Who Is Building Ireland's Padel Courts? Tennis and Rugby Lead the Clubs — the GAA Has Barely Started (2026)
Openplay Research · 28 September 2026 · free to cite with a link to this page.
Who is actually building Ireland's padel courts? We classified every venue in our national court tracker by the organisation on whose grounds the courts sit — a GAA club, a rugby or tennis club, a hotel, a school, a stand-alone padel centre — and did the same for every padel planning application in the Republic since 2017. The short answer: sports clubs already host more than a quarter of the Republic's open courts, tennis and rugby clubs make up most of that, and GAA clubs are only just starting.
Key findings
- Sports clubs host 63 of the Republic's 223 open padel courts (28%), at 23 of its 70 open venues. Only stand-alone padel centres host more courts (67, 30%, at 14 venues). Hotels and resorts host 32 courts (14%) at 13 venues. Commercial golf driving ranges host another 16 (7%) and are not counted as clubs.
- Tennis clubs are the most common club host — 11 open venues with 22 courts. Rugby clubs have fewer but bigger sites: 18 courts at four venues, including Padel Tennis Ireland's eight covered courts at Garryowen FC in Limerick.
- The GAA has barely started. One open venue is confirmed on a GAA ground — Kinnegad GAA, Co. Westmeath (2 courts). A second, Padel 100 Borrisoleigh (2 courts), is possible but unconfirmed: its booking listing gives the address as Bishop Quinlan Park, the Borris-Ileigh GAA grounds, while the operator names its partner as Borrisoleigh Town Park. At most 4 of the Republic's 223 open courts (1.8%) are at GAA clubs.
- In the planning system, tennis clubs lead too. Of 164 distinct padel schemes lodged in the Republic since 2017, 52 are at members' sports clubs: tennis clubs 22, rugby clubs 9, soccer clubs 7, golf clubs 5, other sports clubs 5 and GAA clubs 4. The first GAA padel application in the register was lodged in November 2025; the first GAA grant came in July 2026. Tennis clubs have had padel permissions since 2019.
- Schools are the biggest single host type in the pipeline. Ten school sites with 21 courts are coming soon or consented in the Republic — more than any other host type, and a fifth of the 101 verified pipeline courts. Nine of the ten are Padel 100 sites (20 courts).
- Club schemes are rarely refused. Of the members'-club schemes that have received a decision, 36 of 39 were granted (92%), against 107 of 126 across all padel schemes (85%) and 19 of 29 for stand-alone commercial padel centres (66%). Pending, withdrawn and invalid applications are excluded from these rates.
Table 1 — Open padel courts in the Republic by host type
Open = bookable today (some members' clubs only take bookings from members). 27–28 September 2026. Shares are of 223 courts and 70 venues.
| Host type | Venues | Courts | Share of courts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tennis club | 11 | 22 | 9.9% |
| Rugby club | 4 | 18 | 8.1% |
| Other sports club (multi-sport members' clubs, athletics) | 4 | 13 | 5.8% |
| Soccer club | 3 | 8 | 3.6% |
| GAA club — confirmed (Kinnegad) | 1 | 2 | 0.9% |
| Golf club (members') | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| All sports clubs (excluding Borrisoleigh) | 23 | 63 | 28.3% |
| GAA ground or town park — unresolved (Borrisoleigh) | 1 | 2 | 0.9% |
| Stand-alone padel centre | 14 | 67 | 30.0% |
| Hotel / resort | 13 | 32 | 14.3% |
| Private gym / health club | 5 | 17 | 7.6% |
| Golf driving range / golf centre (commercial) | 3 | 16 | 7.2% |
| Public leisure / community centre | 6 | 12 | 5.4% |
| Other (e.g. a holiday park, an entertainment centre) | 3 | 8 | 3.6% |
| School / college | 1 | 2 | 0.9% |
| Host not yet confirmed | 1 | 4 | 1.8% |
| Total, Republic of Ireland | 70 | 223 | 100% |
If Borrisoleigh is confirmed as a GAA ground, sports clubs rise to 24 venues and 65 courts (29.1%). "Host" is the organisation whose land the courts are on, not the operator: many club courts are run by a commercial operator in partnership with the club — Padel 100, Druid Padel, Star Padel and Padel Tennis Ireland among them.
Table 2 — The pipeline in the Republic by host type
Venues marked coming soon, with planning permission granted, or with a planning application lodged. Venues we cannot independently verify are excluded.
| Host type | Venues | Courts |
|---|---|---|
| Rugby club | 3 | 9 |
| Soccer club | 2 | 6 |
| GAA club | 2 | 4 |
| Golf club (members') | 2 | 4 |
| Other sports club | 2 | 4 |
| Tennis club | 1 | 3 |
| All sports clubs | 12 | 30 |
| School / college | 10 | 21 |
| Hotel / resort | 5 | 19 |
| Other (e.g. Gowran Park racecourse) | 3 | 16 |
| Stand-alone padel centre | 1 | 6 |
| Public leisure / community | 2 | 3 |
| Golf driving range | 1 | 2 |
| Host not yet confirmed | 3 | 4 |
| Total verified pipeline, Republic | 37 | 101 |
The two GAA pipeline sites are Nenagh Éire Óg (Padel 100, listed as coming soon) and Leitrim Gaels (application lodged; further information requested). The planning register records Nenagh's application as withdrawn in June 2026, so that site's status is under review. Mallow GAA (5 courts, application pending) and St Gabriel's GAA, Kilconnell (2 courts, granted July 2026) appear in the planning register below but not yet in the tracker pipeline.
Table 3 — Padel planning schemes by host type and decision
Republic of Ireland only. 164 distinct padel schemes lodged since 2017. Statuses as of 15 September 2026. "Stated courts" counts only courts the application describes; 41 schemes give no number, so court figures are minimums.
| Host type | Schemes | Granted | Pending | Refused | Withdrawn | Invalid | Stated courts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennis club | 22 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 38 |
| Rugby club | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| Soccer club | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 25 |
| Golf club (members') | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 |
| Other sports club | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| GAA club | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 |
| All members' sports clubs | 52 | 36 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 110 |
| Stand-alone commercial padel centre | 43 | 19 | 8 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 106 |
| Hotel / resort | 25 | 17 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 53 |
| Other | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| Public leisure / community | 11 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Golf driving range / golf centre | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| Private gym / health club | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| School / college | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Private house | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Host not identified | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Total | 164 | 107 | 23 | 19 | 12 | 3 | 337 |
Why 164 and not 171? Our public planning register counts 171 distinct schemes from 222 applications. For this study we merged five more re-lodged applications into the scheme they replaced — so that, for example, nine courts refused and then granted on a fresh application are not counted twice — and removed two schemes where padel is incidental (a logistics development and a cottage alteration). The GAA schemes are Nenagh Éire Óg (withdrawn), St Gabriel's, Kilconnell (granted), Leitrim Gaels and Mallow GAA (both pending).
What it means
These figures describe where courts are; they do not by themselves explain why. A few observations the data supports:
- Tennis clubs got there first. The earliest club application in the register is a tennis club's (2017), the earliest club grant went to Naas Lawn Tennis Club (2019), and tennis clubs still account for the most club venues and club applications.
- Much club padel is built in partnership. Operators such as Padel 100, Druid Padel, Star Padel and Padel Tennis Ireland build and run courts on club grounds. Padel 100, for instance, describes its Kinnegad site as "in partnership with Kinnegad GAA".
- Clubs have been getting permission. Only three members'-club schemes in the register have been refused, against ten for stand-alone commercial centres. We have not analysed why individual applications succeed or fail, so this is an observation rather than an explanation.
- For the GAA, it is early days — and a big opportunity. GAA clubs account for one or two open padel venues and four planning schemes, and every one of those four applications was lodged from November 2025 onwards. This is the very beginning of GAA padel, not a verdict on it.
Northern Ireland
Our tracker covers the whole island; the planning register covers the Republic only, so Northern Ireland is reported separately here. Of Northern Ireland's 116 open courts at 25 venues, 63 (54%) are at 13 stand-alone padel centres, and 25 (22%) are at six sports clubs — a rugby club, a tennis club, a golf club, a boat club, a cricket club and a sports and recreation club. None is classified as a GAA ground (one venue's host is not yet confirmed). Across the island, 339 open courts at 95 venues, sports clubs host 88 courts (26%) at 29 venues, excluding Borrisoleigh.
Methodology
Sources. Court data: Openplay's national padel court tracker, 146 tracked locations across the island of Ireland, re-read in full on 28 September 2026 (figures as of 27 September 2026: 339 open courts at 95 venues island-wide; 223 courts at 70 venues in the Republic; 116 at 25 in Northern Ireland). Planning data: Openplay's padel planning register, built from the National Planning Application Database (every application with "padel" or "paddle" in its description; 222 applications since 2017), with statuses as of the database's 15 September 2026 load. Host classification: per-venue evidence — operator and club websites, booking-platform listings, planning files and local press — gathered 26–28 September 2026; a sample of club classifications, including both GAA venues, was re-checked on 28 September.
Definitions. Host = the organisation on whose grounds or premises the courts sit, not the operator brand. Open = bookable today (doubles and singles courts both counted; some members' clubs only accept bookings from members). Pipeline = coming soon, planning permission granted, or planning application lodged. Sports clubs = GAA, rugby, soccer, tennis and golf clubs and other members' sports clubs; commercial golf driving ranges are shown separately. Venues we cannot independently verify (10 venues, 40 courts) are excluded from every figure. Where no evidence of the host was found, the venue is shown as "host not yet confirmed" — nothing was guessed. A planning scheme groups an application with its earlier incomplete, invalid or re-lodged versions; the latest definitive decision counts. Granted includes decisions under appeal and one refusal overturned by An Bord Pleanála.
Limitations. 41 of the 164 planning schemes do not state a number of courts, so all planning court figures are minimums. The register finds applications whose description mentions padel; it will miss any that do not. Some council systems lag, so the most recent applications may be missing. Classification involves judgement: for example, a multi-sport members' club is coded "other sports club", and a golf hotel is coded hotel. Borrisoleigh is reported as unresolved until the operator or club confirms the site.
Spotted an error or a venue we've mis-classified? Tell us — corrections are made within days and published openly. Press: see our press page. © Openplay Research 2026 — free to cite with attribution and a link to this page.
Explore more: the live court map · the planning register · the Padel Court Density League · State of Padel in Ireland 2026 · press.
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