1908

What follows in this display of ten decades in the development of our sport is no more than a flavour of the events and the personalities which combined to define the sport of Tennis in Ireland over the past 100 years. This story begins in 1908, at a point when there were up to 50 functioning clubs in Ireland. There is evidence of support for the idea of a National Association over the previous fifteen years but not all of the major clubs were in favour – whatever the arguments for and against, the representatives of fourteen clubs assembled at 8pm on Monday 25th April at the XL Café on Grafton Street and decided “that an Irish Lawn Tennis Association be formed”.

Following the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922, the Governing Body resolved “That the ILTA be established on independent lines similar to the Governing Associations in the Dominions” and Ireland competed in Davis Cup for the first time in 1923.

Article IV of the early rules of the Association stated as follows “The Association shall be managed by a Committee of eighteen Members, four from each Province, to be elected at the Annual General Meeting, and an Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer. No club shall have more than one representative on the Committee at one time, unless it be either the Honorary Secretary or Honorary Treasurer. Five shall form a quorum. The Honorary Secretary shall have power to call a Committee Meeting whenever it is considered necessary, and shall give at least seven days written notice of such meeting to each Member of the Committee. The Committee Meetings shall be held in Dublin.”

Remarkably, this element of the governing structure stayed in place for almost 100 years - the 18 strong General Council of Tennis Ireland was finally abolished in August 2007.