Tennis club nets brand new centre

IT WAS game, set and match for Shankill Tennis Club as they celebrated the opening of a €1.5m three-court indoor tennis centre last week. 

The state-of-the-art facility has been built alongside the club’s existing seven outdoor courts and clubhouse at Quinn’s Road.

The new indoor centre will not only be enjoyed by the club’s 650 members, schools and the general public but also provides enhanced facilities for wheelchair tennis and blind/vision impaired players. 

Covering an area of 2,200sqm, the new indoor courts feature cushioned acrylic surfaces which provide international-standard playing standards such as those found at the Australian Open and the ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena in London. 

The project was financed by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council and Shankill Tennis Club with support from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport through the Sports Capital Grants Programme.

“We’ve always striven to create access to tennis through low membership fees and the pay-and-play system to players of all ages and all parts of our community,” said Cathy Grehan, Chairperson of Shankill Tennis Club.

“We can now create access to tennis in the best possible facility – a great environment for learning and playing tennis at all levels.”

While the club is membership based, it is a community club and courts are available for members of the public who wish to participate under the pay and play system. 

Some 40 per cent of court time is accessible to the general public including all the group coaching at the club (juniors and seniors).

The club also has strong links with local schools and offers opportunities for players with disabilities to learn and play the sport.

Currently, this includes 30 players with an intellectual disability while the new centre will also feature blind tennis and wheelchair tennis.

The official opening was also attended by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mary Mitchell O’Connor, Deputy Mary Bailey and the outgoing cathaoirleach of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, Cllr Barry Saul.

Tim Carey, Senior Parks Superintendent, Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, said the centre was a prime example of what can be achieved when the local authority and the community “share an ambition and combine their resources, and expertise, to realise it”.

Shankill Tennis Club celebrates its 30th birthday this year and has a reputation for being a community club creating access to tennis in Shankill and the wider community.