Killaloe Ballina Tennis Club has served up a major volley after completing a state-of-the-art €1 million development with two permanently covered tennis courts, which are the first of its kind outside Dublin. More than a decade of countless hours planning and sourcing the best materials and facilities for a huge steel frame dome means that 700 members can book a slot to play tennis all year round regardless of weather conditions. Club chairman, Patrick Seymour pointed out the committee didn’t employ any overall contractor or site manager as various elements were broken down and managed using the expertise of committee and club members, which saved a lot of money. “Building on the project started in August 2021. It was a long construction project. During the project work had to be parked to allow us to plan for the next phase. “Construction of the dome started last October, which has just been completed. There were times during the project when we …
Read More »Killaloe club going under cover
A LOCAL tennis club look well set to make their own piece of history by becoming the first committee outside of Dublin to provide a permanent covered indoor tennis facilities as part of a major development estimated to cost in excess of €950,000. Killaloe Ballina Tennis Club has served up an impressive volley in terms of new facilities with a plan that will make them the envy of clubs throughout Munster once they come to fruition. Officers have already won a number of key matches, having secured planning permission as well as raising a massive €700,00 through fundraising, grants, club funds and donations. The club currently has four tennis courts and this will be increased by another two courts. It currently has about 250 memberships, which includes a lot of family memberships that allows two adults and two children to use facilities. As part of its latest fundraising drive, the club hopes to raise €37,000 this year to reduce the …
Read More »World tennis ace backs Killaloe man’s fund-raising campaign
RAFAEL Nadal is among the international sports stars supporting a Killaloe man to raise funds for a refugee camp in Greece. Tennis coach Wesley O’Brien is a regular volunteer at the Ritsona Refugee Camp, north of Athens. Two years ago, he started up a programme for residents, thanks to donations of rackets, balls and nets from clubs around the region, including his own in Killaloe-Ballina. As part of a bid to raise funds for a defibrillator for the camp, which is now home to 4000 people, Wesley has secured jerseys signed by some high profile individuals and teams. To-date, these include Nadal, the Munster Rugby Team, Usain Bolt, Rory McIlroy and Franz Beckenbaur. Wesley, who volunteers with Lighthouse Relief, now hopes to be able to sell these rare items in order to generate vital funding support for refugees. “I had raised funds for a defibrillator for the Killaloe-Ballina Tennis Club, so I decided to do the same again for Ritsona …
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