Clontarf's first ever Trophy - 1898

Everyone loves a cup run.  This century, Clontarf have had huge success in the Leinster Senior Cup, but the first trophy ever won by the club was the Junior Cup back in 1898.  Clontarf were still a junior club at this juncture, only gaining senior status in 1908.  League structures did not exist and administration was a bit haphazard.  The competition which Clontarf won appears to have been run by the Leinster Branch of the Irish Cricket Union but it is likely that this was a fore runner to the Leinster Cricket Union that we now know. 

It would be lovely to be able to call on newspaper reports to track the cup run in detail, however, while newspapers gave good coverage to the senior clubs, news on junior clubs was hit and miss, miss largely.  We do know however that Clontarf beat Old St. Marys in the final.  Old St. Marys had beaten another Northside club Dollymount in the first round, defending their total of 54 by bowling Dollymount out for just 23 and qualified for the final in their first year of competition by beating Workingmen.  

Clontarf played Sandymount in an earlier round although their lateness in paying the entry subscription had meant that an apologetic letter had been penned to the Union.

Their semi final was against Knapton (who we understand were based in Monkstown area).  The game appears to have been mired in controversy of some sort. A minute in the Clontarf records of 16^th August 1898 suggest “that in consequence of what occurred on the occasion of our Cup match with Knapton on our ground on Sat. last, that club be written to for an apology failing which the matter be laid before the Union”.  A week later a response had been received from Knapton asking that Clontarf “state more specifically the charges we brought against them”.  A suitable response was drafted and a request for an apology, but their response was not deemed satisfactory and the Committee agreed to pass the correspondence to the Union.    

But let us get back to the cricket.

The final was played on the last weekend of September.  The Clontarf side was a mix of young and old. 

Players such as Bob Kirkwood, George Freehill, Bertie Coote, Jack and Herbert Boate had been playing for Clontarf for in excess of 15 years.

There were also plenty youth, Jack Leach and brothers, Sam and George Crawford.  Sam Crawford would become Clontarf’s first ever international cricketer when he was capped in 1903 against London County, who featured W.G. Grace, but at this stage he had just finished school in Wesley College and was waiting to begin studies in Trinity College.  George was his younger brother.    

In the game Clontarf scored 177 in their innings with Freehill top scoring with 54, made in just 26 minutes, Bertie Coote was also a half century maker but failed to get past that mark.  When Old St Mary’s came to bat, they were bowled out twice, with both Herbert and Leach taking 4 wickets, resulting in Clontarf winning by an innings and 12 runs.

F.H. Browning the Hon Secretary of the Irish Cricket Union presented a “handsome cup” to Miss Turpin for distribution.  Miss Turpin may well have been the daughter of the Hon Treasurer while George Porter responded on behalf of the victors.

It was the beginning of a productive period for Clontarf and after finishing runners up in the Junior League in 1904 and winning the same competition in 1905 and 1906, Senior Status was just around the corner.

Note: Thanks to Pat Bracken for his assistance in locating records and details without which this article would not have been possible