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.

The Historical section of this issue displays an amusing report by Roger Mills, captain of the English team that played Ireland in Whitehall Road in 1971. It recalls to mind the less serious aspects of International week-ends. His encounter with Irish non-playing captain brought out the ability of Jim FitzGibbon to do whatever was required to upset the opposition. Being of a certain vintage I have clear recollection of the party as described by Mills and of course the brilliant comic performance by Chick Doyle. In those days the after tournament fun was provided by the players themselves without the assistance of loud disco music. His comments on Whitehall Road are interesting as are his positive approach to developing younger Irish players.

The Gallery section brings us back to 1909 with a nice picture of the Irish team. The attire of the ladies is a little puzzling. I suspect that Mrs Plews in the centre is ready for play whilst Miss Hazlett on the left must have used the "track-suit" of the day to keep her warm. In the days of white only clothing we can assume that Mrs. Manders is not yet ready to play. T.D.Good was on the team that day but for some reason is not in the photograph. This photograph is displayed by kind permission of Leinster Branch

Some progress is being made in relation to the physical display of material but in the meantime I would be delighted to receive comments or suggestions in relation to the website.

Dick O’Rafferty
Curator