Cricket in Ireland

Cricket has been played in Ireland since at least the 17th century, when Oliver Cromwell issued an edict banning it.[2] It is believed to have been introduced to Ireland by the British, although recent research claims that Irish troops in the British Army shaped the game's evolution, by introducing terms and gameplay from the old Irish game of Catty.[3] The earliest known reference to a match in Ireland is a 1792 fixture in Dublin between the British garrison and an "All-Ireland" team, the garrison team winning by an innings.[4]

Irishmen who were British soldiers, probably of the Royal Artillery, in cricket gear, Waterford, May 1909

Cricket was being played in the towns of Kilkenny and Ballinasloe in the early 19th century. In the 1830s, the game began to drop down; many of the clubs which were founded in the following 30 years are still in existence today.[5] The first Irish national team played in 1855 against an English national team in Dublin.[6] In the 1850s, the Englishman Charles Lawrence was responsible for developing the game in Ireland through his coaching.[5] In the 1850s and 1860s, Ireland was visited for the first time by touring professional teams. Ireland's first match against Marylebone Cricket Club was in 1858.[5] The game increased in popularity until the early 1880s.

Two changes in the late 1800s-early 1900s damaged the popularity of cricket and cricketers in Ireland. The first was the outbreak of the Land War in the late 1800s resulting from the mistreatment of tenants by absentee landlords when landlord and tenant were alienated. The second was a ban placed in 1901 on the playing of "foreign" games by the Gaelic Athletic Association, which was not lifted until 1970.[5] Anyone playing foreign games such as cricket would be banned from the extremely popular Irish games of hurling and Gaelic football as it was popularly referred to as a 'garrison game' enjoyed primarily by the occupying British forces and the landowning Protestant oligarchy they protected.[7]

Irish teams toured Canada and the United States in 1879, 1888, 1892, and 1909. On top of this, Ireland defeated a touring South African side in 1904.[5] Their first match with first-class status was played on 19 May 1902 against a London County side including W.G. Grace. The Irish, captained by Sir Tim O'Brien, lost convincingly by 238 runs.[8]

The 2005 ICC Trophy was hosted by Ireland. After Ireland's successes at the 2007 Cricket World Cup, cricket experienced a popularity boom in Ireland, with participation reaching record levels.[9]

The Irish Cricket Union (ICU) – the governing body of Irish cricket – was officially founded in 1923, although its predecessor had been active since 1890.[5] In 2007, it announced major changes in order to bring it in-line with the main cricket governing bodies.[10] After the World Cup, Irish cricket experienced a dip in success with poor results in the 2007 Friends Provident Trophy as many players were unavailable. The Irish cricket team was an amateur side at the time and most of the players had full-time jobs with commitments conflicting with cricket.[11] After the World Cup there were delays in paying the players which resulted in them ignoring the press in protest to their treatment after an Intercontinental Cup match against Kenya.[11]

Warren Deutrom, the chief executive of the ICU, has stated that it wants to "seek actively to place Irish players into top-level cricket, by developing relationships with [especially] county cricket which will incorporate appropriate player release for Irish international duty, and feeder systems for developing Irish cricketers".[10] The reorganised ICU's sought to make closer links with the English counties, encourage the development of age group cricket, and to introduce a professional element into the Irish game. They also want to take the Irish cricket team on winter tours more often.[10] In an attempt to prevent the game losing players to counties or other commitments such as jobs, it was suggested that central contracts should be introduced, however this never came to fruition.[12]

The Ireland cricket team is the cricket team representing all Ireland (i.e. both the Republic of Ireland and the occupied 6 counties of Ireland).

Dublin-born batsman Ed Joyce has played with some success as part of Ireland's ICC Trophy team and is now a key member of the Sussex side in England's County Championship; he also previously captained Middlesex in the 2004 season. He has also played for England. Talented batsman Eoin Morgan who earlier represented Ireland in tournaments including the ICC World Cup and the ICC World Twenty20 qualified and now plays for England, making no secret of his desire to play Test cricket. Former Ireland seamer Boyd Rankin also joined England later to play at the highest level much to deteriorate the growth of Irish cricket. Meanwhile, Ireland is on its way to join as 11th Test playing nation in the world through the Intercontinental Cup 2015–17. The winner of the tournament will play the 10th ranked team in the world by then, on a home and away series basis which consists of two tests each series. If Ireland (providing if they are the Intercontinental champions) win the series, they will join the elite club of Test playing nations.

There are four international cricket venues in Ireland that have been approved by the International Cricket Council to host international cricket.

Cricket Ireland is also committed to the creation of a fifth international ground in Abbotstown, West Dublin.[26] There is currently no international ground in either of the Munster or Connacht Cricket Union areas.

• Sport in Ireland
• Cricket in England

• Bowen, Rowland (1970). Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development. Eyre & Spottiswoode.

• Official website of Cricket Ireland
• Official Facebook page of Cricket Ireland
• Cricket Europe Ireland Page
• Irish and Associates Cricket magazine
• North County Cricket Club, Dublin, Ireland
• Sandyford Cricket Club: Google Earth plugin, cricket grounds in Ireland