Civil Service Cricket Club (CSCC) is one of Ireland's oldest

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

clubs. Formed in 1863 in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Phoenix Park The Phoenix Park ( ga, Páirc an Fhionnuisce) is a large urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its perimeter wall encloses of recreational space. It includes large areas of grassland and tre ...

, the club currently has over 40 members and competes in league and cup competitions arranged by the

Leinster Cricket Union The Leinster Cricket Union, also known as Cricket Leinster, is one of five provincial governing bodies for cricket in Ireland. Along with the Northern Cricket Union, Northern, Munster Cricket Union, Munster, Connacht Cricket Union and North West o ...

. The club's first games were played on the lawn of the Viceregal Lodge (Now

Áras an Uachtaráin (; "Residence of the President"), formerly the Viceregal Lodge, is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of Ireland. It is located off Chesterfield Avenue in the Phoenix Park in Dublin. The building design was credite ...

) in 1863, the same year that the club had its ground donated to it – the ground it still uses today.

History

In the early 1860s, the

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the Kingdo ...

decided that his

civil servants The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

needed some quality rest and recreation. He sponsored a Bill through Parliament, granting civil servants a cricket ground in

, beside the Dog Pond, where the Civil Service Cricket Club plays to this day. The club played its first match on the front lawn of the Viceregal Lodge in April 1863. Back in its early days, the club had trouble fielding sides, or to be more precise, fielding sides punctually. In those days the Civil Service worked on Saturday mornings, and as most matches were played on that day, starting at noon, the club was almost always a late starter. This situation gradually improved as office managers in

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin. Until 1922 it was the se ...

and the Custom House developed a blind eye on match days. The club built a wooden pavilion with a bar in its basement, and attracted visiting sides from all parts of Ireland.

Charles Stewart Parnell Charles Stewart Parnell (27 June 1846 – 6 October 1891) was an Irish nationalist politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1875 to 1891, also acting as Leader of the Home Rule League from 1880 to 1882 and then Leader of the ...

brought a

Wicklow Wicklow ( ; ga, Cill Mhantáin , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; non, Víkingaló) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. It is located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island. According to the 2016 census, it has ...

side to Civil Service in the 1870s. Club membership was opened to civil servants’ families and James Penny, the son of a civil servant, was the club’s first international. The club produced several Irish international cricketers like George Christian and Paddy Murphy. Civil Service was at its peak just before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

but things were changing, with the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

establishing its dominance. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Civil Service reverted to its junior status and it has since prospered to varying degree. Now, the club’s membership includes

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Australians, several (or all) ...

, Indians,

Pakistanis Pakistanis ( ur, , translit=Pākistānī Qaum, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. According to the 2017 Pakistani national census, the population of Pakistan stood at over 213 million people, making it the w ...

and

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. The Civil Service link lives on – club president Fintan Butler, is based in the Office of Public Works and his son Owen, who started his career in Civil Service, later went on to play for

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Aidan Kinsella, who was the captain of the club’s second team, is also based in the Office of Public Works.

Teams

Currently Civil Service Cricket club has four teams that compete as follows: * 1st XI - Division 3 * 2nd XI - Division 8 * 3rd XI - Division 10 * 4th XI - Division 14

Documentary

On 5 July 2006, RTE broadcast a documentary on Civil Service Cricket Club

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website

Clip from the 2006 TV documentary
Cricket clubs in County Dublin Cricket clubs established in 1863 1863 establishments in Ireland Sports clubs in Dublin (city)