Francis Henry Browning (23 June 1868 – 26 April 1916) was an Irish

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 ...

er and President of the

Irish Rugby Football Union The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) ( ga, Cumann Rugbaí na hÉireann) is the body managing rugby union in the island of Ireland (both Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland). The IRFU has its head office at 10/12 Lansdowne Road and home ...

. He was a right-handed batsman and a wicket-keeper. Frank Browning was born 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 ...

, Ireland. He made his debut 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 ...

in August 1888 against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, and went on to play for Ireland 38 times, his last game coming against

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in September 1909. Eleven of his games for Ireland had first-class status. Outside cricket, he was a

barrister-at-law A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and givin ...

. He became president of the

in 1912. Browning raised and commanded the Irish Rugby Football Union Volunteer Corps and was second in command of the Irish Association of

Volunteer Training Corps The Volunteer Training Corps was a voluntary home defence reserve force in the United Kingdom during World War I. Early development After war had been declared in August 1914, there was a popular demand for a means of service for those men who we ...

. He was killed in the

Easter Rising The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the a ...

of 1916 while serving with the part-time Volunteer Training Corps (a form of Home Guard). On Easter Monday the VTC unit he had formed were on an exercise in the

Dublin mountains The Wicklow Mountains (, archaic: ''Cualu'') form the largest continuous upland area in the Republic of Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into the counties of Dublin, Wexford and Carlow. Wh ...

when they received news of the outbreak of the Rising in the city. Their return route led them across the narrow Mount Street Bridge (Conyngham Bridge) where the men of the 1 (Dublin) battalion VTC in civilian clothes with arm-bands and carrying rifles but not ammunition, came under fire from an Irish Volunteer position at 25

Northumberland Road Northumberland Road () is a Victorian street in Ballsbridge, Dublin, the capital of the Republic of Ireland. The street was named after Hugh Percy, 3rd Duke of Northumberland in 1844, and built on the site of the earlier Blenheim Street. The pr ...

. Seven of them were wounded, four - including Browning - fatally - before firing ceased. Browning was taken to

Beggars Bush Barracks Beggars Bush Barracks was a British Army barracks located at Beggars Bush in Dublin, Ireland. History The barracks were designed as a training depot for the British Army and were completed in 1827, built on lands received from George Herbert, 11 ...

and then to Baggot Street Hospital where he died two days later, aged 47. He thus became the only first-class cricketer to die in the Easter Rising. The inscription on his gravestone, erected by the IRFU in Dublin's

Deans Grange Cemetery Deans Grange Cemetery (; also spelled ''Deansgrange'') is situated in the suburban area of Deansgrange in the Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown part of the former County Dublin, Ireland. Since it first opened in 1865, over 150,000 people have been burie ...

includes the wording, "He will live in the memory of all as an honourable comrade and distinguished sportsman."

References

External links

CricketEurope Stats Zone profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Browning, Henry 1868 births 1916 deaths Cricketers from Dublin (city) People of the Easter Rising Deaths by firearm in Ireland Irish barristers Irish cricketers Irish rugby union players Burials at Deans Grange Cemetery Gentlemen of Ireland cricketers Irish rugby union administrators Lawyers from Dublin (city) Wicket-keepers

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