Sinn Féin Councillor, Cara McShane, has secured unanimous support to rename the Council’s Tennis Courts in Ballycastle after the late Alex McFarland.
Speaking after Council’s Leisure Committee meeting in Causeway Coast and Glens, Cllr Cara McShane, said:
“I am delighted that my proposal to rename the tennis courts after Alex McFarland received unanimous support. The decision will now go to full Council in two weeks for final ratification.
“Alex McFarland was synonymous with the courts at the seafront. He started working there in the late 1950s alongside his uncle Andy McGarry (Greenkeeper in the tennis courts and bowling grounds).
“Alex dedicated his life to the courts, ensuring they were up there with the best on these islands.
“He continued with this work until his retirement in the early 2000s, giving 47 years of service to Council.
“During his time working at the tennis courts, Alex and his wife Olive’s children – Alaister, Raymond, William, Tracy and Marie would often have been seen spending their time at the courts and watching their father carefully lining and maintaining the courts, dedicating so much more of his life to this work than the typical 9-5 shift.
“He was well known by the many thousands of people who came to visit Ballycastle and who played tennis here over the years.
“During almost 50 years of service, he would cut the grass expertly and scatter the worm casts, line the courts, tend to the flowers and put on the very best for the summer tournaments year in and year out. He also provided the best entertainment for the people he worked with over the years, as many fondly remember him to this day.
“As the 1990s rolled around, Alex’s grandchildren would often be seen stopping by the tennis courts, marvelling at the work being done on the grass courts by their grandfather. Here, they also learnt how to play some tennis.
“His grandchild, Dan McFarland, fondly remembers the last time he took his granda around ‘a loop’ of the tennis courts in his wheelchair. He was overwhelmed by the number of people who took time to just stop and talk to Alex and recall many great times spent there.
“When Alex took a stroke in his later years of life and ended up in Leabank Care Home, he would talk about this life working at the tennis courts on a daily basis.
“In recent months, a social media campaign was initiated by a resident in Ballycastle to simply ask the community if they had the option to rename Ballycastle tennis courts, what would it be?
“The vast majority of people wanted the courts to be named after Alex McFarland.
“Alex passed away in 2017. It had been a long desire of many locals and Alex was aware of a growing campaign to have the tennis courts renamed after him.
“Although he never lived to see it, I have no doubt his family and many friends are proud that his legacy will live on proudly with the renaming of the tennis courts after him.
“This is a fitting tribute to Alex’s unique contribution within local government and the passion for the work he did for almost 50 years in creating first-class facilities that were known the length and breadth of this island.”
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