Pickleball Adventure in Ireland By: Bill Healey

Putting two things together that we love, visiting Ireland and playing Pickleball, my wife Kim and I experienced an Irish Pickleball Adventure in April/May 2025. We competed all over the country, playing 9 times in 7 days with 6 different clubs—obtaining a special appreciation for Ireland’s rapidly evolving Pickleball scene. Most importantly, we had the extraordinary pleasure of meeting scores of wonderful and welcoming people.

The Irish weather has (somehow) always been beautiful when we visit. We fully appreciate our luck. In reality, the unpredictable and often wet conditions majorly impact Irish Pickleball.  In contrast to our home state of New Jersey, the play in Ireland is indoors, and mostly on wooden floors. Although the balls may not bounce as high or as expected, and the lighting and competing lines on the court can be challenging, the competition is strong and the enthusiasm contagious.

Our adventure began in the Village of Multyfarham at the Community Centre there.  After several tight matches, and a bit jet lagged, we hit the gorgeous roads of County Westmeath for the trek to County Galway, where we played at the Maree Community Centre in Gurrane Lower. There, we met members of the Galway County Pickleball Club. We played again in Galway the next day, at Temperance Hall in Loughrea, on shore of the grey lake.

We then ventured to Westport in County Mayo, where we were welcomed by members of the Westport Pickleball Club. Over the next two days, we played at Rice College, the Louisburgh Town Hall, and the Lacenvey Community Centre.  There, we met a woman whose husband is on the Ukrainian front, had to clear the chairs off a court before we could play, parked at the foot of Croagh Patrick, and laughed as hard as we played.

County Sligo was our next stop. We played some great games at Summerhill College, and learned that there is only one “original” Sligo Pickleball Club.  We also learned that the sunny skies we brought with us were unusual in Sligo City.

We returned to Dublin for our journey’s tail end.  We first played with the Southside Pickleball Club at Niomh Olaf GAA Club, and our host with New Jersey ties. There, we participated in a competition and learned what “GAA” stands for. Our last stop was the Sandyford Pickleball Club, where we played at Dlr Leisure Loughlinstown and met a Pickleball coach and his fellow Pickleball entrepreneurs. We greatly enjoyed playing with their club members and competing against them afterwards—for our longest session.

That was our Irish Pickleball Adventure—every expectation we had was far exceeded. We could not appreciate more the many people and companies (Selkirk, Engage, Franklin, and Diadem) who made it so special. And it’s all captured on Instagram at “Pickleballrovers.”