as we are, boasting the heaviest rainfall in Ireland, it would be a waste of time and money to attempt to construct grass tennis courts, while hard courts of anything but the best porous type would also entail considerable upkeep expense and would still be unsatisfactory in so far as considerable time would be wasted in wet or broken weather waiting for them to dry out. On the courts now being laid down, play will be possible at all times except while rain is falling or when covered with snow.

We take justifiable pride in the fact that Castlebar is the first public tennis club in Ireland to adopt this type of court, although they are being put to use by our schools and universities, and when the courts are opened for use - which it is hoped will be early in the new year (1937) - our club must become the Mecca of all tennis fans in the province.

We understand that the formation of the new club will be proceeded with shortly. It is conceivable that even with the two courts available, membership will have to be restricted. It is also inevitable that an appeal will be made for funds and that the committee will sponsor various entertainments for the purpose of supplementing their income.

We commend them to the public and hope that the full measure of support which their energy and enterprise entitles them will be forthcoming.

OFFICIAL OPENING

The following summer The Connaught Telegraph reported on the official opening of the courts on July 11, 1937: Before a large crowd of spectators, the splendid new tennis courts which had been laid at the rear of the Protestant school-house in the Mall, Castlebar, were formally opened by Venerable Archdeacon John Fallon , P.P. V.F., Castlebar.

The weather for the occasion was ideal and after the opening ceremony had concluded a successful tournament, in which many of the clubs of the county took part, was held.

The organisers of the club deserve the greatest thanks for having launched on such an ambitious scheme, and the result is certainly tribute to their energy and sporting spirit. Alongside the two fine courts there is a clubhouse, which is a necessary addition.

When the Venerable Archdeacon arrived at the clubhouse he was met by the secretary, Captain T.J. Kelly, and shown over the courts. Subsequently the Archdeacon released the tape from one of the gates leading to the courts and declared the courts open for play.

The Archdeacon then said he wished to thank the members of the club most sincerely for the honour they had conferred on him by asking him to become patron of the club.

He also very much appreciated the fact that he had been invited to perform the opening ceremony. The courts, he said, would provide recreation and a new pastime for the people of the town. They were splendidly situated, just in the town and yet away from it.

He thought the thanks of the people were due to those people who had organised the club and thus provided the young people of the town with a great source of amusement, and he was sure that the young people in their turn would appreciate what had been done for them and that later they would be very proud of what had been done in their interest.

“I am a little bit interested in the matter myself, too,” concluded the Archdeacon, “and I hope a luxuriant crop of marriages will follow the organisation of such a fine club.” (Applause).

Rev. J. Gibbons, C.C., Castlebar, said he wished to thank the Ven. Archdeacon for coming to perform the opening ceremony at great inconvenience to himself, but no local ceremony would be complete without his presence, and everyone appreciated the kindness of the Archdeacon in consenting to open the new courts. A number of people deserved the best thanks of the people for the fact that the town had a new club at all.

There would be no tennis club except for the people who put their hands to pens and signed large cheques. (Applause).

The best feature of all was that very few people knew who did really finance the venture. If he were to mention any of the names of the good people behind the scenes, some of them were so modest that they might blush. He would save the blushes, however, but on behalf of the committee he wished to thank the very quiet and generous givers.

The courts, he said, were really beautiful and a great acquisition to the town, and those who guaranteed the money had conferred a lasting and great benefit on the young people of the town, and he hoped the names of the guarantors would be remembered when the club became twice as large as at present.

Following the opening ceremony a tennis tournament at which teams representing Westport, Ballina, Ballymote, Ballaghaderreen, Swinford, Foxford, Kiltimagh and Ballinrobe took part was played on the courts, and the eventual winners were: Ladies’ doubles - Misses Murphy, Ballina; mixed doubles - Mr. Rogers and Miss O’Donnell, Ballymote; and men’s doubles Messrs. Collin and O’Dowd, Ballina.

The club held a dance in the Town Hall in the evening which was attended by about 150 couples. Mr. Stephen Garvey’s band supplied its usual excellent music.