It will be remembered as one of the highlights of the year. A fantastic warm sunny day ensured that there was a great turnout to participate in the final day and BBQ of the closed tournament. The perpetual trophies were all returned and stood gleaming on the prize table. Great credit is due to our captains, Mick Scully and Noreen Collins worked very hard to include as many players as possible.  Adding so many B tournaments encouraged novice players out on court. For some of them it was the first competitive tournament they had played. There were three new cups this year sponsored by Rose and Mick Scully, Rita Buckley, & Joanne and Bernard O’Donovan. These were for the new competitions: Men’s B Doubles, Ladies B Doubles and Mixed B Doubles. The club and winners, both present and future thank the sponsors for their generosity.

While the tennis was being played on court Michael Buckley manned the BBQ (of course that was after playing his own match). He, again, treated us to a fabulous feast. Thanks to all those who brought up bowls of salads and delicious deserts. It was a great spread, enjoyed by all.

The children were not forgotten and the return of the bouncy Castle kept them very happy for the day, stopping only to have some ice cream and drinks.

There are a lot of people to thank for making this tournament a success, mainly the competitors themselves for entering and enjoying the games. Thanks to all those who came up to lend support during the 10 days of the tournament and especially to be the gallery on the day of the finals. To those who came up to watch tennis and ended up in the kitchen for longer than they had intended – you know who you all are – a sincere thank you.

A huge thanks to all the sponsors of the trophies and the food. Three cheers for Michael Buckley!

Congrats to the committee for getting the whole tournament together. To our President, who was in the winners photo last year for the Mixed Doubles, Nora May, who we miss desperately but her vision and spirit will guarantee that we will have many more memorable days like this in Kinsale Tennis Club.

Congratulation to all the finalists, the standard of tennis played was very high, with most finals going the distance. Finalists are as follows:

Men’s B Singles: Mike Denny beat Brian Hosford

Ladies B singles:  Anne Marie Collins beat Áine Farley

Ladies B Singles Plate: Ronnie McCarthy beat Joanne O’ Donovan

Men’s B Doubles:  Gerry Buckley & Donal Hayes beat John Collins & Brian Hosford

Ladies B Doubles: Emma Donovan & Áine Farley beat Val Harte & Louise Murphy

Mixed B Doubles: Brian Hosford & Catherine Dilloughery beat Louise Murphy & Bernard O’ Donovan 

Men’s A Singles: Rodney O’Donovan beat Jim Good

Ladies A Singles: Mairead Gimblett beat Catherine Norman

Men’s A Doubles: Jim Good & Neil Hogan beat Paul Galvin & Giles Norman

Ladies A Doubles: Sabine Graef & Catherine Norman beat Noreen Collins & Rose Scully

Mixed A Doubles: Mairead Gimblett & Mossie O’Leary beat Miriam McCan & Michael Buckley

The Inaugural Kinsale Open Doubles Tennis Tournament has concluded, with great style and great competition. The weather was suberb all week and contributed to the great atmosphere. See the Open page for full results, and photos to follow.

Recent Newsletter are archived and available for download here