Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club

53°19′40″N 06°14′56″W / 53.32778°N 6.24889°W / 53.32778; -6.24889DublinEnglishWebsiteOfficial website

Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club is a tennis, squash and padel club in central Dublin, Ireland's capital city. Established in 1877, Fitzwilliam is one of the oldest tennis clubs in the world.^[1] It has held the Irish Open Tennis and Open Squash Championships in most years since the late 19th century.

History

Club Facilities 1877-1972

In November 1877 ten men met to found the Dublin Lawn Tennis Club.^[2] This club was to initially consist of 30 members each paying an annual subscription of three pounds.^[3] They next met on 23 November 1877 and discussed leasing grounds at 24-25 Upper Pembroke Street, near to Fitzwilliam Square, owned by Sir Francis Brady, a judge, on a lease of ten years for a rent of twenty five pounds per year.^[4] On 6 December 1877 another meeting was convened when the committee assembled and agreed to adopt the name Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club.^[5]

In 1879 the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club staged its first Irish Lawn Tennis Championships at Fitzwilliam Square which remained the venue for that event until 1903.^[6] Significantly, the year 1879 also saw the hosting by Fitzwilliam of the world's first National Ladies' Tennis Championship, an event which was marked in 2023 by the installation at 24/25 Upper Pembroke Street of a Dublin City Council commemorative plaque. The ladies' event was held there rather than at Fitzwilliam Square in order, it was reported in The Field magazine, "to keep the matches as private as possible".

In 1880 the club had reached the point where there was not enough room for expansion at its current location.^[7] The club therefore acquired land at Wilton Place/Lad Lane, on a leasehold basis, on which tennis courts were constructed, together with an adjoining building which was converted to serve as the clubhouse.^[8]

By 1885, the success of the club led to the Committee’s wanting to expand further and, in due course, two acres next to the pavilion were acquired and additional tennis courts (with a grass surface) were laid down. In 1902 the club decided to build a pavilion directly on the club grounds, allowing the lease on the adjoining building to be surrendered.^[9]

In 1912, a decision was made to construct a squash court on the club grounds at Wilton Place. This was, at the time, one of very few squash courts in the country, albeit one that was slightly below regulation size. This was replaced in the late 1930s by a regulation size court on the opposite side of the pavilion. In the 1960s, two squash courts and a small gallery were built on the site of the original court.

In 1903 the Irish Tennis Championships venue was moved from Fitzwilliam Square to Wilton Place.^[10]

Move to Appian Way

In 1969 the members of Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club approved an offer to surrender its Wilton Place premises and move to a purpose-built complex on a much larger site at Appian Way, Dublin 6.^[11] The move involved replacing a Victorian building named Epworth Hall (previously Winton House), which was sold by Wesley College Dublin.^{[12][13][14][15]}

The squash facilities constructed in 1972 as part of the new Appian Way complex include six courts, one of which is an exhibition court, with seating for a large number of spectators.

The Irish Open Tennis Championships continued to be played at Wilton Place until 1972,^[16] when they moved to the new venue at Appian Way.

Women As Members Of Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club

From its foundation in 1877, membership of Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club was restricted to men. This changed in 1996 when members voted by a large majority to rescind the rule excluding women as members. The first women to become members were former top-ranked Irish tennis/squash players Geraldine Barniville, Heather Flinn and Mary Fitzgibbon who were elected as Honorary Life members. In 2016, Helen Shields was the first woman to be elected President of the club. By 2023, women comprised a significant proportion of the club’s more than 2,000 members.

Junior Lawn Tennis Championships Of Ireland

The promotion of Junior tennis has always been important for Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club. The club promoted the first Junior Championships of Ireland for boys in 1912 and for girls in 1923. A Centenary celebration took place in 2014 when a very large attendance, including former competitors from around the world, returned to celebrate what has become known as ‘Junior Fitz’. These Championships are the most significant event on the Irish Junior circuit and, probably uniquely in world tennis, Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club has hosted this prestigious event continuously since its inception.

Interclub Fixtures

Fitzwilliam participates in the Dublin Lawn Tennis Council and Leinster Squash Leagues and has several longstanding annual fixtures with other leading clubs, including the All England Lawn Tennis Club (Wimbledon), the Queen’s Club, Public Schools Old Boys LTA, the Jesters, UK Veterans, Belfast Boat Club, Carrickmines and Lansdowne LTC. In 2005, Fitzwilliam joined The Association of Centenary Tennis Clubs (CTC), an umbrella group of tennis clubs more than 100 years old. The association has a worldwide membership and is recognised by The International Tennis Federation (ITF). Fitzwilliam also has reciprocal membership agreements with many leading overseas tennis/squash clubs.

Famous visitors to the club have included many of the world’s best tennis and squash players as well as celebrities such as Princess Grace of Monaco in 1965 ^[17] and her son Prince Albert in 2021.

Current tournaments

• AIG Irish Open Championships (2017–present).^[18][19]

Former tournaments

The Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club has organised many notable tournaments throughout the years.

• Fitzwilliam Club Championships
• Fitzwilliam Plate^[20]
• Fitzwilliam Purse^[21]
• Irish Hard Court Championships
• Irish Lawn Tennis Championships
• Irish Open
• Shelbourne Irish Open

External links

• Photo of the tennis courts at Wilton Place in 1952
• Photo of the tennis courts at the Mespil Estate in 1952

References