When Irish tennis dined at the Davis Cup's top table and took on the might John McEnroe

"The Republic of Ireland is not a place where tennis flourishes. The reasons may be varied, but leaving the country's sports psyche aside, there are two possible explanations much easier to understand..."

We'll come to the two reasons later but those words above were committed to print in a New York Times article published on 28 September 1983 underneath a rather blunt and matter-of-fact headline: 'A Yank to Lead Ireland in Davis Cup'.

The "Yank" in question was Matt Doyle and 40 years on, the article and the reason why one of the world's leading newspapers was taking an interest in Irish tennis still live long in his memory.

The cross-court passing of time between late September and early October of that year remains the high point for Irish tennis when it comes to its participation in the Davis Cup, the prestigious international team tournament in the men's game.

It was the only year in which Ireland featured in the top tier World Group section, usually the preserve of the elite nations, and Doyle played a key part in getting the team there.

The 68-year-old, who is currently based in Kildare, was born in California and had emerged onto the pro tennis scene through the US collegiate circuit.

While he was fully aware of his Irish Catholic heritage which flowed through his Cork-born paternal grandfather, the idea of representing Ireland internationally wasn't on his radar.

That was until he spoke to a tennis player from the Rebel County, Sean Sorensen, who he had previously faced on the collegiate scene, that planted a seed in Doyle's mind at the dawn of the '80s as they played together on the old French Satellite Tours.

"We got talking about the possibility of me playing for Ireland and I had grandparents who were born