INSIDE TRACK: RICHARD FITZPATRICKtalks to tennis coach David Keenahan and some of the players at the Ranelagh chool who are keeping a proud tradition alive

GONZAGA COLLEGE’S first lawn tennis court was, in the words of Fr Edmund Keane, the godfather of tennis at the school, “laboriously cultivated”. It met a speedy demise, though, disappearing in the late 1950s beneath the school’s first big building project – the Hall and Tower – which sits in between the two fine old Georgian buildings that dominate the school’s secluded, leafy grounds.

Legend has it that the reason there are a pair of matching houses, side by side, is because of a family dispute in the Bewley’s household, the coffee merchants who used to live on the site of the school before the Jesuits bought it in 1949. Apparently, one half of the family moved out of the original house into the newer house, less than a hundred yards away.

These days, tennis is played amongst the five synthetic-grass courts behind the school’s main buildings, the latter two being added as part of a modernisation programme, after a group of former pupils bandied together at Fr Keane’s funeral to raise funds to mark his contribution to tennis in the school.

His impact was huge. In terms of pots and pans, during his tenure from 1962 to 1983 as tennis coach, the school won six Leinster Senior Cups and a plethora of junior and minor cups. More significantly, he had a formative influence on a host of “tennis families”: the four Ensor boys, including Tony, who went on to represent the Irish rugby team; the Sheehans; the Blakes; and the McDonoghs – Gordon and his brother Jimmy, the current tennis director at Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club.

The professional pianist Hugh Tinney, who won the school’s internal Senior Cup in 1976, was also one of his protégés. Lord only knows where he got the time to practice for piano.

“In times past, a team consisted of six,” says David Keenahan, the school’s current tennis coach. “This is going back to Fr Keane and further back. Sometimes all six might have played singles. It was followed by three doubles. A rubber might be won 5-4. Those games were possible in olden days when guys took off at lunchtime, and study wasn’t an issue, and they weren’t under any pressure to be home to do homework; life was more leisurely.

“As the years moved on, it was found unworkable. When you add to it, in those times, they played on grass, and if it rained you stopped. So, therefore, games lasted as long as cricket matches.

“It would have been popular with the boys,” he says with a laugh. “Maybe that’s the biggest reason for the decline in popularity in tennis in modern times!

“Now things have almost gone the opposite; that it’s all over in one shift. Singles and doubles happen together. To make things shorter, we have tie-breaks at 6-all. Just in case that’s not cut-throat enough, the first point after deuce wins the game.”

Keenahan – who is helped at present by fellow staff members, Bobby Byrne and Mary Casey – took over tennis-coaching duty for the 1984 season, the first of a three in a row for the school’s Senior Cup team, an era which coincided with Seán Molloy’s time at school. Remarkably, Molloy was chosen for Ireland’s Davis Cup squad while still a student.

After the Senior Cup win in 1986, a black cloud descended: Blackrock won the Senior Cup for 13 years straight. Gonzaga, Belvedere College and Blackrock are the three mainstays from a pool of 40-odd Leinster schools in the province’s first division. “It was a lull for us; it was a lull for all,” says Keenahan.

Gonzaga bounced back to win two titles in 1999 and 2000, a period when they also won two titles in the short-lived All-Ireland schools’ series. Their last Leinster senior title came in 2006. Mark Grennan, a member of that team who is currently studying at UCD, gives a dig out with coaching at the school, as do many old boys.

Grennan’s brother, Simon, is captain of this year’s senior team. Rather than playing singles, he’s a doubles player by persuasion. Both Grennans are taking part in the school’s annual Past v Present match this afternoon.

“I like to get into the net,” Simon explains. “That’s just my style. I like to volley. Once you get into the net; it’s a different type of game. You don’t have to play it from the back. You probably don’t need as much fitness,” he says, laughing. “I wouldn’t be as fit as this little fella here,” he adds, gesturing towards his school-mate, Seán O’Rourke.

O’Rourke, aged 14, was on Gonzaga’s Minor Cup-winning team last year, and is captain of the team this year. He does like to hit a good smash, he admits, although it’s not his preferred shot.

“My favourite shot would be a good serve,” he says. “I like banging out serves.”

Have you got many aces in your career?

“Ah, no,” he says, stifling a laugh. “Not many – look at the size of me.”

"A rubber might be won 5-4. Those games were possible in olden days when guys took off at lunchtime, and study wasn't an issue, and they weren't under any pressure to be home to do homework; life was more leisurely

Name:Simon Grennan

Age:18

Tennis highlight: "Winning the Junior Cup back in second year. It was a tight match against St Gerard's in the final. We clinched it in the end, winning 3-2."

Favourite shot: "Probably the volley, especially when people are trying to pass you at the net."

Tennis hero: "Roger Federer – he's a very skilful player and he's extremely modest as well, which I think is important."

Play other sports: Soccer and swimming.

School:Gonzaga College, Sandford Road, Dublin 6

Founded: 1950

Number of pupils: 552

Sports played: Badminton, cricket, golf, rugby, swimming, table tennis

Leinster school tennis titles: 12 senior cups; 11 junior cups, 10 minor cups

Notable past pupils (tennis): Psychiatrist and broadcaster Anthony Clare, who played in the school's first Past v Present tennis match in 1958; the Sheehans – Garrett, James, Ronan, Jerry and Maurice; Seán Molloy; Conor McCullough; and current Irish tennis star, Barry King

Notable past pupils (non-tennis): Business titan Peter Sutherland; the poet Paul Durcan; Aer Lingus chairman Colm Barrington; and politicos, past and present, Michael McDowell, Eamon Ryan and Ciarán Cuffe.