The Official Opening of the Bushy Park Tennis & Padel Club took place last Thursday 9th November. The Club was fully completed about a month ago and it has 4 padel courts and 9 tennis courts. This is the first public padel facility in the country and we hope it will be the first of many.
The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Mícheál MacDonncha, performed the official opening by unveiling a plaque on the left of the pavilion and then went on to cut the ribbon at the front of the clubhouse. The act was preceded by speeches from Superintendent of Dublin City Parks, Mr Leslie Moore, the head of Tennis Ireland, Mr Richard Fahey, the President of the Padel Federation of Ireland, Mr Joe Cabello (see text of his speech below) and the Lord Mayor, who was very proud to be launching the new padel and tennis club and who mentioned he would like to see more public padel courts in other city parks around Dublin.
Dublin City Council officials and Padel Federation committee members attended the ceremony, which included a showcasing of tennis and padel activities in the Club. We had Transition Year students from Rockbrook Park School and their teachers and we also hosted players coming from St Michael´s House. Over 80 people attended the opening, including Parks Tennis representatives, Community Organisation I love Terenure, club coaches, members and friends, politicians, construction engineers and parks staff.
We wish to thanks especially Naomi Nicholl, manager of Bushy Park Tennis & Padel Club for her ongoing work and for organising and coordinating the opening on the day. The facility looks terrific and we hope many will continue to use and enjoy padel, tennis and basketball… all the lessons and tournaments, the camps an all events taking place there.
Finally we wish to acknowledge the untiring work, dedication and support of all the Padel Federation of Ireland Committee Members, who have made this dream come true with their hard work. And a big word of thanks to the Dublin City Council officials for believing in us over the past few years and making this project a reality in the service of the community.
Well done everyone !
Padel Federation of Ireland President – speech at the Official Opening of the Bushy Park Tennis & Padel Club.
Lord Mayor, Dublin City Council officials, Padel Federation of Ireland committee members, Bushy Park Tennis & Padel Club Staff, coaches and club members and friends, Parks Tennis representatives, students from Rockbrook Park School…
When a few years ago we set ourselves the target of identifying a site for the development and expansion of Padel in Ireland, we realised that the most important factor was to make sure that many people throughout Ireland would get to know the sport and practise it on a regular basis. The padel project we are launching here in Bushy Park will both serve as a place for developing the sport and also as a reference point for the rest of Dublin and all counties in Ireland.
Expert sport commentators have noted that Padel is one of the most easily assimilated fun sports and one that can accommodate a very wide range of player talent. For these reasons it is no wonder that Padel as a practical sport at the present time enjoys phenomenal growth around the world. Over the past few years it has been introduced and developed in over 40 different countries, including Australia, Canada, UK, and USA.
The Padel Federation of Ireland in collaboration with the Dublin City Council is now in a pole position to continue developing the sport and establish it as a benchmark here in Ireland.
I have experienced throughout the development of the project, the planning stages and the strategies for bringing this sporting venture into fruition, a very receptive audience to our plans, including an enthusiastic, warm, motivated and seriously committed public. Additionally I have encountered a well prepared mature professional people with the drive and skills and dynamic outlook capable of bringing this important project to fulfilment.
I am proud and honoured to lead the management of this Padel Federation of Ireland project and it is my sincere wish and desire that the local and wider community will participate with us in this venture by providing their full support. In this regard I extend an invitation to you all to become a participant in a healthy sporting project that will deliver returns both at the personal and social level and in due course will form part of the sporting and social development history of Ireland.
I wish to thank Mr Leslie Moore, Parks Superintendent with the Dublin City Council, Mr Bernard Brady, Project Manager, all those who have participated in the construction and now the running of the Bushy Park Tennis & Padel Club, especially Ms Naomi Nicholl, manager of the facility, and to the Board of the Padel Federation of Ireland for the ongoing support to this project, which we hope will make Bushy Park a reference point for tennis and padel in Ireland.
I also wish to thank the whole staff and the coaches at the Club for their amazing enthusiasm and support in getting the Club off the ground. It is my wish that you will also enjoy the facility on a regular basis and that you will invite your family and friends to sample the sport.
Finally, I wish to highlight a number of activities that have taken place since we started the Club and which have contributed greatly to having a more active and involved community. The Bushy Park Tennis & Padel Club has already organised an International Padel Competition, The Madison International with the participation of over 160 players. There have been many open days, padel and tennis clinics, camps for Primary and Secondary School kids and lessons for tennis and padel at all levels. We have also organised tournaments and leagues for all ages and skill levels, including the All Ireland Padel Tournament where all padel clubs throughout Ireland were represented. We also have launched the Tennis Academy with the renowned Top 10 System and the Bushy Padel Academy for adults and kids. We have also had the privilege to have players coming to be introduced to racquet sports from St Michael´s House and we are now working with the Irish Wheelchair Association to launch wheelchair padel in Ireland. We are also in contact with the Deaf Sports Association of Ireland to begin programmes here in Bushy Park. We have also invited the local basketball clubs and they have already started coming to play here in the public courts. We hope that involvement in sport brings benefits to the local community at the personal and collective level.
Our hope and desire for Bushy Park Tennis & Padel Club is to reach as many people as possible by being open to all and have the involvement of the entire community. Bushy Park Tennis & Padel Club, a club for everyone!