South of Ireland Open Tennis Championship

South of Ireland Open Tennis Championship
Tournament information
Founded	1876 (1876)
Editions	142 (2018)
Location	Limerick Ireland
Venue	Limerick Lawn Tennis Club
Surface	Artificial Grass, outdoors
Website	http://www.lltc.ie/history/south of ireland championships
Current champions
Men's singles	James Halas

The South of Ireland Open Tennis Championship originally called the South of Ireland Championships first established in 1876 and also known as the Limerick Cup is a grass court tennis tournament that features both men's and women's competitions that is currently an official tour event of Tennis Ireland. It is held at the Limerick Lawn Tennis Club in Limerick, County Limerick, Ireland. The championships is the world's second oldest surviving tennis tournament after Wimbledon but the only event to have been staged continuously for the last 141 years.

History

A South of Ireland Championships tournament was staged in 1876, and played at the Limerick County Cricket Club, in Limerick. Records appear contradictory; the staging of this initial tournament appears to predate the founding of the Limerick LTC in 1877 by one year.

Limerick Lawn Tennis Club was first established in 1877 in Limerick, County Limerick, Ireland. The same year the club staged the first Open Championships in Ireland in August 1877 one month after the Wimbledon Championships were inaugurated, the results of that tournament were however not recorded. It was not until 1879 that the first Irish Lawn Tennis Championships were staged at the Fitzwilliam Tennis Club in Dublin. In 1877 a subsidiary tournament that played as part of the South of Ireland Championships was established called the Limerick Cricket Club Lawn Tennis Tournament or Limerick CC Lawn Tennis Tournament.

In 1878 the first South of Ireland Championships also known as the Limerick Cup were founded the men's event was won by Veere St Leger Goold. The event featured both men's and women's singles and doubles competitions and was the first notable tournament in Great Britain and Ireland to feature a woman's competition seven years before the Wimbledon Championships followed suit. In 1881 the reigning Wimbledon Champion William Renshaw and his twin brother Ernest Renshaw entered the doubles competition. Between 1884 and 1885 no women's event were staged. The 1885 and 1886 editions were won by future Wimbledon Champion Willoughby Hamilton.

Between 1911 and 1912 the championships were won by Irishman Frank Cosbie. With the advent of World War One the championships were still held from 1914 and 1919. Post war the championships were won again by Irish Lawn Tennis Championships finalist Frank Cosbie three times consecutively 1924 to 1926. The tournament was still staged during World War Two from 1939 to 1945. Post war the 1953 championships were won by American player Ellis Williamson. In 1975 the men's championships were won Michael. P. Hickey who played in 21 Davis Cup competitions as part of the Irish Team. British player Ross Matheson won the event in 1991, 1994 and 1996. Into the 2000s Brian McCarthy was probably the most successful player he won the championships in (2010,2014) and reached the finals on four occasions (2010–11, 2013–16).

The tournament was part of the pre-open era men's tennis tour from 1878 to 1967. Into the Open Era it did not survive as a tour tournament on the lucrative Grand Prix tennis circuit but did remain a fixture on the International Tennis Federation circuit for a short while until the mid-1990s. The tournament was downgraded again to regional status and continues to operate within the annual tennis tournament circuit of Tennis Ireland. The championships were staged in June 2018 which was the 141st edition of this tournament it was won by James Halas.

Finals

Notes: Challenge Round: The Final round of a tournament, in which the winner of a single-elimination phase faces the previous year's champion, who plays only that one match. The challenge round was used in the early history of tennis (from 1877 through 1921) in some tournaments not all.

Men's singles

Incomplete list of past winners and results included:

Year	Champion	Runner Up	Score
1876	William Henry Darby	Mr. W. Bruce	11-3.
1878	Vere St. Leger Goold	William Henry Darby	6-0,6-4
1879	Heffernan J. F. J. Considine	Henry Evelyn Tombe	6-4, 6-3
1880	Edward Brackenbury	Edward Monitford Longfield	6-4, 6-4, 6-2
1881	Edward Brackenbury	Edward M. L. Lysaght	0-6, 6-3, 7-5, 8-6
1882	Edward M. L. Lysaght	Edward Brackenbury	w.o.
1883	Eyre Chatterton	Edward M. L. Lysaght	6-1 6-0 6-0
1884	Eyre Chatterton	William Henry Darby	6=0 6-4
1885	Willoughby J. Hamilton	Eyre Chatterton	6-4, 12-10, 6-0
1886	Willoughby J. Hamilton	Thomas Harrison Griffiths	6-3, 6-1, 6-2
1896	Captain Bredin	E.J.L. Golding	6-3, 6-3
1897	J. Hirst	?	?
1898	Jahial Parmly Paret	J. Hirst	2 to 0 sets
1899	E.P. Graham	J. Hirst	2 to 0 sets
1900	William Perrott	E.P. Graham	6-1, 6-3, 9-7
1901	William Perrott	Robert Malcolm Graham	3 sets to 0
1902	Maurice Fitzmaurice Day	William Perrott	1-6, 6-1, 4-6, 8-6, 6-2
1904	J.S. Talbot	L. Tennis	w.o.
1909	Sydney Lawrence Fry	T.M. O'Callaghan	6-0, 6-3, 6-4
1910	Championships were held
1911	Frank Cosbie	?	?
1912	Frank Cosbie	?	?
1914–1923	Championships were held
1924	Frank Cosbie	?	?
1925	Frank Cosbie	?	?
1926	Frank Cosbie	?	?
1928–1951	Championships were held
1952	A. Duncan Taylor	?	?
1953	Tom Cleary	Harry Crowe	7-5, 1-6, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6
1954	Alan Haughton	Tom Cleary	6-4, 6-3
1955	Harry Barniville	Harry Crowe	6-2, 6-3
1957	Frank Furney	Alan Haughton	9-7, 6-1
1958	Ellis Williamson	Patrick Murphy	6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
1960	Dudley Moxon	John O'Brien	7-9, 6-1, 6-4
1961	Dudley Moxon	Redmond O'Hanlon	6-2, 6-3
1962	Championships were held
1963	John O'Brien	Dudley Moxon	6-3, 6-4
1964–1974	Championships were held
Open era
1975	Michael. P. Hickey	?	?
1976	Michael Sleep	Don O'Connell	?
1978	Jim McCardle	Alan Haughton	9-7, 6-1
1981	Tommy Burke	?	?
1982	Doug Stone	?	7-9, 6-1, 6-4
1983	Michael Daly	Redmond O'Hanlon	6-2, 6-3
1984	Michael Daly	Noel Sheridan	6-1, 6-4
1985	Liam Croke	Redmond O'Hanlon	6-2, 6-3
1986	Michael Nugent	Redmond O'Hanlon	6-2, 6-3
1988	Peter Wright	Redmond O'Hanlon	6-2, 6-3
1989	G. Henderson	Redmond O'Hanlon	6-2, 6-3
1991	Ross Matheson	?	?
1992	Ulli Nganga	?	7-9, 6-1, 6-4
1993	Keir Wood	Redmond O'Hanlon	6-2, 6-3
1994	Ross Matheson	Redmond O'Hanlon	6-2, 6-3
1995	Owen Casey	?	?
1996	Ross Matheson	?	?
1997	Scott Barron	Owen Casey	6-2, 6-3
1998	Owen Casey	?	?
1999	Joe Greene	David Mullins	?
2000	Owen Casey	Steven Nugent	6-1, 6-2
2001	John Doran	Conor Niland	7-6, 4-6, 7-5
2002	Nicky Malone	Conor Niland	7-5, 6-3
2003	Conor Niland	Conor Taylor	6-2, 6-1
2004	Barry King	James McGee	?
2005	Kevin Rea	Travis McDonnagh	1-6, 6-1, 6-3
2007	T. Farron-Mahon	Daniel Glancy	6-2, 6-2
2010	Barry McCarthy	Kevin Rea	6-3, 7-6
2011	Paul Fitzgerald	Barry McCarthy	6-4, 6-7, 7-5
2012	Darragh Glavin	George McGill	6-3, 7-5
2013	Kevin Rea	Barry McCarthy	4-6, 7-5, 7-5
2014	Barry McCarthy	George McGill	6-4, 6-4
2015	Frank O'Keefe	Niall Casey	6-1, 6-4
2016	C. J. Kelly	Barry McCarthy	6-1, 6-4
2017	?	?	?
2018	James Halas	Andrew Jones	7-5, 6-1

Other tournaments

Limerick CC Tournament

The Limerick Cricket Club Lawn Tennis Tournament was founded in 1877 and was played along with the South of Ireland Championships until 1883

Men's singles

(Incomplete roll)

Year	Champions	Runners-up	Score
1880	Edmond Bennet Brackenbury	Edward M. L. Lysaght	6-4, 6-4, 6-2
1883	Ernest Browne	William E. Dawson	6-3, 6-2, 6-5

Venue

The Limerick Lawn Tennis Club currently operates 12 artificial (synthetic) grass turf outdoor tennis courts and 3 squash courts.

Sources

• "Abolition of Challenge Rounds". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. EVENING POST, VOLUME CIII, ISSUE 65, 20 MARCH 1922.
• "History - Limerick Lawn Tennis Club". www.lltc.ie. Limerick, Ireland: Limerick Lawn Tennis Club. 2013.
• Nieuwland, Alex (2017). "Tournament – South of Ireland Championships - Limerick Cup". www.tennisarchives.com. Harlingen, Netherlands: Idzznew BV. Retrieved.
• Tennis Ireland, (2011). "Senior South of Ireland 2011 - General". ti.tournamentsoftware.com. Tennis Ireland.
• Tennis Ireland, (2013) "Senior South of Ireland Open Tennis Championship 2013 - Organization". ti.tournamentsoftware.com. Tennis Ireland.
• Tennis Ireland, (2014). "Senior South of Ireland Open Tennis Championship 2014 - Organization". ti.tournamentsoftware.com. Tennis Ireland.
• Tennis Ireland, (2015). "138th South Of Ireland Open Tennis Championships - Organization". ti.tournamentsoftware.com. Tennis Ireland.
• Tennis Ireland, (2018). - "Hartmann Optometrists 141st South of Ireland Tennis Championships 2018"- "Organization". ti.tournamentsoftware.com. Official lawn Tennis Governing Body of Ireland.
• SOI Winners 1878 to 2016. Limerick LTC.
• "South of Ireland Championships". (1883). The Freeman's Journal. Dublin, Ireland: newspapers.com.
• https://ti.tournamentsoftware.com/Tennis Ireland:Clubs:Tournaments of Limerick Lawn Tennis

Further reading

• Ayre's Lawn Tennis Almanack And Tournament Guide, 1908 to 1938, A. Wallis Myers.
• British Lawn Tennis and Squash Magazine, 1948 to 1967, British Lawn Tennis Ltd, UK.
• Dunlop Lawn Tennis Almanack And Tournament Guide, G.P. Hughes, 1939 to 1958, Dunlop Sports Co. Ltd, UK
• Lawn tennis and Badminton Magazine, 1906 to 1973, UK.
• Lowe's Lawn Tennis Annuals and Compendia, Lowe, Sir F. Gordon, Eyre & Spottiswoode
• Spalding's Lawn Tennis Annuals from 1885 to 1922, American Sports Pub. Co, USA.
• The World of Tennis Annuals, Barrett John, 1970 to 2001.

External links

• http://www.lltc.ie/official site limerick lawn tennis club