In the summer of 1986 St Mary's Tennis Club in Dublin played host to Russian ballet dancers and German tennis players.
In July 1986 the Bolshoi Ballet Company were in Ireland to perform at the RDS, Dublin. However, the dancers did not restrict their performance to the RDS. Una de Barra, an 18 year old tennis instructor from St Mary's Tennis Club in Donnybrook, discovered members of the ballet playing tennis one morning and they treated her to a private performance on the courts. Una tells how the dancers played tennis every morning of their Dublin visit.
However, the Russians are not the only international contingent playing at St Mary's Tennis Club. The club is playing host to eighteen Germans. The two clubs get together on an annual basis and St Mary's have visited Germany three times. The Germans are guests in the homes of the Irish players. At a reception in St Mary's, a member of the German Club proves that language is no barrier and makes a stab at thanking their hosts in the Irish language.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 22 August 1986. The reporter is Maggie O'Kane.
