Welcome to BADMINTON MUSEUM OF IRELAND.

Welcome to the latest uploads to our Website.

The Gallery displays an image from the 1902 All-England Championships which were played at The Crystal Palace London. It would an interesting to note the changes in the organisation of this event through the various venues which would include, Harringay Arena, Wembley and its current home The National Indoor Arena in Birmingham. It is interesting that the original photograph is held by Reinforced Shuttlecocks Limited.

The Historical item displays a very interesting article on the Wood Shot Rule. As someone who has played under this rule it is really surprising that it may well have been misinterpreted in it application. For those not familiar with the “Rule” it was deemed to be a fault if the frame (wooden) was struck in playing the shot. It required a good deal of honesty on the part of the player to acknowledge his own faults. It was a very difficult rule for umpires to adjudicate as generally this had to be done by sound rather than vision. I has understood that the rule was changed because of the noisy atmosphere at big events it was impossible for the umpire to hear the sound of the shuttle hitting the racket. I am going to look further into this matter as it is hard to believe that the game was played under a false rule.

We hope that all our Badminton friends are coping well during the current difficult situation and hope that things will get back to normal as soon as possible.

Dick O’Rafferty
Curator