Castlebar Tennis Club go under the dome

UNDER COVER?Castlebar Tennis Club members are pictured with An Taoiseach Enda Kenny after the raising of the new dome.?Pic: Michael Donnelly

Castlebar Tennis Club go under the dome


Edwin McGreal

In the TV series Under the Dome, the dome rises suddenly and cuts off the community of Chester’s Mill from the rest of the world.  
A dome suddenly appeared in Castlebar on Saturday last but its appearance was planned and the only thing it was trying to keep out was the rain.
Comedian Pat Shortt once said of Ireland ‘she’d be a lovely little country if only you could roof it’ and the good people at Castlebar Tennis Club have taken that to its logical conclusion.
Chairperson Sue Baird reckons they lose 30 to 40 percent of their court time due to bad weather so the ambitious club have come up with the a very novel solution.
Last Saturday saw a 4.5-ton weight dome erected over four of their six tennis courts. The structure, an air supporting covering called a PVC membrane, stretches 76 metres by 36 metres over the courts adjacent to Lough Lannagh and cost €240,000.
It is a temporary structure which the club have invested in. It will remain up over the winter and is due to be taken down in April or May of next year.
“The project was proposed two and a half years ago. Basically up to 40 percent of our business was being lost to the weather.
“We knew we needed an inside facility but could not afford a permanent structure so we opted to go for an air supported structure,” Sue Baird told The Mayo News.
The club received €175,000 of Sports Capital Funding last July and the wheels have moved at a rapid pace since to get the project, literally, off the ground.
The PVC membrane itself weighs two tons with 70 steel anchors, anchored into the ground, weighing two and a half tons.

Monitoring system
The state-of-the-art dome also incorporates a complex monitoring system. If the wind picks up, the air pressure in the dome adjusts accordingly.
The dome is also linked to online weather maps. If high winds are due a message is sent from the dome to committee members via text telling them of the incoming winds. The dome is built to withstand winds in excess of 90 miles an hour.
“There is a great sense of pride that a medium sized club like ourselves can source such a state-of-the-art facility which totally protects the future of Castlebar Tennis Club,” said Sue Baird.
“People can now book a court and be guaranteed they will be able to play – they won’t be rained off. The weather issue was so frustrating in recent years,” Ms Baird added.
The dome is especially important for the club’s thriving Junior section. Castlebar Tennis Club is also the home for Connacht Junior coaching sessions under coaches Gareth Barry, Sinead O’Donohue and Alan McCormack. Connacht coaching sessions take place there four times a week.
The arrival of the dome comes five years after the Tennis Club moved from their old facility on the Pavilion Road in Castlebar to their current home adjacent to Lough Lannagh.
“It was a visionary step to move to Lough Lannagh and this is another visionary step in the tapestry of the club,” said Sue Baird.
Ms Baird was ‘extremely grateful’ to An Taoiseach Enda Kenny for his support for their funding bid.
The dome is predicted to have a ‘minimum’ lifespan of 20 years and access to the sealed dome is via two revolving doors. It’s a top end facility, evidenced by the fact that it’s the same structure as World number one Novak Djokovic uses at his tennis academies.
“There’s huge excitement in the club and massive interest in the Castlebar area about it too,” said Ms Baird.
The club are hosting an Open Day on October 12 next and the club are sending out an invitation for anyone interested to come along and experience life under the dome.