Badminton is big in Cortoon
FOUNDED in 1980 by Sadie Rooney and Phil Kenny along with Mickey and Carmel Gilmore, the Cortoon Badminton Club continues to grow from strength to strength despite a constant battle with depopulation that is crippling rural clubs across Ireland.
Boasting a membership of 60 between senior and junior players, the club won its first All-Ireland title back in 1998, winning the Division 3 championship with Kieran Kelly captaining that historic team. Since then, they have secured two more All-Ireland crowns (2000 and ’10) along with a raft of county and provincial successes at both youth and adult levels.
Boasting a membership of 60 between senior and junior players, the club won its first All-Ireland title back in 1998, winning the Division 3 championship with Kieran Kelly captaining that historic team. Since then, they have secured two more All-Ireland crowns (2000 and ’10) along with a raft of county and provincial successes at both youth and adult levels.
When now club icon Christy Clarke returned to the area in 1984 after a stint in England, he set the wheels in motion for the club. The progress made in the following years astounded legendary Galway badminton player Tommy Hehir, a man who has done tremendous work for badminton throughout Galway and Connacht.