County Wicklow Lawn Tennis Club
In 1894 County Wicklow Lawn Tennis Club was founded. Its
patron was Lord Meath, head of the Brabazon family.
It was a most exclusive club and compared favourably with the largest tennis
clubs in the Dublin area at the time. It had ten grass courts and a wooden
pavilion, (as can be seen in the accompanying photograph)
The Club hosted one of Ireland's most prestigious tournaments and attracted top
National and International players including Joe Hackett, Harry Barnville, Betty
Lombard, Cyril Kemp, Jim Fitzgerald, Geraldine Houlihan, Eleanor O'Neill,
Stanley Matthews, Mark Cox and Wimbledon referee Alan Mills, an event winner.
The transition in the early 70's from the grass surface to hard courts heralded
in a new era in the Club's history. All year round playing facilities led to a
steady increase in the membership and has seen CWLTC take its place once again
as one of the top clubs on the East Coast.
The Club Centenary was celebrated in 1994 and six new Omni-Pro courts were
installed together with improved floodlighting as phase one of a restructure
plan, which culminated with the opening of a new clubhouse in 1999. *This is
illustrated in the accompanying photograph, which also shows the old clubhouse.
This was built after the original was destroyed by fire in the early seventies.
So for the new millennium members have a club they can be proud of, that boasts
the best of facilities both on and off court.
