ICGB invitational Triangular at Edgbaston, George’s Hill and Roehampton - June 2024

A team of 8 Irish men landed in Birmingham on Tuesday June 25th to practice ahead of our first IC of GB Triangular fixture being held the next day at Edgbaston LTC.

This event format was a series of quick fire rounds of one set only across singles and doubles. The matches were played against a combination of balanced playing levels from both GB and Spain. It was played on beautifully manicured grass courts in 27 degree sunshine. We fought very hard but managed to generate a win ratio of just 34% against very strong GB & Spanish sides with both high national and ITF rankings. We did suffer a couple of injuries. We did reach out for subs ahead of our next fixture at St George’s Hill (notably Peter Hannon) but none available at such last minute notice.

On our coach trip to London we stopped off at the home of the first ever Lawn Tennis Court / home of the initial rules articulated (1775) – at a private residence near Edgbaston. We also stopped at Stratford-upon-Avon for lunch. 

Onto St George’s Hill where we fared much better on court. Again the format was a series of quick fire sets. The team had some very strong singles wins and some very tight doubles wins to secure a win ratio of 61% on the day. Spain came in at 52% and GB on 41%, which gave us a very special but technical (we had no ladies playing, so played less overall matches) WIN for the IRL IC! 

We then went on to play at Roehampton LTC on Sunday June 30th. This was a very social event where we played all mixed doubles for several rounds by coupling with Spanish and GB team members. This was followed by a BBQ in the club grounds that was well attended by many IC of GB members, not just the players on the day. 

All matches were played in the best spirit. We had great craic and mixed well, as you’d expect. It was clear from the speeches that both teams really enjoyed and appreciated our participation in this centennial event for the IC of GB. We certainly enjoyed being there! One aspect of note, is that they really missed an IC of Ireland ladies team. Spain only brought 5 ladies (of 8 invited) but GB had an abundance of ladies that were very keen to play. I explained the great lengths (led by Lisa) that were taken to gather an IC of Ireland Ladies team but it proved impossible this time around. 

The last day culminated in a trip to Day 1 of The Championships. Incredible honour to be there. We were treated like royalty with open access to all show courts (via IC boxes) and they hosted us all for a stunning lunch at the Members Enclosure.  

For future reference, the main GB organisers were as follows:

Leyla Ogan, Andrew Smith & Steve Walters. Anne Clarke (IC of GB Chair) was on hand for several of the events. For Roehampton and Wimbledon it was Karen Cass and Peter McGuibbon. All of them were very welcoming & gracious hosts. They really did roll out the red carpet for us. The gifts that we presented (bottles of Irish spirits & match towels) were really well received. It’s worth noting that the Spanish team presented each club and the IC of GB with silver platters inscribed for each of the events for GB’s centennial with their name and ours on there. A very generous touch. 

I’d like to personally thank the committee for the opportunity to Captain this side. It was an amazing honour and an incredibly memorable experience. I believe everyone on the team felt the same way.

Alan Quane