Portumna

<h2>In the Beginning</h2>
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Salle de Jeu du Paume Versailles
Most historians believe that tennis originated in the monastic cloisters in northern France in the 12th century, the ball was then struck with the palm of the hand; a ball with a bare hand and later a glove, hence, the name jeu de paume "game of the palm".
It was not until the 16th century that rackets came into use, and the game began to be called "Real Tennis”. By the 16th century, the glove had become a racket, the game had moved to an enclosed playing area, and the rules had stabilised.&nbsp;
<h2>Real Tennis</h2>
"Real tennis" spread in popularity throughout royalty in Europe, reaching its peak in the 16th century.
Real tennis is mentioned in literature by William Shakespeare who mentions "tennis balles" in Henry V when a basket of them is given to King Henry as a mockery of his youth and playfulness.  
One of the most striking early references appears in a painting by *Giambattista Tiepolo* entitled The Death of Hyacinth (1752–1753) in which a strung racket and three tennis balls are depicted.&nbsp;

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The Death of Hyacinth
The game thrived among the 17th-century nobility in France, Spain, Italy, and in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. 
"Real tennis" played a minor role in the history of the French Revolution, through the Tennis Court Oath, a pledge signed by French deputies on a real tennis court, which formed a decisive early step in starting the French Revolution.
In England, during the 18th and early 19th centuries as real tennis declined, three other racket sports emerged: racquets, squash and lawn tennis - which was to evolve into the modern game we all know today.
<h2>Birth of lawn tennis in Ireland</h2>
The summer of 1890 saw the beginnings of a great era in Irish tennis. The world of tennis was ruled by some of Ireland’s greatest, yet often forgotten, sportspeople.&nbsp;
At that time the Irish Championships were considered to be more difficult to win than Wimbledon, such was the standard of the game on this island.
Lena Rice from Tipperary won the ladies’ championship and Willoughby Hamilton, the men’s championship.&nbsp;

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Lena Rice
To top this, the men’s doubles title was won by Joshua Pim and Frank Stoker from Dublin.&nbsp;
Stoker also played international rugby for Ireland and was a cousin of Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula. Wimbledon had no ladies’ doubles or mixed championships until 1913.&nbsp;
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Frank Stoker
Both Pim and Harold Mahony also won the Wimbledon singles, the latter in a record of 57 games for a Wimbledon final.

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Harold Mahony
The summer of 1890 saw Kilkenny’s Mabel Cahill reach the US championship All-Comer’s final.&nbsp;
In addition to winning this title in both 1891 and 1892, Mabel won both doubles titles in these years.&nbsp;
She is the only Irish player to have been elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

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In the years that followed there have been many successes of note. John Pius Boland won Ireland’s first gold medals at the first modern Olympics in Athens in 1896.&nbsp;

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John Pius Boland
John Mary Pius Boland was an Irish Nationalist politician, and Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party for South Kerry 1900–1918.&nbsp;
In 1900, Mahony won all three gold medals for tennis at the Paris Olympics. Jim Parke of Clones became Australasian Champion in 1912 and European singles champion in 1914.
There was virtually no women's professional tennis until 1967, when promoter George McCall signed Billie Jean King, Ann Jones, Françoise Dürr, and Rosie Casals to join his tour of eight men for two years.&nbsp;&nbsp;
The professional women then played as independents as the Open Era of tennis began.
Today, there are over <a href="https://www.tennisireland.ie/clubs/club-locator/" target="_blank">180 tennis clubs</a> affiliated with Tennis Ireland on the island in all four Provinces.&nbsp;
The clubs range from small local clubs in villages and towns throughout Ireland, to the larger city clubs up to the major commercial clubs dotted around Dublin and Belfast.
Tennis Ireland stages Pro Tour events such as The AIG Irish Open Championships, and selects teams to participate in The Fed Cup, The Davis Cup and other international events at Junior, Senior and Veteran’s level.&nbsp;
Tennis Ireland also supports the delivery of a wide range of competitive, educational and development programmes at local, provincial and national levels.

Trailblazers in Irish Lawn Tennis

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