Limerick has a proud tradition in Irish ladies tennis. Gina Niland, Fiona Long and Aoiffe O'Neill have all represented Ireland.

But the top player in recent years has been Deirdre Collins who has won eight Munster Senior Cup medals with Limerick Lawn and despite her great talent, was bypassed by successive Munster selectors over a number of years.

But having been born in Galway, she got the call to provincial duty from Connacht and this year helped that province to win the Senior Interprovincial Championship for the first time.

It was at Salesian Convent where Deirdre began her primary school life before moving on to secondary education at the same school.

It was while in primary school that she met a girl who was to become a life long friend, Rhona Hayes.

"While at school I played basketball and we won the Schools Under-16 and Under-18 titles. Rhona, Emmas Gavin, Lisa O'Donovan, Barbara McDonagh and Mary T Reale, who later became an international athlete, were on the team and we had a great coach in Sheila Byrne" she said.

For a year Deirdre played hockey with LPYMA and she also played schools soccer. But a moment she will never forget arrived when she was a mere nine years old.

"I was handed a tennis racquet by Claire Hayes who began to coach me at Limerick Lawn with her daughter. Ger Lawlor and the legendary Eugene Mulholland also gave me coaching and I will be forever grateful to them for all their help," she said.

Playing with the Salesian School, Deirdre, Rhona, Susan O'Connor and Karen O'Reilly won the Munster Schools championships at Under-14, Under-16 and Under-18 level.

"But my first important win came when Rhona and I won the South Of Ireland B championship when I was only 16. The same year I won the Under-18 singles in the Limerick Open when I beat Ann Fleming in the final," she said.

Since then Deirdre has won the Limerick Open "several times" with one of her most fondly remembered wins in 2005, when she won the Premier Singles at the South Of Ireland, beating Mary C McCarthy in the final.

About 15 years ago Deirdre found a new partner when Rhona Hayes went to Australia, for a time, and on her return became involved in volleyball.

"I teamed up with Jennifer Ann Mulholland and we have won loads of things since. I do not remember being beaten too often, if ever, when playing with Jennifer Ann and last Friday night we retained the club Doubles title. We have won that, and Limerick Opens, many times, plus various other finals," she said.

Deirdre was chosen for the Munster Under-18 squad but never got picked. And, amazingly, for five years she was on the Munster Under-25 squad but was not picked at any stage.

"About ten years ago I was contacted by Olwyn Rafferty who asked if it was true that I was born in Galway. When I confirmed that I was, she asked would I be interested in playing for Connacht and I have been doing so for nine of the past ten years," she told me.