Mullingar’s Garry Cahill steps down as Tennis Ireland performance director

Tennis Ireland has announced that Mullingar man Garry Cahill is to step down as its performance director, ending his 13-year association with the Irish tennis’s governing body.

Cahill joined the organisation in 2006, initially as national coach, before taking up the position of performance director and academy head coach in 2009.

“During his tenure, Garry was instrumental in establishing and developing the National Tennis Academy which is recognised by the International Tennis Federation as a programme of high quality,” a statement from Tennis Ireland said yesterday.

Over his ten-year period as performance director, some of the brightest and best of Irish tennis prospects were under his tutelage, including Mullingar’s own Simon Carr and Ammar Elamin.

“He has assembled an incredibly capable team of coaches at the academy, and has supported the development of many Irish players during his tenure,” said Tennis Ireland chief executive Richard Fahey.

“The board and I would like to extend our thanks to Garry for his service to tennis and wish him well in his future endeavours.”

Speaking about his time at Tennis Ireland, Cahill – who was awarded honorary life membership by Mullingar Tennis and Badminton Club in 2013 – said: “It has been an honor to work for Tennis Ireland and to lead such a committed performance team.

“I am extremely proud of the fact that since the foundation of the National Tennis Centre, we have contributed to the achievements of Irish players at grand slam senior level, grand slam junior level and athletes that have chosen to further their careers via the US college system.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many academy parents who entrusted me with the development of their children’s tennis careers.

“I intend to remain committed to performance tennis; my passion for producing Irish professional players is stronger than ever, and I am excited about the next generation of Irish Tennis Talents and am very much looking forward to new challenges ahead.”

The end of Cahill’s tenure comes into effect on August 30, and the board of Tennis Ireland have already commenced the planning process to appoint new leadership for performance tennis and the academy.