President’s Welcome

GLTC was founded on Saturday May 22nd 1909. The original ground was just south of the present club. Colonel Lindsay, the first President, leased the land at a nominal fee of one shilling per year. Most of the members belonged to about 12 local families and The Irish Times recorded the opening of the club’s 2 courts in “beautiful weather”. There was a small pavilion and when the ladies took over the pavilion to change, the men often used the hen house of one of the two nearly houses as a changing room. There was no electricity or water available until the early 1930’s. The summer of 1911 brought a prolonged drought and club members ferried barrels of water by horse and cart from the Tolka, in an effort to prevent the courts turning into dust.

Since those early days, the standard of tennis continued to improve and for many decades now, GLTC teams have been successful in inter-club competitions and the Dublin Lawn Tennis leagues, while many individuals have represented Leinster and Ireland at Junior, Senior and Veteran levels. The Committee continues to develop plans to meet its objective of helping improve the standard of play and competitiveness.

We have 8 all-weather, floodlit, savannah courts that are available all year round. The Club Coach (Gary Bolger) is Level 2 qualified with Tennis Ireland and together with the club, offer incentives for new member lessons. We have found that group coaching lessons, social tennis nights and several ‘turkey’ competitions also provide easy opportunities for new members to get to know other members. Gary is also heavily involved with the development of our significant junior membership and organises a wonderful, affordable camp for the juniors, mainly during the summer months, but also during other school holidays.

GLTC is not just known for its tennis. For decades, “the ‘Nevin” provided a hotspot of the social fabric for entertainment and social life of Dublin’s northside. Annual events such as the Old Folks Christmas party and the Children’s Christmas party provide a great opportunity for us to ensure the club remains a vibrant part of the social community, while ongoing events such as the Bridge Club, pilates/dance classes and the weekly lotto further assist new members in easily integrating.

The club continues to develop its facilities – next on the list is the refurbishment of our lounge bar, available at a discounted rate for members to hire out for functions and which we hope will further enhance the friendly name of GLTC.

I joined the club in the 1970’s, my parents met in the club, I met my wife through the club and my son continues to play to a high level in the club. It is with great pride that I have the privilege of serving as President and I welcome you to Glasnevin Lawn Tennis Club as we celebrate out 110th anniversary. Like me, I hope you will enjoy the tennis, facilities and people in this family-friendly environment for many decades to come.

Yours in tennis,

Paul Barry