Cricket in the Barony of Gaultier

Many modern-day sports followers may be surprised to learn that around one hundred and seventy years ago, cricket was the most popular sport in Ireland and the first organized team game to enjoy widespread popularity. It was played in almost every part of the country and by all social classes. The Barony of Gaultier was no exception to this norm, as we shall read later.

The view is often put forward that the decline in the popularity of cricket happened when, in 1884, the Gaelic Athletic Association was founded in Thurles, but by then cricket’s decline was well advanced. The formation of the GAA was certainly a factor, but other influences were also at play. The formation of the Land League in 1879, whose campaign for fair rent, free sale, and fixity of tenure almost immediately caused a huge split between landlord and tenant. In the rural counties, where cricket was played largely under the patronage of landlords, the land war was devastating for the sport. (1) There was a certain irony involved here, as Charles Stewart Parnell, who had helped found the Land League, had been a talented cricketer with the Co. Wicklow team at Avondale.

Another factor in the demise of cricket was one of governance and its inability to organize itself on a national basis. Michael Cusack, a founder of the GAA and a competent cricketer at Trinity and Blackrock College, has been reported that, as late as 1882, he was still lobbying for the setting up of a national body to run the sport properly. UCD sports historian, Paul Rouse, feels that had cricket been organized on a national basis, as Cusack had suggested, it might well have been strong enough to withstand the competition from the GAA. However, allied to all of this was the upsurge in nationalism, sparked by the Fenians and the growth in interest of the Gaelic games of hurling and football. Cricket disappeared as quickly as it had flourished in many areas, while apart from Dublin and Unionist strongholds in the North, it rapidly became a minority sport, a status that it has found difficult to shake off to this day.

The earliest record of cricket being played in the Barony of Gaultier that I found comes from 1850. The Tipperary Free Press, dated Wednesday, October 2, 1850, carried the following report:

CRICKET.
Wednesday last, a cricket match came off on Mr. Kiely’s lawn at Ballymacaw, between the Dunmore and Corbally cricketers to decide a challenge between Mr. Edmond Power of Coxtown and Thomas Dillon Esq. of Summerville. The umpires were Lieutenant Ashton and Mr. Kearns, agriculturist to Earl Fortesque. Amongst those present were Colonel Wandesford, Patrick Kiely, Thomas Dillon, Edward Alcock Esqrs., and several others besides numerous spectators, and a large number of the fair sex, who were undeterred by the severity of the day, and whose appearance and beaming smiles added to the gaiety of the scene. The play commenced at three o’clock, the Corbally men taking the first innings and bringing 21 aces; the Dunmore men went in second and brought 46 aces. The sport had then to be stopped for nearly an hour in consequence of a heavy shower of rain, which having abated, the Corbally men went in to their second innings and brought 56 aces, making 77 aces in both innings. The Dunmore men then went in to their second innings, and there were only four hands out when the game was cried. With the exception of the drawback of the weather, the whole scene was animating, and the play on both sides excellent. The willingness with which the vanquished party acceded to the decision of the umpires was most creditable to them.

The men of Dunmore had obviously taken a liking to this sport, and a rivalry with their close neighbours in Woodstown was beginning, one that was to last for almost 150 years.

The Waterford Mail of August 20, 1851 (Courtesy Pat Bracken) carried the following report:

CRICKET MATCH
The return match between the Dunmore East cricketers and Woodstown came off on Friday last. Seldom has there been collected so large a concourse of the rank and fashion, amongst whom the fair spectators were conspicuous, as met together on the present occasion. Amongst those present were the Earl of Huntingdon, Sir Robert Paul, Bart., Sir John Blunden, Bart., George Meara, Esq., and family, Rev. Mr. Blacker, P. Fitzgerald, Esq., Thomas Dillon Esq., Summerville, Alfred Gahan, Esq., C.E., Walter and Frederick Gahan Esqrs., --- Stevenson, Esq., Matthew W. Biggs, William Morris, and Henry Morris, Esqrs., Lieutenant Roberts, and several of the officers from Duncannon and Waterford &c., &c.

The play commenced precisely at three o’clock, the Dunmore men taking the first innings. The umpires were Sir John Blunden and Henry Morris; markers Alfred Gahan, C.E., and --- Stevenson, Esq., of Callan. Seldom, if ever, was there witnessed a more beautiful or better contested game; the play of the Earl of Huntingdon, both in batting and catching, was unrivalled. In fact, the play on both sides could not be surpassed and drew forth the warmest admiration of all present.

The Dunmore men brought in first innings: 31
Second innings: 80
Total Dunmore: 111

The Woodstown men brought in first innings: 74
Second innings: 38
Total Woodstown: 112

The utmost harmony and good feeling prevailed throughout; the day was uncommonly fine, and it being a holiday, the concourse of those who availed themselves of the fete was immense. The Dunmore cricketers have one game and Woodstown another, and as neither party can be counted victorious, a deciding match will come off at Dunmore in about three weeks. It is understood that in the intervening period, both parties, Woodstown and Dunmore being in the barony of Gaultier, will join in and play the military officers.

Wednesday next is the day fixed on for the game, which will take place at Woodstown and is creating considerable interest. (1)

What would happen in the deciding contest between Dunmore and Woodstown? Who would be deemed the best team in the Barony? There was a slight hiatus in the rivalry as Woodstown ‘failed to show on the day,’ as this following report outlines:

CRICKET MATCH
At an early hour on Thursday morning, numbers commenced assembling at Ballymabin in anticipation of the deciding match between the Dunmore and Woodstown cricketers. At 12 o’clock, the Dunmore men, headed by Mr. Alcock, entered the field ready for action, and having waited for the appearance of their opponents until one o’clock, were then informed the Woodstown players were not prepared, according to promise. This created the utmost disappointment amongst all present, particularly amongst the poor fruit-women of Waterford, who reap a tolerable harvest on such occasions and had now the prospect of returning home with full baskets and empty pockets, when Thomas Dillon, Esq., proposed to make a match between the assembled cricketers, which was accordingly made, and seldom was there seen a better or more beautifully contested game. Amongst those present were Sir John Blunden, Bart., Edward Alcock, Thomas Dillon, George Stevenson, Wm. Morris, Esqrs., Capt. Young, R.N., Dr. Clarke, Lieut. Brown &c. The play commenced at 1 o’clock, and the game that came off entirely made up for the disappointment occasioned by the Woodstown party; but as the match was not a set one, the giving of the score is not of importance. The players were entertained at luncheon by Mr. Alcock, to whom, with Mr. Dillon, the greatest praise is due for the encouragement given to this manly game among the young men of the neighbourhood, which has in great measure done away with hurling and those other amusements where so many lives have been lost and such bad feeling generated. We are not informed whether the Woodstown and Dunmore boys will meet again to decide the previous match. (2)

On July 16, 1852, the following letter appeared in the Waterford News:

TO THE EDITOR OF THE WATERFORD NEWS
Sir—Being under the impression that the insertion of a match of the royal game of cricket in the “News” would not prove uninteresting to a large portion of your readers, I send you details of one which took place at Passage on the 10th instant.—viz.
Dunmore, Ballymacaw and Carbally, v. Passage

This match, which was admirably contested in the two first innings, ended in favour of Passage, with nineteen in the score. Some fifteen hundred people were present.

I am sir, your humble servant,
J. BICKLEY
Beresford-street, 14th July, 1852

P.S.—When the game was over, a shoemaker of Passage carried Baston, a bowler of local celebrity, in triumph several times round the field, to the infinite amusement of spectators.

The scorecard for the two innings of both teams was included at the end of the letter. Passage scored 39 and 36 runs with the opposition scoring 35 and 21 runs. A win for Passage by 19 runs, as the writer pointed out. The umpires are listed as Messrs Power and Edmond with the scorers as Messrs Brennan and Murphy.

The two teams were listed as follows (spellings as per newspaper):

Passage: Fleury, Ryan, Hanlon, Quigly, D. Orsy, Hearn, East, Breen, Baston, Murphy, Ryal.

Dunmore, Ballymacaw and Carbally: Kelly, Edmonds, Lyons, Hogan, Flynn, Stattin, Walsh, Power, Kirwan, Cheasty, Shea.

There is no doubt that the nobility and landed-gentry of not only Co. Waterford but adjoining counties were taking to the game of cricket in a big way. If there was any disbelief surrounding this, one would only need to read an account of a match played at Woodstown in September 1861.

The teams were not from the Barony, but it was a match between Counties Kilkenny and Wexford:

GREAT CRICKET MATCH AT WOODSTOWN
KILKENNY v WEXFORD
(From a Correspondent)

This most interesting match was in part on Tuesday last in the Woodstown Cricket Ground, to the extreme delight of those who had the good fortune to witness it; and though no Caesar or Caffyn took part therein, yet there was admirable play on both sides—the field having been well kept with good bowling, and very excellent batting. The day was beautifully fine, in fact too warm for the players, more especially the bowlers. A few elegantly-attired ladies honoured the game with their fair presence, amongst whom were: The Most Noble the Marchioness of Waterford; the Misses King, Grantstown, The Misses Jeffars, Ballysap, County Wexford &c., &c. The Earl of Tyrone was also present, and Mr. Bloomfield. The south side of the ground presented a very gay and animated appearance, as Sir Robert Paul, Bart., in the absence of the Earl of Huntingdon, had there erected, for the accommodation of the strangers, three beautiful cricket tents surrounded with flags, and near which the fair portion of the spectators were seated, whose presence lent enchantment to the scene… (3)

The report then goes on to give details of the match, which appeared not to have reached a conclusion. One player is described as wearing a red cricket frock, and while batting, cries went up of “Bravo Red Jacket.” The reference to ‘Caesar and Caffyn’ is of two of the greatest English cricketers of that era; Julius Caesar and William ‘Billy’ Caffyn, both from Surrey. The Misses King of Grantstown would have been sisters to Nannie, who had married David Malcomson in January of that year and whom we shall see mentioned in an upcoming paragraph.

Military personnel garrisoned in Waterford would have provided opposition for many local teams to play against in that era, and the following report from 1870 gives us an insight into what happened in one such match:

Cricketing at Woodlands.—On Friday last, a very interesting cricket match came off at Woodlands, the beautiful and picturesque seat of P.J. Power, Esq., D.L., on the Suir, within a few miles of this city.—The weather was very fine and numbers of the elite of the neighbourhood were present to witness the prowess of the competitors, the Woodlands eleven, and the 51st Light Infantry club from town. The playing was particularly good and most agreeably diversified at the proper time by the generous hospitality of Mr. and Mrs. Power, who regaled their visitors at a profuse and splendid luncheon. The result of the play was --- Military, 66; Woodlands, 62. (4)

Another reference to cricket in the Barony, and this time involving Dunmore, from the 19th century is contained in a memorandum document about the Fishermen’s Hall posted by www.odywer.net (5). Nannie Malcomson lived at Villa Marina (Now the Haven Hotel) and had been widowed in 1867 when her husband David died at an early age. Villa Marina was one of several fine houses that had been built for members of the Malcomson dynasty of shipbuilders and entrepreneurs. Nannie had just one son, Joseph or ‘Master Joe’ as he was affectionately known in the local community. His grandfather had also been called Joseph. ‘Master Joe’ did not immerse himself in the affairs of the family businesses, but as the memorandum states:

He was particularly at home with the fishing fraternity in Dunmore. He had his own fishing boat, which was crewed locally. Joseph organized cricket matches between the soldiers garrisoned in Waterford and local selections. They were said to have been enjoyable occasions—neither the soldiers nor the fishermen had been known to complain of thirst at the close of the day’s play!

His death at an early age in 1887 was a shattering blow for his mother, and in his memory, she had the Fishermen’s Hall built. She, herself, died shortly before it was opened in 1900.

With cricket vanishing from many parts of the country and becoming a distant memory, the Barony of Gaultier continued to be an area where the sport was still played. The era before and between the wars was a particularly prosperous one for the sport in the Barony, with a large number of teams taking the field every summer. Glancing through old Waterford newspaper cuttings from the period during summer months, a reader will come across many references to matches taking place and the exploits of such Barony teams as Dunmore, Killea, Crooke, Faithlegg, Grantstown, Woodlands, Passage, Knockboy, Ballinakill, Ardkeen, Ballytruckle, Callaghane, and Kilcohan, and see the part that they played in the sporting and social landscape at various times. Different teams were prominent at various stages, and as the vast majority of the cricket being played was not in league or cup competitions, players often played for more than one team, making up the numbers as required on teams whose fortunes ebbed and flowed.

Around the turn of the century and into the twentieth century, Ballytruckle and Callaghane appeared to be the dominant forces in cricketing circles in the Barony.

The men of Callaghane must have been a formidable lot, judging by this snippet that appeared in a local newspaper in September 1900:

Callaghane held high revel on Sunday last with its “patron” day, cricket match, and tug-of-war. Nicholas Kennedy’s team of cricketers did for the Killea men in one innings, and Dennie Ivory mustered a tug-of-war tea that pulled Kelly’s team to baby-rags. “Begob”, said a man with a Skye terrier, “if they warn’t so heavy they’d pull’em into the say. (6)

The following season, they faced Ballytruckle, and this time they found the opposition stiffer than facing Killea in 1900:

CRICKET
CALLAGHANE V. BALLYTRUCKLE

This match was played at Callaghane on Sunday last and resulted in a win for Ballytruckle by 4 wickets. Neither side showed their true form, the batting on both sides being very weak. The Callaghane men were all out in the first innings for the small total of 9 runs. A. Hicks took five wickets for 5 runs, and J. Nicholson 4 wickets for 4 runs. Ballytruckle did not fare much better, as they were dismissed for 22 runs. The only one who seemed at home with the bowling was A. Power, who plays nice cricket. In the second innings, J. Shanahan and Phelan, for Callaghane, did well, the former making 11 and the latter 9 (not out). Ballytruckle hit off the 31 they required to win for loss of 6 wickets, Messrs. Hicks, Keane, and E. Phelan being the highest scorers. The following was the scoring:

Callaghane:
1st innings: 9
2nd innings: 42
Total: 51

Ballytruckle:
1st innings: 22
2nd innings (for 6 wickets): 31
Total: 53 (7)

The 1925 season started with a report that the “Dunmore East Cricket Club will benefit considerably as a result of a most successful variety entertainment held on its behalf at the Malcomson Hall, Dunmore East.” The report goes on to say, “The large audience present were delighted with the feast of talent, vocalistic and otherwise, with which they were provided by a highly elated organizing committee.”

Meanwhile, we read from the same page that Ballinakill and Knockboy got their season off to a start on the field of play:

Cricket Season Opens.
The 1925 cricket season opened here on Sunday with a well-attended match between Ballinakill and Knockboy, which was played on the grounds of Mr. De Bromhead, Ardkeen. A very interesting and exciting game resulted, the result always being in doubt till Leahy went in.

Three singles by Kelly just levelled off matters, and the tension was high when Burke was clean bowled without a run. Leahy and Madigan, however, altered matters, and Knockboy retired victorious.

Both teams will engage in a return match at Williamstown on Sunday next, which should prove an attraction, more especially after such a close fight on the first outing. (8)

Towards the end of the 1925 season, we read an account in the Munster Express of a local derby between Dunmore and Killea:

"Dunmore and Killea played their return match on the grounds of the latter club on Sunday last. Killea batted first and made a total of 60 runs, per P. O’Toole and E. Kirwan. Dr. E. Shipsey and A. Taylor shared the attack throughout the innings, the former’s average being four for 26 and the latter 5 for 29.

In the first innings, Dunmore made 47 runs, including 12 byes. Killea’s bowling was rather poor.

In the second innings, Killea lost five wickets for nine runs. The innings closed on 39. M. Power’s bowling for Dunmore was excellent, his average being 6 for 17.

In Dunmore’s second innings, they ran out winners by the substantial margin of 7 wickets and 9 runs, a feature of this moiety the splendid batting of Fanning and Taylor. (9)

Another team from the Barony did not fare so well on the very same day. Not only did they lose away in Co. Kilkenny (never a nice experience), they had what is described as a ‘misadventure’ on the journey home. The team in question was Faithlegg:

CRICKET TEAM’S MISADVENTURE
Faithlegg Cricket Club travelled to Bennettsbridge on Sunday last and were defeated by the narrow margin of 12 runs. Scores: Bennettsbridge 105: Faithlegg, 93.

On the return journey, the conveyance broke down about a mile outside Ballyhale. After close on two hours’ strenuous work, notwithstanding all the efforts of the driver, with the kindly assistance of the drivers of some passing cars, the vehicle could not be righted, and the team had perforce to find other means of getting home, which they eventually reached, thoroughly worn out, about 3.30 a.m. (10)

In June 1926, an account of what was termed ‘The Cricket League’ appeared in a local newspaper. Interestingly, both Woodstown and Dunmore were not participating. I suspect that they had established fixtures lists already. It was an eight-team league with three from the Barony taking part: Faithlegg, Ardkeen, and Grantstown. The other teams were: Tramore, Christendom, Carrick, Dunhill, and Civil Service.

THE CRICKET LEAGUE
The Cricket League started on Sunday fortnight, and everything has worked out according to anticipation. The matches turned out much as expected, with few exceptions. The opening struggle lay between Christendom and Ardkeen, which resulted in a drawn game. On Sunday week, Christendom v. Grantstown, which was expected to be a very keen game, turned out to be a rather easy win for Christendom. On Sunday, under delightful weather, four fixtures were brought to issue. Ardkeen overcame the Christendom combination. Grantstown easily accounted for Civil Service, and Faithlegg disposed of Tramore. This provides another change in the League table, and at the moment, it is very hard to foretell what club will be at the top of the League when the season ends.

On next Sunday, the following fixtures will be decided – Carrick v. Christendom, Ardkeen v. Grantstown, Faithlegg v. Dunhill, and Civil Service v. Tramore, matches to be played at grounds of the first-named. Of the four matches, the Ardkeen-Grantstown tie will no doubt be the most interesting……… (11)

At that stage, Faithlegg were top of the League with a 100% record, followed by Ardkeen on 73.33%. No record was found of the actual winners or indeed if this League was continued in further seasons.

Another local newspaper reported much cricket activity at the end of July:

CRICKET
WEEK-END GAMES
A number of games were played during the week-end.

Grantstown played Dunmore, the latter winning by six wickets.

On Sunday, Dunmore had Messrs. Geo. White’s XI as visitors. The match resulted in a win for the home team by 6 wickets. Scores: Geo. White’s club—1st innings, 33; 2nd innings, 43. Total 77.

Dunmore—1st innings, 48; 2nd innings (for 4 wickets) 29. Total 77………(12)

The report goes on to tell us that Faithlegg beat Ardkeen by 52 runs. It does not state whether this was a league match or a friendly fixture.

In 1930, Dunmore travelled to Lord Waterford’s estate at Curraghmore to take on the local side but appeared to have run into stiff opposition, as told by the Munster Express reporter:

CRICKET. CURRAGHMORE v. DUNMORE
Curraghmore reversed the result at home last Saturday against Dunmore, who only get the meagre total of ten runs against the bowling of G. Higgins, the home side making 49. M. Power was top scorer with 12. (13)

Remember that name, George Higgins. It keeps coming up time and time again when Co. Waterford cricket teams are involved.

Geoff Cronin wrote the excellent The Colour of Life, which is the story of his childhood, growing up in both Waterford city and Woodstown and his subsequent business and musical career in various dance bands. He allocated an entire chapter to the Woodstown cricket team in 1933 and lists the players and their diverse occupations. For anyone interested in the social history of that era, the book is essential reading, and the chapter devoted to Woodstown C.C. in particular.

There is no doubt that Woodstown Cricket Club were a formidable team during the 1930s. At the end of the 1935 season, Woodstown played a selection from Waterford City, and the match was reported as follows:

CRICKET
WOODSTOWN v CITY SELECTION
Woodstown C.C. finished the season on Sunday last with a victory over a city selection. The home side had the assistance of four players from Killea, and their opponents were a fine selection of the best talent in the city. The fielding on both sides was keen, but the accurate bowling of Christie and Flynn, combined with fine batting by the captain J. De Bromhead, and Flynn in the first innings, and Keane and Dempster in the second, turned the tables in favour of Woodstown. Higgins and Walsh were best of the Waterford side. (14)

Earlier in the season, Crooke had played Kilcohan at Woodstown and was reported as follows:

Kilcohan and Crooke C.C. met on the latter’s ground at Woodstown on Sunday and after a very close game, Kilcohan ran out deserving winners by 11 runs.

In the first innings, Kilcohan made 63 runs, L. Veaney and P. Doyle being top scorers with 20 and 14 respectively. Crooke replied with the fine score of 70, of which C. Sullivan, who played a sterling innings, claimed 27 runs.

In the second innings, Kilcohan were dismissed for 43, leaving Crooke with 36 runs to get. Excellent bowling and fielding by the visitors, however, deprived them of such a total, and only 25 runs were on the board; Kilcohan thus performing an excellent feat in winning by 11 runs. (15)

Earlier that summer in May, Kilcohan C.C. travelled to Killea, and the entire scorecard of the innings played by each side was printed in the Munster Express. The report of the match reads:

CRICKET
KILLEA C.C v. KILCOHAN C.C.
Kilcohan C.C. travelled to Killea on Sunday and after a most exciting game, defeated the home side by 17 runs. Kilcohan owed their victory to the deadly bowling of L. Higgins and to A. Palmer and J. Keane, who were seen to advantage with the bat. For Killea, J. Power played a sterling innings in the first half, and in the second half, J. Lynch knocked up a useful score of 37, which, however, could not save his team from defeat. On the whole, Kilcohan C.C. were the better team and were well deserving of victory. (16)

From the scorecards, the following players took part in the match:

Killea C.C.: J. O’Toole, J. Power, M. O’Toole, T. Redmond, M. Boland, J. Ivory, R. Delahunty, J. Boland, W. Cullinane, J. Lynch, and R. Power.

Kilcohan C.C.: L. Higgins, A. Palmer, T. Walsh, J. Walsh, T. Hayes, F. Hayes, L. Veaney, J. Keane, J. O’Connor, P. Doyle, and W. Walsh.

If there was any doubt that Woodstown were not a force in cricket circles during this time, one had only to glance at their fixture list for the 1937 season. Included in the list of teams travelling to play in Woodstown were the prestigious Cork County XI and also one of the leading Dublin sides of that era, Pembroke C.C.

WOODSTOWN CRICKET CLUB.
FIXTURE LIST, 1937.
Sunday, June 20—Cork Bohemians, away.
Sunday, June 27—Killea, home.
Sunday, July 4—Cork Co. C.C., home.
Sunday, July 11—Mount Juliet, home.
Sunday, July 18—Cork Bohemians, home.
Sunday, July 25—Cork Co. C.C., away.
Sunday, Aug. 1st—Pembroke, home.
Sunday, Aug. 8—Cahir Park, away.

In June of that year, a trial match took place at the Mardyke, Cork, following which a Munster XI was selected to play Leinster in Dublin on July 9th and 10th. Three Woodstown players were selected on the Munster XI: T.C. Williams, R.A. Christie, and J. Widger.

A report of the Interprovincial played at Leinster C.C., Rathmines, Dublin, read as follows:

CRICKET
INTERPROVINCIAL MATCH
T.C. Williams, the Woodstown C.C. player, twice saved his side in the interprovincial cricket match with Leinster during last weekend at Rathmines, Dublin, when Munster were lucky to force a draw. Williams had a fine seventy-nine in the first innings and was ably helped by his club mate R.A. Christie (National Bank, Waterford), who scored 49. In the second innings, he scored 67, while Christie carried his bat with ten. J. Widger, Auctioneer, the third Waterford player on the team, also gave a good account of himself. (18)

The Irish selectors were obviously impressed by T.C. Williams, and further honours were soon to follow:

NEW CRICKET “CAP”
T.C. Williams, the Woodstown cricket player, who came to the rescue of Munster in the recent Inter-Provincial match with Leinster, has been picked for the Gentlemen of Ireland team to tour England next month. (19)

T.C. (Thomas Christopher) Williams made his Irish debut at Lords on August 11th against the MCC. (They were still referred to as the ‘Gentlemen of Ireland’ in those days). Sadly, for Woodstown, he would have been considered to have been a Pembroke C.C. player, his Dublin Club. He later played for Cahir Park, winning Irish Junior titles in the 1950s. (20)

The years of the ‘Emergency’ 1939 – 1945 were not kind to rural cricket in Ireland. Grounds would have been requisitioned for more essential uses, players would have enlisted in the defence forces, emigration would have taken its toll. The GAA was dominant, and travelling to away venues became difficult. The Woodstown captain, R.L. Dempster, left mid-season in 1940 to enlist in the British Army. Sir Ernest Goff was appointed captain following his departure. That year, 1940, cricket was still being played in Woodstown, and a number of significant matches took place.

CRICKET
FORTHCOMING INTER-COUNTY MATCH
On Sunday next, 9th June, at Woodstown, County Waterford will have as opponents County Kilkenny in the County Cricket Competition. On the occasion of these two teams last meeting in August last at Mount Juliet, Waterford County won by a run, and this reply, as it were, should be productive of keen interest and first-class cricket. The match is due to commence at 11.30 a.m. to 1.15 a.m., 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., and 5.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.

The following have been selected to represent County Waterford: G. Higgins, W. Flynn, P. Hayden, W. Whelan, T. Redmond, Capt. T.O. Jameson, R.W. Tilson, R. Baxter, M. Boland, D. Loughrey, R. L. Dempster (Capt.). Reserves: M. O’Toole, H. Langstaffe. Umpire: M. O’Meara. (21)

The Barony of Gaultier was well represented on the County team. George Higgins was from Tramore C.C., Jameson from Cappoquin, and Hayden from Christendom C.C. (Ferrybank). Baxter represented Bishop Foy’s School, and Danny Loughrey played for various teams over a long career.

William ‘Billy’ Flynn was the grandfather of Paul, the great Waterford hurler and All Star. It is easy to see how Paul possessed such great hand-eye coordination and skill. Paddy Lowe, a Waterford cricket enthusiast, writing in a special article in the Waterford News and Star in March 2011 to celebrate Ireland’s great victory over England at Bangalore, had this warm tribute to William Flynn:

William Flynn from the Ballygunner area was a fantastic cricketer in the Forties and Fifties. It was said that he would have got his place on any English cricket team…….

The esteem that Woodstown were held in was demonstrated by the fact that Phoenix C.C. from Dublin, arguably by far the strongest side in the country at that time, travelled to play a two-day match in July.

Woodstown brought in a number of players from other Clubs to strengthen their side, but as a local paper reported, “Phoenix are traveling a very strong side which includes five internationals, and they will give the home county a good test.”

Over the August Bank Holiday weekend, Woodstown entertained Monkstown Cricket Club, also from Dublin, a strong side at the time but a Club that sadly is now defunct. What caught my attention, when looking at the newspaper coverage, is that Dr. A.J. D’abreu played for Woodstown. Dr. D’abreu was an Indian-born surgeon who worked in the City and County Infirmary, John’s Hill for many years and is the person credited with bringing the first X-Ray machine to the city. His widow resided in Waterford until aged 93 years and then moved to Stirling in Scotland. When she died in 2005, aged 113 years, she was the U.K.’s oldest citizen.

The war took a heavy toll on cricket in Gaultier, as it did in most of Ireland. Clubs became defunct and did not reform. Grounds would have been lost as well. One exception to the trend was the Faithlegg side, and they remained active and competitive until the mid-1950s.

A report dating from 1950 mentions Knockboy and Woodstown, so something of a small revival was taking place, as ‘Gaultier Gossip’ reported at the end of the season:

NOTABLE CRICKET SEASON ENDS
The cricket season now closed has seen a great revival of the game locally this year with teams from Faithlegg, Knockboy, and Woodstown engaged in some keen local rivalry. Faithlegg, with their most experience, have enjoyed a splendid season and have entertained many prominent teams during the summer months. On Sunday last at Woodlands, the celebrated Waterford side, Ramblers were visitors. Faithlegg won the toss and batted first, scoring a great total of 125. Rain, however, curtailed further play, and the game was unfinished. On Sunday next, Kells Grange C.C. Kilkenny, will be visitors at Woodlands, when a keen game is anticipated. (22)

At the end of June 1952, the Waterford versus Kilkenny intercounty series was revived with a game being played at Newtown School. Indicative of the decline in the popularity of cricket in Waterford was the team consisting of players from only three clubs: Tramore, Waterford Y.M.C.A., and Faithlegg. The Waterford side knocked off 211 runs in their innings, and in reply, Kilkenny could only muster 80 runs.

In August, the Waterford News reported that Waterford County would be playing against County Carlow at Newtown School. The result is unknown, but the team selection was printed, and again only three clubs had representation:

INTERESTING CRICKET GAME
At Newtown School on Thursday next, the following will play for Waterford County against a Co. Carlow selection. The match will start at 3 p.m.—

W. Flynn, M. Power, C. Sullivan, M. Power (Faithlegg C.C.), A. Earl, H. Dales, N. Kelly (Y.M.C.A.), G. Higgins, (Capt.), C. Higgins, L. Higgins, J. Torpay (Tramore C.C.)

A good game is expected as County Carlow are bringing down a strong team (23)

These inter-county matches may have had more to do with consolidation as a result of the dwindling pool of players in all the counties rather than a means of promoting the profile of the sport.

Newtown School was again the venue, two years later, when Faithlegg travelled to play the school side in June 1954 and was reported on as follows:

CRICKET WIN.
Faithlegg Cricket Club travelled to Newtown School on Saturday week and defeated the latter by 15 runs after a very enjoyable game. Faithlegg went into bat first and scored 73 runs for eight wickets. The top scorers were M. Whelan, C. Sullivan, and W. Flynn. Newtown scored 58 runs. The top scorers were D. Johnson and W. Tarleton.

Faithlegg innings:
M. Phelan b. S. McClure 18
E. Burke b. N. Whitehead 4
J. Burke b. S. McClure 1
C. Sullivan b. N. Whitehead 23
W. Flynn c. & b. N. Whitehead 17
J. Burke not out 3
M. Gough b. S. McClure 2
D. Loughrey run out 1
Extras 4
Total 73 (24)

The Newtown scorecard was not printed in the newspaper report.

Sam McClure was a young geography master in the School at the time. After twenty-eight years teaching in Newtown, he became Headmaster of Kilkenny College.

Meanwhile, I was growing up in Dunmore East, where every summer a great deal of casual cricket was played. Visitors to the village would join with local players to make up endless matches that took place on Lawlor’s strand when the tide was out and also in the Park. I was too young to play on the strand, but I do recall watching from the wall above, and I know that Brendan Bowyer, later to become a famous showband singer, was one of the participants. Kevin Flynn, later to become a rugby international, was another, as his family stayed in the Strand Hotel. Another player was Doctor O’Sullivan’s nephew Colm, who was an enthusiastic cricketer from Cork. Doctor O’Sullivan, the local G.P., was a resident in the hotel.

I played a lot of cricket in the Park in Dunmore. The routine was soccer during the winter months and cricket during the summer when the visitors arrived. Visitors such as the Halley family from Killotteran near Butlerstown were always part of the cricket scene in the Park.

One thing that I remember about growing up in the 1950s in Dunmore was the high esteem that all people in the village, who had played cricket before the war, were held in, irrespective of their social standing in the community. Also, the field, near Miss Harney’s orchard, where the Light of Christ G.N.S. is now located, was always referred to as the ‘cricket field’. The doyen of Dunmore cricket was W.F. ‘Willy’ Watt, who was proprietor of the Waterford Sack and Bag Company. He lived in a large house, ‘Cliff House’, later to become the Candlelight Inn, now sadly demolished. As well as being noted as a fine cricketer in his younger years, he was a tenor of great renown. Mikey Boland, who worked for Mr. Arthur Wescott-Pitt, was said to have been a great wicketkeeper. Richie ‘Bulgaria’ Walsh from Ballymabin, who dug the graves in Killea Churchyard, was always mentioned when cricket was discussed. The ex-player who I knew best was Mikey O’Toole, who delivered our milk every day directly from his farm at Liccaun, near Killea Church. Mikey had been captain of Killea Cricket Club and would talk to me, while delivering our milk, about cricket.

From time to time, in the 1950s, there would be sufficient interest and support to field a ‘Dunmore’ team to play the odd challenge match. From my memory, Waterford Hockey Club invariably provided the opposition. I can recall watching a match being played in the Park, from the top of a tree, which is now sadly gone. Pat Crotty kindly made a field available at Ballymabin to practice and play. There was never what you could call a recognized ‘Fixture List’. A lot depended on what visitors might be staying in the village at a particular time to find eleven players to fulfil a fixture.

One such match was reported in the local press in 1958:

CRICKET
On Tuesday last, Waterford Hockey Club had Dunmore as visitors at Grantstown in a cricket game, which ended in a draw, play coming to an end through bad light.

Batting first, Waterford scored 67 for 6 (K. Cummins not out 39, and F. Kidd 18), when a declaration was made, and in reply, Dunmore had scored 31 for 1 (M. O’Connor not out 18), when stumps were drawn. (25)

M. O’Connor (Michael) was a cousin of Brendan Bowyer. Grantstown was the sportsground of Bishop Foy’s School and was situated in the Gaultier Barony. Cricket was played here until 1967, when the school closed and amalgamated with Newtown School.

Interestingly, when cricket was later being revived in Waterford in the mid-1970s, as we shall read, both Karl Cummins and Freddie Kidd were to the fore.

In the early 1960s, a cricket team was formed in Waterford city and lasted for a few seasons, called ‘Vikings C.C.’, and it had strong Dunmore East connections. Tom O’Neill, from Curraghmore Terrace in Dunmore, was the captain, and a number of Dunmore cricketers played with the side in their short existence. The Vikings used a ground in Ballinakill for home matches, which was in the Gaultier Barony. Earlscourt now occupies the ground.

The demise of Waterford Vikings meant that there was only one team playing cricket in the area, and that was Tramore C.C., which was outside the Barony of Gaultier. Nevertheless, one of their leading members was Billy Pitt, from Dunmore, son of Mr. Arthur Westcott-Pitt. That Tramore team was a really powerful one.

Such was the strength and ability of Tramore C.C. that they reached the final of the Irish Junior Cup on three occasions in that era, finally winning it in 1963 at Rathmines in Dublin against N.I.C.C., from Belfast. Still playing with Tramore was George Higgins, who it may be recalled had been playing since 1930. What a remarkable career. Sadly, Tramore C.C. folded a few short years later, and Waterford was left with no active clubs playing cricket.

A revival took place around 1975 when Karl Cummins, Freddie Kidd, and a small group of other cricket enthusiasts formed Waterford C.C. Initially, only friendly matches were played. The team then received a boost when three players who had played professional football with Waterford F.C., Johnny Matthews, Peter Thomas, and Dave Kirby came on-board with some other talented players, and suddenly the side began playing at a much higher standard, so much so that they were invited to join the Munster League Senior League and Cup competitions. Over the following number of seasons, they won three League titles, three Cup finals, and two Junior Cup finals. (26)

Having a strong senior side in the city was very influential in the huge cricket revival that subsequently took place in the entire Waterford area. The ability to watch cricket being played extensively on terrestrial television was another factor. A Mid-Week League was formed, comprising mainly of sides drawn from pubs, but more significantly, a cricket revival also took place in Gaultier. Through the endeavours of Charlie Boland, proprietor of the Candlelight Inn, Pat O’Toole, son of Mikey O’Toole the former Killea C.C. player, Pat Crotty, Mikey Boland, and a few other enthusiasts, a Cricket Club in Dunmore was re-formed after a lapse of almost 50 years. Around the same time, Woodstown reformed, with John Moroney, ex-Irish rugby player, one of the leading lights here.

While on holidays in Dunmore in 1987, Myles Queally told me that there was going to be a cricket match between Dunmore and Woodstown in Graiguearidda one evening and suggested that I go along to watch. I ended up playing for Dunmore as there was one player short. It was a great thrill to play. I had no idea at the time that Dunmore and Woodstown had been playing against each other since 1851!

A few years later, Callaghane also reformed, as this report from June 1994 tells us:

CRICKET CLUB REVIVED
Callaghane Cricket Club, which was reformed recently after a lapse of sixty years, played its first competitive match on Tuesday night of last week in Woodstown.

Performing very creditably, they were awarded three points which gives them a reasonable start in the competition for the George Higgins Memorial Trophy, against their opponents The Reginald.

They will be again in action against Dunmore on this Friday, 7th. This match will also be held on Woodstown’s well laid-out and beautiful ground.

Membership (playing or otherwise) is invited… (27)

The report went on to give the Secretary’s details for prospective applicants.

Sadly, the closure of the cricket ground at Newtown School was a hammer-blow to the sport and hastened the demise of the wonderful cricket revival that had flourished in the Waterford city area and indeed in the Barony of Gaultier. Lismore C.C. in West Waterford were left as the only remaining club in the county playing at a competitive level.

At one time, during the 1980s, Waterford had boasted around twenty Mid-Week League teams, and in 2009, a combination of players who had maintained a playing interest in the sport from that period and some newer players came together and formed Waterford District Cricket Club. Waterford District Cricket Club is being built on solid foundations with an excellent base at the W.I.T. Campus at Carriganore and has established a thriving youth section that will ensure a sustainable future. With this new club firmly in place, the sport of cricket can be confidently predicted to be played and enjoyed for many more years to come in the Waterford area.

Many thanks to Gerard Siggins, (Author of *Green Days: Cricket in Ireland 1792-2005*), Francis X. Carty, and Michael Farrell, Barony of Gaultier Historical Society for their assistance. Special thanks to Pat Bracken, whose press cuttings were an invaluable resource in compiling this writing. Pat Bracken is a librarian in Thurles and author of Foreign & Fantastic Field Sports: Cricket in Co. Tipperary.

References:

01.              Green Days: Cricket in Ireland 1792-2005 by Gerard Siggins

02.              The Waterford Mail, September 27, 1851 (Courtesy Pat Bracken)

03.               Munster Express, September 21, 1861

04.                Waterford News, September 16, 1870

05.                www.odwyer.net/~dunmore/places_fishermans%20all.htm

06.                Munster Express, September 9, 1900

07.                 Munster Express, July 20, 1901

08.                  The Waterford News, April 17, 1925

09.                 Munster Express, September 11, 1925

10.                  Munster Express, September 11, 1925

11.                   The Waterford News, June 11, 1926

12.                   Munster Express, July 30, 1926

13.                   Munster Express, August 1, 1930 (Courtesy Pat Bracken)

14.                   Munster Express, September 20, 1935

15.                   Munster Express, July 12, 1935

16.                   Munster Express, May 17, 1935

17.                   The Waterford News, June 18, 1937

18.                   Munster Express, July 16, 1937

19.                   The Waterford News, June 18, 1937

20.                   T.C. Williams https://www.cricketeurope.com/IRELAND/PLAYERS/410/index.shtml

21.                   Munster Express, June 6, 1940

22.                   Waterford News, September 22, 1950

23.                   Waterford News, August 22, 1952

24.                   Waterford News, June 25, 1954

25.                   Munster Express, July 18, 1958 (Courtesy Pat Bracken)

26.                   ‘Cricket in Waterford Post 1975’ by Bob Leslie, Jordan’s C.C. 1991

27.                   Munster Express, June 17, 1994

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