Carrick-on-Shannon Lawn Tennis Club
History of the club
Carrick-on-Shannon Tennis Club 1932
Carrick-on-Shannon Tennis Club 1966
Carrick-on-Shannon Tennis Club 1966
The Beginning
Carrick-on-Shannon Lawn Tennis Club was established in 1887. It was originally as the name suggested, consisting of two lawn courts. In the late 1950’s, the club was flourishing and it was decided to replace the lawn courts with tarmacadam. At that time, the club had a relatively high membership and played in tournaments with other local clubs and was also represented in officially recognised Connacht Branch Fixtures.
The club remained active and very much part of the local community right up to the late 1980’s. This was followed by a period of relative inactivity with very few playing tennis and unfortunately the club nearly dwindled to a point of near extinction. However in the late 1990’s a group of people got together with a view to reviving the club. A public meeting was called, which was very well attended and a committee was set up which resulted in the formation of Carrick-on-Shannon Lawn Tennis Club Ltd to ensure the continuity of the club in the community. This was incorporated in March 1998 with a board of 10 directors
Recent improvements
After a few years of increased interest, it was decided to seek financial help with a view to upgrading the courts to modern day standards. The application was well received by the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism and a grant was obtained. Together with a very important input of Leitrim Country Council, coupled with our own fund raising activities, sufficient funds were raised to proceed with the laying of the two new polymeric courts. The work was completed in June of 2010.
Club activity and accessibility since 2010
The increase in the playing members of the club following this development was phenomenal, bringing players from a wide area to join the club including neighbouring towns such as Ballinamore and Castlerea. The court setting and location make Carrick-on-Shannon Lawn Tennis club one of the most picturesque tennis clubs in Ireland.