Tom Mannion

Tom Mannion was born in November 1928 in Birdhill Co. Tipperary. He was educated at St. Senan’s secondary School Killaloe. He finished there in June 1947 and in July commenced work as a bookeeper with Dr. Brendan O’Regan in Sales and Catering at Shannon. He worked there for 18 months during which time the world’s first Duty Free shop was opened, and Irish Coffee launched.

In January 1949 he started work as a house accountant in the Old Ground Ennis, which was owned during this time by the O’Regan family.
 In 1951 he commenced the first self-drive car business in Co.Clare, as there was no self drive at Shannon until 1953. He operated the Car Rental business on a sideline basis and developed it.

At the Club in 1952

In 1952 he joined the local conference of St. Vincent de Paul, where he devoted a lot of time in helping the less well off in the community.

In 1953 Tom married Breda Fahy from Bunratty. She also worked in the Old Ground. Also in 1953 he became a founder member of An Tostal, organizing events at local level to attract visitors, which was the forerunner of Bord Failte.

Tom recollects: “The early 50’s saw the development of the first hard court in Ennis which was planned and built by members voluntary labour. Those principally responsible were Bill Ryan, Dermot Geraghty, Mick O’Sullivan and a little help from yours truly. The work extended over an approx 12 month period and was acclaimed at the time as a great success giving us an option to grass-court play.”

Breda second row 2nd from left

Tom was elected Tennis Club Treasurer in 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960 and 1961.

Breda

Breda also played tennis and featured on many teams.

“Socials or Hops were held at the Clubhouse every Saturday night during the season with an entrance fee of one shilling and three pennies in the early days but later increased to 1/6.The increase gave rise to controversy from some of the members who objected to the “exorbitant” increase which resulted in some members intentionally arriving late and paying the original entrance fee, claiming as they that they had missed over an hour’s dancing. To ensure that the new charge was implemented in its entirety, yours truly, as Treasurer at the time, used to call to individuals after the weekend to collect the extra 3 pence. There was no such thing as an overdraft operated at the time, so the Club was never in debt. Music for the socials was provided by the McMahon Brothers and Michael Ball. Yours truly acted as M.C. for the Hops during which we used to have fun dance variations such as a “Statue Dance”, “Mistletoe Dance” and “Excuse Me” dance. Frank (Diver) McNamara was always in charge of the mineral bar which consisted of crates of minerals outside in the corner shed.”

“We formed our own theatre Guild in 1955/56 and did one play each winter for fundraising purposes, visiting centres such as Kilmihil, Doonbeg, Killaloe, Newport and Scariff. One of the leading lights behind this venture was Leslie McCrum and these were certainly fun days and nights. As introductions to our plays we always had a few comedy/skit acts, one such being Bing Crosby and the Andrew Sisters. Bill Ryan as Bing Crosby and Leslie McCrum and yours truly dressed up as the “beautiful” sisters…those were the days my friends, we thought they would never end….but they did…!!!”

Tom Mannion Treasurer

In 1956 he was on the committee which organized the famous All Ireland Fleadh Cheoil.

“From the mid 50’s to the early 70’s two fundraising dances were held each year, one in the Hydro Hotel Kilkee in July, with music provided by the resident band of Johnny McMahon or Bud Clancy. The second dance was in the Old Thomand Hotel Lisdoonvarna in September with entry prices of 3/6 to 5 shillings. We also had a Club annual Black Tie Dinner Dance at the Old Ground Hotel in November each year. Between the Hops in the Club, Kilkee, Lisdoonvarna, and the November Social, many love stories began, some ended quickly and others did come to fruition”

Tom wins the Mixed Doubles

In 1957 he won the Club Mixed Doubles with Miss Mary McMahon.

He also played badminton at the Catholic Social Club which was formed in 1958, across from the Old Ground in St Michaels Hall. He had a very respectable handicap of -1 for the club tournament and was especially helpful of the annual dinner dance held in the Old Ground.

In the 1960’s he became involved with the Ennis Tidy Towns group of which he became chairman.

“A prominent member of the Club at the time, and a great accordion player had his 21^st birthday party in his parents home in Co. Limerick. The Daffy Brothers, Andy and Allen, provided a Vauxhall car, which in some strange way was capable of carrying 11 passengers (yes 11), who duly made the trip. On the return at 6am we got a puncture at Ballycasey Cross but had no spare. The accordion was taken out and we danced a half-set on the Junction Road which was witnessed and photographed by American visitors, who probably thought we were all mad, but we weren’t really…just enjoying ourselves.”

1961 Sean Hurley marries Ann Brooks

In 1961 he became a founder member of the Clare Tourist Council and subsequently became chairman. He played his part in helping to promote tourism in the county and later at regional level when he joined the Shannonside Tourism Board.

“In 1961 the Committeee, headed up at the time by Finbar Dempsey, engaged the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem on their very first trip to Ireland for a concert in “Paddy Cons”. Their fee at the time was £300 which was enormous by our standards, but the support was also enormous. There were no licensing limit on numbers at the time and we rammed  2,340 patrons into the hall that night – all in by 9.15pm. Thank God there were no casualties, but the Gardai were very co-operative. The end result was sufficient funds to engage a contractor and build our second hard court”

Committee 1962



Tom was elected Tennis Club President in 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965 and 1966.

“ Having been Treasurer for a few years in the 50’s, I was later elected Chairman succeeding Gerry Ryan which at the time carried the lovely title of President. At that time the rule was very strict for juniors, all those under 12 years of age had to be out of the Club and gone home by 7pm, so it used to give me great pleasure to use my enormous “power” to send home those who were slow to move i.e. John Duggan, Michael Houlihan, Brian McMahon, Jimmy Monaghan, The Cahir Brothers and many others.”



New Court opens 1963

 

Tom leaves the Old Ground

In 1964 he left the the Old Ground after 15 years, to expand the car rental business and open a travel agency.



Tom opens his new business



Tom retired as President in 1966 and was sadly missed. He kept in close contact especially when the pitch and putt course was built, which cost £300. The Club changed its name from the Fergus LTC to the Ennis Tennis and Pitch and Putt Club.



Opening of pitch and putt course 1967


In 1969 he became President of the SKAI Club of Shannon, catering for those involved in travel and tourism. Also in 1969 Tom purchased 71 O’Connell Street converting the ground floor for the Travel and Car Rental business. 



He also spent many years with the Ennis Chamber of Commerce, promoting the commercial side of Ennis. In 1973 he was their President.

1981 Tom Lions President with Breda
President of the Soroptimists

In 1978 he was the founder member of the Lions Club in Ennis of which he became President in 1980. With these he spent years raising funds for many worthy causes (including the Tennis Club). In 1980 the Tennis Club Trustees bought the title for their site for £500. This was thanks to Tom Mannion and the Lions Club, and allowed the club make plans for a new clubhouse and an amalgamation with the Ennis Badminton Club. In recognition of his efforts he received the prestigious Lions International Melvin Jones Fellowship award.

He was also very committed to the Ennis-Phoenix Twinning since the 1980’s, and was its Chairman in 1998. In 2006 he received the Vodaphone Business Passion For The World Around Us Award.

He was passionate about golf and a very good golfer, winning many competitions. He played golf on all five continents. He was very involved with the Ennis Golf Club of which he was President in 1993 and 1994. I was fortunate to play in a tournament in Dublin with him. We represented Clare in the Irish Saab Tournament, after winning the qualifiers in Lahinch.

 He was a great GAA personality and attended no less then 119 All Ireland Finals in both football and hurling!

1984 and 1985 Club Championships

1983 Tom sponsors a draw

When the new Tennis and Badminton club was formed in 1982 Tom sponsored the first Club Championships, and continued to do so for many years after that. He also sponsored Club Draws to raise much needed funds.

In 1985 he became Trustee of the Ennis Lawn Tennis and Badminton Club, and also a Life Member.



1987 Tom presents a sponsorship cheque



1993 Club Championships

 

In 1995 he was a huge help in the construction of the two new artificial grass courts, and again in 1997 when three more courts were constructed.

  

New courts 1997



   

2000 Fergus LTC reunion. Tom in the centre.



At the Fergus Tennis Club reunion in 2000 Tom met again his friends from the 50’s and 60’s. Over 140 attended from all over the world to celebrate their years at the club, and held a dinner dance at the Old Ground, with a tennis tournament and BBQ the following day.



Reunion 2000



In 2009 I called to his house many times regarding the compilation of the club history. I was delighted to give him a tribute with numerous pages of photos and articles of his involvement with the Club over the decades.

In June 2010 he sent a card congratulating the Club on winning the Regional Club of the Year Award from Badminton Ireland.

He was an excellent Trustee who had a vision of where the club could go with a bit of hard work. He sponsored numerous Club Championships, Golf Classics, Race Nights, Lotto Draws, Cycles, Xmas Draws etc. He was an excellent Treasurer and President for 13 years.

He was remorseless in looking for continuous improvements whether at the club, in the town, in the County or in the Region. Where did he find all his energy?  I am proud to say he was a friend.

Tom died in July 2011, and was buried at Drumcliffe Cemetry.

At his funeral Canon O’Donoghue said of Tom “ He enriched the lives of all he touched, especially his loving family and the Ennis community in the town he loved so well.”

“ I have many happy and  numerous other memories of my days in the Tennis Club, but the above gives just an example of our simple and most enjoyable way of life at the time. I hope that the present members and the future members of the Tennis Club in Ennis will derive as much pleasure and enjoyment as we did 40-50 years ago.”

Tom Mannion. A gentleman.

Fr Sean Moriarty

Fr Sean Moriarty was one of the most important figures in the history of the Ennis lawn Tennis and Badminton Club. He was very involved with the Fergus LTC, which later became the Ennis Tennis and Pitch and Putt Club.

He drove the building of the pitch and putt course in the 60's, to increase membership of the club, as the tennis declined. Unfortunately the pitch and putt also declined, so that by the late 70's, after the pavilion was burnt down, the club had literally reached a low ebb. The site flooded regularly, and the tennis courts were in very poor condition. He declined offers to sell the site, but decided to amalgamate the tennis club with the very popular Ennis Badminton Club in 1982.

This is the story of Fr Sean Moriarty.  

Sean was a Kerry native, the son of Tomas and Kathleen. He came to Ennis in his early teens, following the appointment of his father, who was a primary school inspector to the Clare area. They lived on the Cusack Road. He received his secondary education at St.Flannan’s College. During and previous to his student days he spent his Summers playing tennis at the adjacent Fergus LTC.

In 1947 Sean Moriarty was defeated 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 by Noel Cassidy, the holder, in the Club Championship, which was the last final at the Cusack Road. His sister Moira was also defeated by Miss Eileen Casey in the Ladies final. .

All this was at a time when the Fergus LTC was thriving, under the stewardship of Jerry Ryan who had been President since 1933. There were five grass courts on the Cusack Road with a pavilion that could hold dances for over 100 people! Over 80 entries would be normal for the club championships, and there would always be large galleries on finals day. Umpires Bill Bluett and Dan O'Driscoll would record the scores diligently.

In 1948 Sean Moriarty defeated George Enright 5-7, 8-6, 4-6, 6-0, 6-4. A huge gallery was in attendance. It was his first time winning the Cahill Cup, which is still presented to the Mens Champion to this day. Photo shows G Enright, Bill Bluett and Sean Moriarty.

After his ordination in 1954 he served on the staff of Knockbeg College Carlow. He was defeated by Frank Cassidy in the Mens Club Championship final in that year.
In 1955 he again lost the final to Michael Conlan. Photo shows Sean Moriarty, John Breen, Liam Cahir and Michael Conlan.

In 1956  Rev Sean Moriarty (after his third final in a row) defeated Frank Cassidy. It was his finest hour. It cost 1/- to see the finals for adults and 6d for children.
The Presentation of the the Cup to Fr Sean Moriarty with Frankie Cassidy and Diver McNamara in 1956.

In 1958 he joined the staff in St. Flannan’s, and in August 1959 he was appointed chaplin at Sean Ross Abbey, Roscrea. In 1964 he was appointed as curate in Clarecastle.

Photo of Fr Sean on the right with Frank Cassidy, Brian Quinlivan and Noel Cassidy at the club in 1964. He became President of the club after having been Vice President for many years.

In 1965 the new 9 hole Pitch and Putt course is opened thanks to Sean Moriarty. It was the first P&P course in Clare. The course was open Thurs, Sat and Sunday at 2pm.Green Fees were 2/6.

In 1975 the One Mile  Inn opens an 18 hole Pitch and Putt course. Unlike at the tennis club it does not flood and it is open all year round. This is the beginning of the end for pitch and putt on the Mill Road.

In 1979 the old Pavilion (built in 1888) was burnt down, and the site flooded regularly. On 3rd Oct Fr Moriarty met Phil Molony and Gerry Bredin from the Ennis Badminton Club, regarding a possible amalgamation. The Badminton Club was based in Our Lady’s Hospital. It was very successful with over 150 active members, and substantial funds saved.

In 1980 the Club Trustees bought the title for the Club at a cost of £500, through the Lions Club and Tom Mannion. This allows the Club to make plans for a new clubhouse and consider the amalgamation with the Ennis Badminton Club 

In 1981 Oliver Moylan and the Chamber of Commerce raise approx £1,000 for the Club. This provided funds to repair the nets and fencing, cut the grass regularly on the P & P course, and provide a caravan to be used as a changing room. Subs were £6 Adult membership, £10 Family and £3 Junior.

Oliver Moylan hands over the keys of the caravan to the President Rev Sean Moriarty.

In October 1981 the Tennis Club asks the Badminton Club to join them on an equal basis. A joint committee was set up to organize an EGM  in April 1982, to seal the amalgamation and write a new Constitution. This was headed by Tom Eade and Gerry Bredin.

Also in 1982 Fr Sean Moriarty was transferred to Dunkerrin in Co. Offaly.

The new Club was opened in 1983 all year round, every day of the week, with flood lit tennis courts, dedicated badminton courts, proper dressing rooms, secure grounds, and a flood free car park. Tom Eade was Chairman.The 150 new members become keen tennis players.

Fr Sean  became the first Honorary Life member of the Club in 1983. In 1990 he was appointed to Kinnity. In 1995 he blessed the new artificial grass courts, without letting anyone know who he was. 

I met him briefly in 2000 at the Fergus LTC reunion. He wanted to acknowledge the improvements at the club by the members, and I am certain he was happy that the legacy he handed to us, was well cared for and cherished. 

Fr Sean Moriarty died in 2005.

His obituary read:

"Fr Sean Moriarty Assistant priest of Kinnity, Co. Offaly, died peacefully on Wednesday 16^th March 2005. He served as priest of the Killaloe Diocese for 50 years. As a priest he was totally committed to his ministry. He gave it his life. He was a most dedicated member of the Legion of Mary. He travelled frequently to Russia and Poland making many friends there including Pope John Paul 2.
He was a lover of classical music and played both the piano and organ. His interest in cinema was acknowledged to the extent that he was an adjudicator at the Cannes Film Festival. He was a skillful tennis player and a keen golfer playing off a handicap of 4. In his student days he also played soccer with some success.
He will be remembered by all who knew him as an inspiring priest.”  
One can also add that he loved the tennis club, its members and what it stood for. The Club will  forever be indebted to this great man.

The History of Racquet Sports in Clare

 

A draft history (over 2,500 pages) of Clare Tennis, Badminton and Squash Clubs since 1888 has been completed and is on the ennistennis.com website for download.

In Tennis the main clubs to feature are the The County Clare LTC (122 pages),The Fergus Lawn Tennis Club (527 pages), and the Ennis Lawn Tennis and Badminton Club.

The County Clare Tennis Club (1888 - 1948)

The history gives a summary of each year and a short profile on 95 members, with features on the families of Rev J.H. Griffith, Rev J.J. Griffin and Rev Richard Scott. There are also newspaper articles and photos.

The Fergus Lawn Tennis Club (1933 - 1982) history gives a summary of each year and a short profile of over 180  members, with features on Frank Cassidy, Fr Frank Cassidy, Noel Cassidy, Claire Cassidy, Jerry Ryan, Bill Bluett, Tom Byrne, Liam Cahir, Cyril Cuddy, Anna and Leslie McCrum, Frank (Diver) McNamara, Fr Eddie McNamara, Joe Molony, Jimmy Monahan, Fr Sean Moriarty, Noreen Smythe and Fergus Walsh.

Memories of the time are given by Ghislaine De Regge, Tom Mannion, Oliver Moylan, Larry Byrne, Jerry Cahir, Kevin Merry, Des Travers, Sinead Spellissey and John Gallagher. There are also newspaper articles, photos etc for each year.

The Ennis Lawn Tennis and Badminton Club ( 1982-) history gives a summary of each year and a short profile of over 260 members, with features on Tom Eade, Gerry Bredin, Johnny Flynn, Tom Mannion, John McLaughlin and many others. There are also newspaper articles, photos, AGM reports etc  over the decades.

There are also newspaper reports (over 100 years) on 12 other Tennis clubs. These include Ennis Guards, Ennistymon, Kildysart, Kilkee, Killaloe, Kilrush, Labasheeda, Lisdoonvarna, Miltown Malbay, Ogonnelloe, Scariff and Shannon.

In Badminton the main club to feature (333 pages) is the Ennis Badminton Club, formerly known as the Catholic Social Club (1958 - 1982).

There is a summary of each year and a short profile of over 51 members, with features on Evelyn Carey, Gerry Collins, Tom Dillon, Frank McInerney, Niall McMahon, Phil Molony, Maureen O'Connell, P.J.Molony, Frank O'Dea and Joe W. Williams. There are also newspaper articles, photos, AGM reports etc for each year.

The original Ennis Badminton Club (1933 -1950) also features. Its members included Ignatius Houlihan, Irene Scott, Des Torrens (Irish Rugby International), P F Molony, R Baker, M.C. Stronge, I Knox and many others.

There are also newspaper reports (over 77 years) on 26 other Badminton clubs. These include An Droichead, Annaghneal, Ardnacrusha (48 pages), Broadford, C.B.S., Clarecastle, Cooraclare, Corofin, Cratloe, Cree, Ennistymon, Kilkee, Kilkishen, Killaloe, Kilmaley, Kilmihil, Kilrush, Labasheeda, Lisdoonvarna, Miltown Malbay, Mullagh, Newmarket on Fergus, Quin, Scariff, Sixmilebridge, Shannon and Tulla. There is also a feature on the Clare Badminton Association ( formed in 1968).

In Squash the main club to feature (810 pages) is the One Mile Inn Squash Club  (1974 - 1991). There is a summary of each year and a short profile of over 100 members, with features on Gerry Bredin, Seamus Hayes, Jim and Ann O'Dowd, Denis Maurer, Tom Malone, Gert and Margaret Lacheiner, Tony Lillis and Michael Howard. There are also newspaper articles, photos, AGM reports etc for each year.

There are also newspaper reports ( over 27 years) on 15 other squash clubs. These include the Auburn Lodge, Ballina, Boys National, C.B.S. (157 pages), Clarecastle, Cooraclare, Ennis Golf Club, Ennistymon, Kildysart, Kilkee, Lissycasey, Newmarket On Fergus, Shannon Diamond and St Flannan's. There is also a feature on the Clare Squash Racquet's Association which was formed 30 years ago in 1982.

It is all leading towards the 125th anniversary of the Ennis Lawn Tennis and Badminton Club in 2013 when hopefully a book will be published.

It will be the 40th anniversary of the formation of the One Mile Inn Squash Club in 2014, when again a book hopefully will be published.