Anyone For A Little Greystones Tennis Club History?

Greystones Tennis Club 1989

t was on the night of the Greystones Tennis Club’s big 130th birthday hooley that we realised, eh, we haven’t the foggiest notion about the history of the town’s racket club.

Other than it used to be on Trafalgar Road, opposite The La Touche Hotel, and now it’s sitting pretty down on Mill Road.

Luckily, there are a few hardy souls in the club itself who do know the history, and one of them has kindly put together its rise and rise for us.

Coldly informing us that love means nothing, Susan Hayes weaves the tale…

The origin of Greystones Lawn Tennis Club is believed to date from the end of the 19th  century.

For reasons unknown, the club ceased to exist for a number of years – although there’s every chance the War Of Independence or the 2nd World War may have had something do with it.

In 1955, the tennis club as we know it was founded by a Garda Sargeant Michael Spelman. There were four lovely grass courts beside the Rugby Club, and a pavilion that was rented from May to September for changing facilities and discos.

That fine Mrs Keefe field…

The club grew during the fifties and sixties, and in the summer of ’63, a Mrs Keeffe donated a field on Trafalgar Road  to the parish – “for the good of the community” – to Fr Fennelly  PP,  and so, in 1965, with the help of the La Touche Hotel, Bord Failte and Wicklow County Council, the tennis club opened with a pavilion, two grass courts and three hard courts.

The club grew and developed over the next number of years.

However with both a growth in the club and the town’s population, the Trafalgar Road HQ soon proved too small. It was landlocked too, with no room for expansion, and so the development committee began exploring various options to move sites and expand the club.

Eventually club members agreed to the sale of a portion of the Trafalgar Road premises and a mutual exchange of land with Wicklow County Council for a 4-acre site on Mill Road.

So, with 9 floodlit courts and a beautiful large pavilion, Greystones Lawn Tennis Club arrived once again,  and on April 3rd 1993, this wonderful club was officially opened by our then President, Mr. Declan Power.

Now in 2026, the club is thriving with over 1,600 members and 800 junior members. Many of whom represent Greystones LTC in leagues and tournaments up and down the country.

The club has plans to extend the offering within the club with the inclusion of indoor tennis courts and the increasingly popular Padel tennis.

Bajada! You can find out more about the Greystones Lawn Tennis Club here, follow on Instagram here or Facebook here, and get in touch directly by email here.