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

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Text message, Whats App group sometimes even a mobile phone call.  The modern way to sort out a team for the weekend. In recent past i.e pre Facebook, teams were displayed on the noticeboard in the clubhouse and yes, there still is one in Clontarf. However, while sorting through some archives, a document was found which reveals how teams 100 years ago were organised.  A pre typed post card in which the relevant details were added was the method used in 1915.  Not only that, but the player had to confirm his availability "by return of post" to the Club Secretary.

It can be taken for granted that a return to these days is unlikely.

Leinster Senior Cup Final 1992 (and why we won)

The Cup Final in 1992 was a great day for those of us who were there. Finally we had beaten our arch rival YMCA, having been humiliated in the 1987 final in our own ground and run them close in Leinster in 1990 in a game that was there for the taking. The monkey was off our backs.

It could have been so different though.  The team that arrive in the Phoenix Park that morning were unusually quiet.  Yes, there was the small matter that the President, Mary Robinson would be visiting the ground ahead of the game, but it was more than that.  Here was a team that was allowing the occasion overtake them.  What was needed was something to lighten the mood.  Help was at hand. Unbeknownst to most, Peter Prendergast had been asked to contribute to the programme by way of Player Profiles of the Clontarf Team.  Someone had been asked to fulfill the same function for YMCA but I will not bore you with their version.  Suffice to say that on that day, Peter's profiles of his team mates became our 14th man - we had two 12th men that day.

Having arrived at the ground suffocated by tension, by the time we left the changing room we were ready for battle (and a few ready to kill Peter). The rest as they say is history.

  

1876 – the year we were founded?

1876 – the year we were founded?

It is generally assumed that Clontarf Cricket Club was founded in 1876.  Without documentary proof however, it is hard to verify the actual date.  The earliest written history was included in a brochure for a Fund Raising Fete in 1911 and it admitted that it was “hard to assign a date to its formation” merely confirming  that a healthy organisation existed in the middle 1880's. This is indisputable, we have a notebook from 1886 confirming a membership of over 50 and photographs exist from as early as 1883. What we do not have however is minute books or similar dating back into the 1870's.  So from where did the date of 1876 appear?  It is first mentioned in the Club’s annual fixture book in the 1950’s and appears in the history written for the opening of the new ground in May 1958 as a definitive date.  This history quotes from the Irish Sportsman from 27 July 1878 who “welcome the suburban Club, Clontarf, and wish them every success in their endeavor to promote so healthy and manly a sport in their own district”.  This quotation certainly makes a reasonable case for a foundation in the mid 1870’s. 

However, now that the Irish Times archive can be so easily accessed, we are able to see that cricket in Clontarf existed a long time before 1876 and indeed games involving a club going by the name of Clontarf C.C. were played early in the 1860’s.  The earliest mention found to date is from the paper printed on Wednesday 21 May 1862 involving a game against Clonliffe.  Clonliffe were comfortable winners as can be seen from the scorecard below, beating Clontarf by 10 wickets in a 2 innings game.   To put this date in some cricketing context, 1862 was the year of the first tour by an English side to Australia but it was 2 years before “over the shoulder” bowling was permitted by the rules.

The game was played at the Clontarf ground but it fails to state the location of that ground.  However another record found in the archive from 16 June 1865 reports on a local derby between Clontarf and Killester played at “the ground of the former club, North Bull”.  There would not have been any conflict with Royal Dublin Golf Club however as they only moved to Bull Island in 1889 having moved to that location from their original home at Phoenix Park. 

Once again the Clontarf XI were well beaten. The star of the Killester team was T. King who followed his 6 wickets in the first innings by taking a further 4 in the second. He also top scored in the Killester innings, scoring 27.  Interestingly, a T. King also played in the Clonliffe game for Clontarf but he was less successful in the earlier game with a pair of ducks and no wickets.

It should be no surprise that we can find cricket in the area before our “official” founding date, Ger Siggins, the well-known cricket journalist and author has traced cricket in the names of both YMCA C.C. and Strabane C.C well before their supposed beginnings.  It will be interesting to find if cricket in Clontarf (or indeed our near neighbour Killester) can be traced to before 1862 as more and more newspaper archives become easily available.

Clontarf from the air, 1952

What was Clontarf like in the 1950's?  Well thanks to a website www.britainfromabove.org.uk we can see how it looked from the air in 1952.  There are a number of aerial shots of Clontarf and a couple include the cricket club.  The best shot is copied below and the club is in the top right of the picture.  The cricket club was on what is now the rugby pitch and the square is clearly shown.
Note you can find more photos at the website but use the search of Clow Tarf (7 photos) abd Clontarf (1 photo)

1984 Marigold Ladies Senior Cup Win

Clontarf once again showed their strength in depth when they defeated Claremont in this year's Marigold Cup Final at a sun drenched College Park. Claremont opened the batting, but had no answer for the Clontarf bowling attack, with the Owens sisters Stella (5 for 18 in 13 overs) and Elizabeth (4 or 28 in 12) in superb form.

The only Claremont player to show any resistance was Caroline Watson who put on a brave 16 before being given out l.b.w. off Stella Owens. The Claremont total of 55 for 9 off 25 overs was never going to be enough against the powerful Clontarf attack and some fine stroke playing by Anne Murray who made 34 not out, laid the foundation for Clontarf's emphatic nine wicket victory.

On receiving the cup, Clontarf captain Elizabeth Owens paid tribute to Claremont's brave display in their first season in Senior cricket and the Claremont Road side got some consolation when Caroline Watson received the Woman of the Matach award

This report by Colin Kerr appeared in the Irish Cricket Magazine

Note 1. Tom Prior remembers that the Woman of the Match award was given to Caroline Watson by Clarissa Pilkington for "winning the toss"!

Note 2. The Clontarf side contained 5 cricket internationals, Elizabeth (Lily) Owens, Stella Owens, Anne Murray, Susan Bray and Tracey Skoyles.  It also contained 3 hockey internationals, Jacqui Potter, Deirdre Courtney and Fiona Manning.

Back L-R L Glen, F Manning, L Spence, M Murray, T Skoyles, A Murray, J Burgess
Front L-R J Potter, S Bray, S Owens, E Owens, D Courtney, J Cassidy.

Tom Prior

 

First published in the Club programme of 2007