History of Argideen Vale Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club

The club originally began as a hockey & cycling club around the middle of the nineteenth century, then lawn tennis,croquet & badminton were added at a later date.

Badminton was played in Timoleague Castle and tennis & croquet were played on a single court and croquet lawn at various houses within a short distance from Timoleague village, each family taking it in turn to host the club meeting for that day. However, it soon became apparent that one tennis court & croquet lawn was not enough to accommodate the growing membership of the club.

The Travers family of Timoleague were the only ones at the time that had sufficient level ground to provide more tennis courts. In approximately1875, they agreed to lay out four tennis courts between the old Timoleague House and the castle.

The earliest authentic Open Tennis Tournament took place in the summer of 1892. The first known President of the club was Robert Augustus Travers. After his death , he was succeeded by his son Robert.

The hockey club continued to function on land owned by The Donovan family of Ummera,Timoleague. There was also a racetrack around the grounds on which running, cycling and pony races were held.

In approximately 1904, due to increasing membership, the tennis and croquet section moved from Timoleage House to its present site at Ummera, where the courts were laid out adjacent to the hockey pitch. The interest in hockey gradually diminished and then more tennis courts and croquet lawns were added. The racetrack remained in existence for several years until the tennis section required more space, and courts were laid over it on the north side of the site.

The Club now has six tennis courts and two croquet lawns and is the only remaining all Lawn Tennis Club in Ireland.

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