History of the Templemichael Bridge Club
Until 1978 Longford had two duplicate bridge clubs, one being a "junior" club held on Monday evenings and the other being a "senior" club held each Friday.
At a meeting held in September, 1978, a group of fifteen bridge-players decided to consider the prospect of starting another club, to be held each Wednesday, to meet the needs of players wishing to progress from the Monday club and others from the Friday club who would welcome an extra duplicate bridge club.
The meeting was opened by Seamus Mulvey and it was decided that a new Club would be "tried" for a year. John Murphy proposed the name "Templemichael Bridge Club", Mel Murtagh was elected Chairman and the Club began life in the Annaly Hotel.
The appointed joint-secretaries were Seamus Mulvey and Bart Holten. The original committee comprised of Bill Kirk, Sean Masterson, Frank Kenny and Hugh Connolly snr. Other participants at that meeting included, Maura Mulvey, James Connolly, Matt O’Brien, Ray Masterson and Michael O’Brien.
After a year, the Club proved viable and moved to the County Longford Golf Club where it resided for seven years. On 1st October, 1986, Templemichael Bridge Club then moved to it’s present location, Slashers GAA Club.
Today, Templemichael Bridge Club caters for between sixty and eighty players most Wednesdays between September and May. The Club has several ‘Open’ Cup competitions together with a varied programme including Pairs, Individual, and Team competitions. Facilities at the Club include a full bar service, coffee, tea and snacks. A very large car park and disabled access complete the needs of our patrons.
The Club starts at 7.45pm sharp and is open to visitors on most Wednesday evenings.