Tennis Club reopens this weekend
After a €116,000 investment, Kilcullen Tennis Club will reopen at the end of this week for the summer season, on 1 May with three state of the art all-weather courts, writes Brian Byrne.
The investment came with support from the Government's Sports Capital Programme, Kildare Credit Union, sponsorship, and fundraising efforts by members. A 'soft' reopening of the club will be in line with Covid restrictions — open only to members, and then as singles matches, or in doubles the pairs on either side must be from the same household.
Having three top-class courts will allow the club to host inter-club competitions, which will bring a good buzz to the Kilcullen premises, according to the organisation's Development Officer, Gerard Miller. "To move from two old tarmac courts which you could only effectively play on for a few months of the year is remarkable in such a short space of time," he says. "There's been a lot of hard work behind the scenes by members, and a lot of great local support and goodwill. We have also got a lot of encouragement from other bigger clubs in the county and we're looking forward to playing matches with them."
A key part of the future plans for the club is to bring forward a new generation of tennis players, and the club has retained coach Cormac Doherty to run group coaching for all levels and to train those who wish to compete.
Nearly half of the current membership are young people and children, and Gerard Miller emphasises that the club is not just for competition, but enjoyment of the sport. "They have a fabulous time, the serious kids and the not-so serious kids, but the emphasis is on fun and enjoying themselves."
The new surface is designed for use all year round, even in wet weather and in due course there will be other facilities including a bicycle park. "We have a lot of ideas for the future, but where we have reached now is a huge milestone for the club." The next stage of development will include a refurbishment of the clubhouse.
The club acknowledges the help of Kilcullen Development Association, Martin Heydon TD, Cllr Tracey O’Dwyer, Greg Norris and Tennis Ireland’s CEO Richard Fahey in getting support for the story so far. There has been a tennis club in Kilcullen since at least the 1920s, with various reincarnations in the 1950s, 1970s, and most recently in 2017.
A full interview with Gerard Miller can be heard on last Friday's Daily Cast.
