THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF SPORT IN CO. TIPPERARY, 1840 – 1880 PATRICK BRACKEN B.A., M.Sc. Econ. THESIS FOR THE DEGREE OF PH.D. THE INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR SPORTS HISTORY AND CULTURE AND THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORICAL AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DE MONTFORT UNIVERSITY LEICESTER SUPERVISORS OF RESEARCH: FIRST SUPERVISOR: PROFESSOR TONY COLLINS SECOND SUPERVISOR: PROFESSOR MIKE CRONIN NOVEMBER 2014 Table of Contents List of figures ii List of tables iv Abbreviations v Acknowledgments vi Abstract vii Introduction 1 Chapter 1. Sport and the Military 31 Chapter 2. Country House Sport 64 Chapter 3. The Hunt Community 117 Chapter 4. The Turf : Horse Racing Development and Commercialisation 163 Chapter 5. The Advent of Organised Athletics and Rowing 216 Chapter 6. Ball Games 258 Chapter 7. Conclusion 302 Bibliography 313 i List of Figures Figure 1: Location of Co. Tipperary 10 Figure 2: Starvation deaths in Ireland, 1845-1851 11 Figure 3: Distribution of army barracks in Ireland, 1837 13 Figure 4: Country houses in Co. Tipperary with a minimum valuation of £10, c.1850 66 Figure 5: Dwelling houses of the dispersed rural population valued at under £1, c.1850 66 Figure 6: Archery clubs in Co. Tipperary, 1858-1868 83 Figure 7: Archery meeting at Marlfield House, date unknown 86 Figure 8: Map of Lough Derg, 1842 106 Figure 9: Location of Belle Isle on the shores of Lough Derg, 1842 107 Figure 10: Watercolour of The Fairy on Lough Derg, 1871 109 Figure 11: Distribution of the main hunt packs in Co. Tipperary, 1840-1880 121 Figure 12: Number of hunt meets in Co. Tipperary, 1839/40 to 1880/81 127 Figure 13: Henry de la Poer Beresford, 3rd Marquis of Waterford 131 Figure 14: Number of horse race meetings in Co. Tipperary, 1840-1880 170 Figure 15: Frequency of race meetings organised in Co. Tipperary, 1840-1880 as identified in the Tipperary press. There is no data available for the 1840s for Co. Westmeath. 172 Figure 16: Frequency of race meetings organised in Co. Tipperary, 1840-1880 as identified in R.J. Hunter’s Racing Calendar and compared with the Tipperary press data. 174 Figure 17: Location of race meetings in Co. Tipperary, 1840-1880 175 ii Figure 18: Thurles racecourse, 1840 177 Figure 19: Cashel racecourse layout (Course map 1861) 195 Figure 20: Locations of athletic meetings, 1868-80 227 Figure 21: Athletics sports meetings in Co. Tipperary, 1868-1880 234 Figure 22: Thomas Hoare (1843-1918) 241 Figure 23: Tom, Pat and Maurice Davin, 1882 245 Figure 24: Athletics sports meeting in Co. Tipperary, 1868-1880, by week day 249 Figure 25: Tipperary boys attending public school in England, 1840-1880 277 Figure 26: Cricket matches in Co. Tipperary, 1840-1880 279 Figure 27: Cricket teams in Co. Tipperary, 1834-1869 280 Figure 28: Cricket teams in Co. Tipperary, 1870-1880 280 Figure 29: Day of the week for cricket playing in Co. Tipperary, 1840-1880 282 Figure 30: Cricket playing by month in Co. Tipperary, 1840-1880 283 Figure 31: Cricket matches recorded in Counties Tipperary and Westmeath, 1860-1879 287 Figure 32: Hurling frequency by month in Co. Tipperary, 1840-1880 292 Figure 33: Day of the week for playing hurling in Co. Tipperary, 1840-1880 293 Figure 34: Detail of ball court to the rear of Main Street, Templemore, 1840 295 Figure 35: Detail of ball court, Peter Street, Clonmel, 1874 298 iii List of Tables Table 1: Population change in Co. Tipperary, 1841-1881 8 Table 2: Population of towns and military barracks 1841-1881 37-8 Table 3: Military team participation at cricket in Co. Tipperary, 1840-1880 43 Table 4: The number of sports in Co. Tipperary recorded from documentary sources 1840-1880 112 Table 5: Hunt packs in Co. Tipperary, 1840-1880 124 Table 6: Day of week for hunt meets in Co. Tipperary, 1840-1880 128 Table 7: Income for Tipperary Foxhounds, 1871-72 141 Table 8: Members who increased subscriptions to Tipperary Hunt, June 1872 142 Table 9: New subscribers to Tipperary Hunt, June 1872 142 Table 10: Horse race types identified in Co. Tipperary, 1840-1880 173 Table 11: Horse race prize funds in Co. Tipperary, 1840-1880 173 Table 12: Location of athletic sports meeting by inception date, 1868-1880 228 Table 13: Clonmel Rowing Club subscriptions, 1872-1877 244 Table 14: Athletic career of Richard St. John, Mullinahone, 1873-1877 247 iv Abbreviations CC Clonmel Chronicle IT Irish Times KM Kilkenny Moderator NG Nenagh Guardian TFP Tipperary Free Press v Acknowledgements This thesis would not have been possible without the help, support and advice of many people. First and foremost to Professor Mike Cronin, Academic Director of Boston College who selflessly opened his door to another PhD candidate and the journey of mentoring under his tutelage has been truly fascinating. Professor Tony Collins has advised and directed the nature and various aspects of the research for which I am very grateful. I wish to thank Dr. Tom Hunt, the pioneer in many respects into sport research in Ireland at a micro-level. No phone call, email or conversation in the car was ever complete without Tom’s great insights. Similarly Dr. Conor Curran, the most recent of the ‘Irish’ graduates from the International Centre for Sports History and Culture, was there to assist me with advice and encouragement. Professor Dilwyn Porter, Dr. Neil Carter, Dr. Dónal McAnallen, Dr. Denis G. Marnane, Dr. Liam O’Callaghan, Dr. David Toms, Dr. Tom Hayes and Sean Reid also provided sound advice and encouragement and were ever willing supporters at various conferences. To Lord Waterford for permitting me access to Curraghmore House and the hunting diaries of the 3rd Marquis; The Turf Club, in the Curragh, especially Sally Wilson; Coras Iompair Eireann, Heuston Station, especially Audrey Crowley; Rita Boswell, retired archivist Harrow School; Danny Grace; the staff of the National Library of Ireland and the National Archives of Ireland I am most grateful for their assistance. A special word of thanks to my work colleagues Mary Guinan-Darmody and John O’Gorman in the Tipperary Studies department at the Source Library, Thurles. Last, but most definitely not least, to my wife Norah and our children Kevin and Ellen, for enduring the research, the scrapbooks, the paper cuttings and all the books which the research entailed. For their love, support and back-up I am eternally grateful. vi Abstract The growth and development of sport in Co. Tipperary, 1840 to 1880, was promoted and supported by the landed elite and military officer classes. In the instances of cricket, rugby union and association football, the military were the principle agency through which these sports were disseminated among the people of Tipperary. Sporting trends which were fashionable in Great Britain also became evident in Ireland, and by extension, Tipperary. The thesis demonstrates the emergence of these sports at a micro- level in Tipperary and the qualitative research is indicative of the trends by which they became apparent. The degree to which horse racing and hunting to hounds became an integral aspect of the social lives of the elite class is reflected countywide. The associational culture among this class became evident in summer time recreations most notably archery, lawn tennis and cricket. Cricket was the one sport which was quickly diffused throughout the sporting community of Tipperary as it became, in the 1870s, the most prolific team sport in the county and played by all classes. Sport took place without borders and to this end patronage was a key element of this support. There were some notable supporters who gave of their time and money to ensure that the best resources were in place to bring this about. In this respect the 3rd Marquis of Waterford was a leading figure. The thesis clearly shows that sporting diversions continued through the traumatic famine period. As everyday life continued, so too did recreational sport. Hurling remained a part of Tipperary life and the research identifies new sources to demonstrate this. The growth and evolution of sport in Co. Tipperary, 1840-1880, is put into context with comparable studies in Ireland and Great Britain as the Victorian penchant for sport manifested itself in this part of rural Ireland. vii Introduction: Aim of the Study The aim of this study is to examine the growth, development and subsequent codification of recreational sport, which took place within county Tipperary between the years 1840 and 1880 inclusive. Sport and society were much more fluid than arbitrary lines on a map, so the research takes cognisance of sporting happenings elsewhere in Ireland. It includes individuals who resided outside of the county but who had a significant impact on the direction and patronage of several sports within Tipperary. Central to the argument of this thesis is that sport in mid-Victorian Tipperary was class based. The landed elite, businessmen and military officers were the principal agents through which recreational sport in Tipperary developed. In a county devoid of industrialisation and urbanisation, the way in which sport developed, in Tipperary, was quite different to that which occurred in Dublin, Belfast, London, Manchester or Liverpool. In those cities, sport could draw on large industrial population centres for support and participation. Population growth and industry were absent in Tipperary. Yes people played sport and had done so for centuries, but the direction in which sport developed in the county was one which was principally rural based. The Victorian penchant for recreational activities, which was evident in England, soon found a steady stream of followers in Ireland. The codified games ethic, which was identified with England, ultimately came to fruition in Ireland, through diffusion and emulation.