Newton Mt. Kennedy Tae Kwon Do club was founded in 1986 by Mr. Steven White, who was 4^th degree black belt at the time. Mr. White originally trained with Master Robert Wheatley in Greystones. He was representing Ireland in international Tae Kwon Do events for 10 years.

In 1987, Newton Mt. Kennedy Club took part in their first competition – South Eastern Championship. Although the highest belt was a yellow stripe, the club members won 19 trophies. From then on, the club participated in six to seven competitions every year.

East Coast TKD instructor, Mr. Michael Whelan was instrumental in maintaining the continuity of the club and developing the club since 1990.

Mr. Whelan joined the club after he took his son James for training, who was six at the time. James is 4^th degree black belt today and also one of the East Coast TKD instructors. Mr. Whelan joined the club because of his continuous interest in martial arts. Previously, he trained boxing, shotokan and kempo. After Mr. White moved on in 1990, for Mr. Whelan took over the club, which among other things insured continuous training for Mr. Whelan.

The same year, James won All Ireland competition in colour belt category – no wonder since he started taking part in the competitions since he was seven.

Another milestone for the club was taking part in the first international competition – TAGB Championship in 1998 in Brighton, UK. James Whelan and Chris McCabe performed well and made it to the quarterfinals. This competition was followed by many other competitions all over UK. Continuous training and development of the club meant that the club sent its members to the ITF World Championship in Korea in 2004 and to European Tae Kwon Do Championship in Germany in 2005 and 2006.

The objective for the future of the club is to insure international experience for the members. Mr. Whelan’s ambition is that Tae Kwon Do students from Newton Mt. Kennedy become regular members of the national team that represents Ireland on international Tae Kwon Do events, including the World Championship. In addition, Mr. Whelan’s ambition is to improve the art of Tae Kwon Do and provide opportunity for students to grow within the club. Finally, the objective of the club is to maintain family friendly environment where all family members can participate in the club activities.