Celebrating 150 years at Rushbrooke Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club

One of Ireland’s most prestigious and favourite tennis clubs is gearing up for a year of celebration in 2020.  This hospitable club is leaving no stone unturned to ensure this proud moment of being Ireland’s oldest Tennis & Croquet Club is marked with distinction & enjoyed by its 500 members, the local community & the combined national tennis & croquet fraternities.

Situated in the beautiful sylvan setting overlooking Cork Harbour, Rushbrooke started life as a croquet club with two lawns until it expanded its activities to include lawn tennis in 1874. Its facilities have been on a programme of expansion ever since and the club now boosts 9 floodlight synthetic grass courts, 2 lawn tennis courts, 2 croquet lawns ,a  bowling green & a state of the art Pavilion.

Rushbrooke’s contribution to Munster & Irish tennis makes for impressive reading with the club contributing seventy-five players to Munster teams and twenty-three to National teams since the early 1900’s. Eight of its members have competed at the Wimbledon Championships, a record for any Irish club. The club also holds the record for Munster Cup wins (Senior Grade 1) with a total of twenty-four titles to its name, the last achieved in 2019.

Perhaps the club’s finest hours came when it was chosen to host a Davis Cup tie against Turkey in 1972 and a Federation Cup encounter against Mexico in 1976.

The club is on a crest of a wave with Senior & Junior tennis members competing at the highest national levels. All levels of player are catered for with in house coaching and competitive tennis arranged weekly for those who want to improve their game or simply enjoy the social aspects of the club.  Croquet membership is also booming with increased membership coming from the wider East Cork area.

A packed calendar of events is planned throughout the year with the highlights being the anniversary launch night on January 18^th which coincides with the club awards night and the Gala dinner scheduled for April 4^th when Conor Niland, current Irish Davis Cup captain will be the guest speaker.

Other notable events throughout the year include hosting the Munster Winter League finals on March 22^nd, the Senior Inter Provincials 7^th & 8^th August & the Irish Close Veterans 28^th -30^th August,  the club’s flag ship Senior Open, the Championships of Co. Cork which runs from July 4^th – 11^th, the Irish Close Junior Championships & National croquet event in August.

The Championships of Co. Cork was first held in 1880 while the Irish Junior Close Championships started in 1932.  A lawn tennis exhibition match is also planned for July.

Rushbrooke is proud of its past and optimistic for the future as the club continues to encourage new members to enjoy the club’s fantastic facilities, its warm welcome and great traditions.

Quote from Club President, Mrs Mercy Murphy “Rushbrooke has a proud tradition, excellent facilities & an atmosphere that is second to none. You can feel the vibrancy when you enter the grounds. It’s a pleasure to see the courts and the croquet lawns in full use.  We acknowledge past members & committees who have built & developed our club & we remain thankful to all club volunteers who willingly give of their time to ensure our club remains at the forefront of Irish tennis & croquet for another 150 years”