Born: November 7th, 1942
Died: January 30th, 2026
Dr Geraldine Barniville (nee Houlihan), who has died aged 83, was an international tennis and squash player who later became involved in sports administration, coaching and sports medicine.
During more than a decade as the country’s best female tennis player, she played at Wimbledon a number of times and at the US Open. She represented Ireland some 70 times, and dominated the game at home.
Later, she came to focus her energies on squash, becoming the Irish number one at that too and playing at a succession of world team championships.
She brought the same high standards she had developed as a player to her coaching, administrative and sports medicine roles, including as team doctor to the Irish boxers at the Barcelona Olympics, where Michael Carruth won a gold medal and Wayne McCullough a silver.
She would subsequently serve as a member of the boards of the Irish Sports Council (then Cospoir) and National Coaching and Training Centre and become active at a high level, and expert, in anti-doping.
She was married to the late Dr Harry Barniville, also a tennis international, who she m
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