Instonians is a sports club based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, that incorporates rugby union, men's and ladies' hockey and

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 ...

sections. There is also a golf society that plays under the Instonians name. Instonians Rugby Football, Cricket and Athletic Clubs merged on 1 April 1962, the combined sections being known as 'Instonians', and then on 31 May 1979 the title of the club was changed to Instonians Rugby Football and Cricket Club. Finally on 1 April 1988, the Instonians Men's Hockey Club joined the association when the title reverted to Instonians.

Membership

The club was closed to former pupils or staff of Royal Belfast Academical Institution, which regards itself as one of the leading schools in Belfast. Instonians was the last 'old boys' club in Ireland to finally open its membership to all in 1990. In practice, however, the men's hockey club still only accepts members meeting the old ''closed'' criteria.

Grounds

The club for many years used the Royal Belfast Academical Institution grounds at Bladon Drive, Osborne Park and Orangefield, before moving to its own grounds at Shane Park in 1965. Shane Park was sold for redevelopment in 1999 and the club now groundshares at the Shaw's Bridge Sports Complex with Cooke.

Rugby

Instonians Rugby Club started as a section within the Belfast Old Instonians Association. The original part of the modern-day club, it started play in the Ulster Junior League in season 1919–20, and produced play of sufficient quality to merit immediate election to the Ulster Senior League for the following season. The 1st XV currently plays in the Ulster Qualifying League 1. Instonians have won the Ulster Senior Cup nineteen times, the Ulster Junior Cup four times and the Ulster Senior League seven times (with five shared titles). 31 Instonians rugby players have been capped by Ireland at full International level and the club has produced two British and Irish Lions captains.

Honours

* All-Ireland Cup: 1 **1926–27 * Ulster Senior Cup: 19 ** 1921–22, 1922–23, 1926–27, 1927–28, 1928–29, 1930–31, 1933–34, 1937–38, 1945–46, 1947–48, 1948–49, 1949–50, 1953–54, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1964–65, 1978–79, 1998–99 * Ulster Senior League: 12 (5 shared) ** 1924–25, 1925–26, 1926–27 (shared), 1927–28, 1950–51 (shared), 1952–53 (shared), 1953–54 (shared), 1956–57 (shared), 1957–58, 1959–60, 1984–85, 1986–87 * Ulster Junior Cup: 5 ** †1936–37, †1959–60, †1973–74, †1993–94, 2014–15 † Won by 2nd XV

Ladies' Hockey

Instonians Ladies' Hockey is somewhat unusual in that the club is associated with a boys' school. However, the ladies' hockey section was the second part of the club to be formed in 1921. Membership was initially made up from wives, sisters, daughters and girlfriends of ''Inst'' old boys and staff. The ladies' hockey club was one of the most successful club sides in Ulster over a period from 1930 until the mid-1960s. They were winners of the Ulster Shield on ten occasions and won the Irish Senior Cup in 1955. The dawning of the 1970s saw a gradual decline in playing standards, and eventually Senior League status was lost. They took up a nomadic existence moving from ground to ground over the past twenty years. However 2006 saw Instonians Ladies' Hockey Club renew its connection with the parent club with the opening of a new water-based artificial turf pitch at the Shaw's Bridge Sports Complex. Instonians Ladies currently play in Section Four of the Senior League (following the restructuring of the ladies leagues in 2007 removing Qualifying and Intermediate Sections) of the Ulster Women's Hockey Union.

Cricket Club

Instonians Cricket Club was founded in 1932. The first team currently plays in the Premier League of the NCU Senior League.

Honours

* NCU Senior League: 4 (2 shared) **1962, 2009 (shared), 2013 (shared), 2014, 2016 * NCU Challenge Cup: 3 **1964, 2009, 2012 * Ulster Cup: 4 **1999, 2007, 2010, 2011 *

NCU Junior Cup The NCU Junior Cup is a provincial cricket knock-out cup of the NCU jurisdiction in Ireland. The competition began in 1891 and is open to teams playing in the Sections 2 and 3 of the NCU Senior League and Section 1 of the NCU Junior League (whi ...

: 4 **†1967, †1970, †2001, †2017 † Won by 2nd XI

Men's Hockey Club

Instonians Men's Hockey Club was formed in 1959. The first team is one of the top teams in Ireland, winning the Irish Senior Cup on four occasions with their initial success coming in 1995. Four Irish Club Championships have also been won. In association with Royal Belfast Academical Institution the club have just completed the purchase and laying of a water-based artificial turf playing surface at the Shaws Bridge Sports Complex.

Notable former players

Rugby union

; British and Irish Lions ; {, , - style="vertical-align:top" , , * Keith Crossan * David Hewitt * David Irwin * Ronnie Lamont , , * Colin Patterson * Robin Thompson * Sam Walker * Roger Wilson * Michael Lowry (rugby union) * James Hume (rugby union)

Cricket

; men's internationals *

Herbie Martin Herbert "Herbie" Martin (4 May 1927 – 18 February 2014) was a Northern Ireland-born cricketer and rugby union player. He was a right-handed batsman. Martin represented Ireland in 19 first-class matches, scoring 671 runs at an average of 19 ...

; played rugby union for Instonians. * Regan West

Field hockey

; men's internationals *

Paul Gleghorne Paul Gleghorne (born 11 April 1987) is an Ireland men's field hockey international. He was a member of the Ireland team that won the bronze medal at the 2015 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship. He also represented Ireland at the 2016 Summe ...

* Mark Gleghorne * Michael Watt ; men's internationals * Mark Gleghorne ; men's internationals * Mark Gleghorne ; women's internationals *

Maeve Kyle Maeve Esther Enid Kyle, OBE, née Shankey (born 6 October 1928), is an Irish Olympic athlete and hockey player. She was born in County Kilkenny. She competed in the 100m and 200m in the Melbourne Olympics and subsequently in the Rome Olympics ...

Olympians

; Ireland *

; field hockey –

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

; athletics –

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

* Michael Watt; field hockey –

; Great Britain * Mark Gleghorne; field hockey –

External links

Instonians Club

{{NCU Senior League Sports clubs in Belfast Rugby union clubs in Northern Ireland Irish rugby union teams Rugby union clubs in County Antrim Cricket clubs in Northern Ireland NCU Senior League members Cricket clubs in County Antrim Field hockey clubs in Northern Ireland Men's Irish Hockey League teams 1919 establishments in Ireland