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Smith opens 14th Racquetball World Championships Kingscourt
Mr. Brendan Smith, T.D., Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, has today (1 August) performed the official opening of the 14th Racquetball World Championships in Kingscourt.
Speaking at Kingscourt, where 180 competitors from 30 countries have gathered, the Minister outlined how the week ahead promised to be a memorable one: “It is a tremendous honour that after an absence of 20 years, the World Championships return to Europe and are being hosted in Ireland for the first time. It is of course an even greater honour for the people of Kingscourt that their Handball and Racquetball Club has been chosen for this prestigious world event”, he said.
Minister Smith said that the championships were not just about sporting endeavour, but would allow “the people of Kingscourt to have a unique opportunity to showcase their beautiful town to a cosmopolitan array of visitors over the week”.
He noted that a great deal of work had gone into organising the championships and paid tribute to Seán Gargan, a Kingscourt Native and President of the Racquetball Association of Ireland, as well as members of the local Handball and Racquetball Club and representatives of Kingscourt Community Development Council.
“It was a great feat to attract a world championships to a small town in rural Ireland, but no surprise to me that Cavan people have proved themselves to be so resourceful”, the Minister concluded.
