[1] In November 1877, soon after tennis was invented, the Club was founded by ten men and it leased grounds in Upper Pembroke Street, near to Fitzwilliam Square.

Significantly, the year 1879 also saw the hosting by Fitzwilliam of the world's first National Ladies' Tennis Championship, an event which was marked in 2023 by the installation at 24/25 Upper Pembroke Street of a Dublin City Council commemorative plaque.

In 1880 the club acquired land at Wilton Place/Lad Lane on which tennis courts were constructed, together with an adjoining building which was converted to serve as the clubhouse.

[2] By 1885, the club needed to expand further and two acres next to the pavilion were acquired and additional tennis courts (with a grass surface) were laid down.

In 1969 the members of Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club approved an offer to surrender its Wilton Place premises in exchange for a purpose-built complex on a much larger site at Appian Way, less than 2 km away.

The men's event was part of the pre-open era tour from inception until 1967 with winners including Grand Slam singles champions, Neale Fraser (1958), Rod Laver (1962) and Tony Roche (1965, 1970).

Notable Ladies’ Irish singles champions include Helen Wills Moody (1938), Alice Marble (1939), Maureen Connolly (1952), Billie Jean King (1963, 1969), Maria Bueno (1964-65), Margaret Court (1966, 1971, 1973), Virginia Wade (1970) and Evonne Goolagong (1972).

Fitzwilliam enjoys strong and longstanding ties with the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC).

In 1936 The Irish Squash Racquets Association was founded with Fitzwilliam member Judge Cahir Davitt as President.

Fitzwilliam initiated and hosted the first Irish Squash Racquets Open for men (1932) and women (1949) and many of the world’s best players have subsequently competed, notably Jonah Barrington (Eng), Geoff Hunt (Aus), Peter Nicol (Sco), Jonathon Power (Can), Lisa Opie (Eng), Susan Devoy (NZ), Vanessa Atkinson (NED) and Madeline Perry (IRL).

More recently, the top-ranked El Shorbagy brothers, Mohamed and Marwan, have thrilled Fitzwilliam’s spectators with their play and provided coaching sessions to the Club’s juniors.

As national champions, Fitzwilliam's Women's team has competed in the European Club Squash Championships on seven occasions since 2002, winning the Bronze medal twice, in 2002 and in 2012.