Welcome to BADMINTON MUSEUM OF IRELAND.

The purpose of the Badminton Museum of Ireland is to preserve the great heritage of Irish Badminton and to make the general badminton public aware of it.

In this edition there is a contrast between the top International game and the club player.

The photograph of the Irish Uber Cup team of 1963 is an indication of the regular entry of Ireland in this competition. In looking at the records of International teams there is no doubt that ladies got a raw deal. In many cases there were six male members and only three lady members. Participation in the Uber Cup must have been a strong motivator for the ladies and it must also have improved their standard of play. In more recent times Ireland’s entry to the Uber Cup had been intermittent.

There is no doubt that the club is the central core of the game and it is the scene where the vast majority of players get the competition and enjoyment. In reading this extract of an article written 60 years ago it struck me that quite probably the club scene has changed very little. There seems to be regular discussion and argument about play on club nights and unfortunately many members seem to be unhappy about the system in their club. I attended a talk given recently by Brian Cody, Ireland’s most successful Hurling coach. He put down the success of Kilkenny to respect that all players and officials have for each other. Maybe badminton players could have a think about this.

Matters are progressing in relation to the actual Museum and I would be delighted to receive information about memorabilia that would be available for either donation or loan to the Museum. This would be of great help in assessing the amount of space that would be required.

Next issue will appear on September 16th.

Dick O’Rafferty, Curator, Badminton Museum of Ireland