Clontarf CC in 1886

Clontarf Cricket Club in 1886

 

1886 and Clontarf was celebrating its 10th birthday.  Thanks to a notebook kept by the Secreatry of the Club, G.F. Healey, we are able to view the operations of the club in some detail.

The President was the local dignitary, John Edward Venables Vernon, the Lord of the Manor, resident in Clontarf Castle.  It is likely that he was also the landlord of the Club, as he was by far the largest landowner in the area.  Indeed, he is credited with the creation of the Clontarf township and befitting a man of his status, he was also a Deputy Lieutenant and Justice of the Peace.  His son, Colonel Edward Venables Vernon would later attain the Presidentship of the Club, as would their successor as the owner of the Castle, J.G. Oulton.   The Captain of the Club was A.G. Brooks from Hillview in Clontarf and vice captain was C.J. Healey another local living at Hughenden on Castle Avenue.  Healey’s brother G.F. Healey acted as Hon. Secretary while H.P. Downey was the Treasurer.

 

Membership of the club ran to 50, the vast majority of whom were local, though a small number were based in Dublin City.  Quite how the subscription system operated is not clear, but we do know that 13 members paid varying amounts to the Club, with Vernon paying £10 and Lord Ardilaun, otherwise known as Arthur Guinness, contributing £2 to the coffers.  The other paying members paid amounts from £1/1 to 2 shillings 6p.

 On the playing side, 18 fixtures were made, though only 10 were actually played (a bad summer perhaps?) and of those, Clontarf were successful in only 3 games.  The fixture list was an eclectic mix with teams we will still recognise, Civil Service and YMCA featuring while others such as Workingmen’s Club CC, Broadstone CC and Inchicore Catholic Club are no longer with us.  In those days, school teams featured heavily in the fixtures, however these teams were a mix of staff and students and we played games against High School, Wesley College and Kingstown School.

No doubt the players in 1886 looked forward to their season just as much as we do now in 2013.

 

You can view the entire notebook at the following link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29263632@N02/sets/72157622092213559/with/4004632359/