Sir Stanley Cochrane, 1st Baronet (19 September 1877 – 23 October 1949) was an Irish first-class

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er and philanthropist.

Early life and cricket

Cochrane was born at Dublin to Sir Henry Cochrane and his wife, Margaret Gilchrist. He studied at St Columba's College, Dublin, before going up to

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

, where he was a member of the Dublin University Cricket Club. Cochrane's father, had alongside Dr. Thomas Joseph Cantrell, invented

ginger ale Ginger ale is a carbonated soft drink flavoured with ginger. It is consumed on its own or used as a mixer, often with spirit-based drinks. There are two main types of ginger ale. The golden style is credited to the Irish doctor Thomas Joseph ...

and made a fortune exporting it to the United States. Upon the death of his father in 1904, Cochrane inherited his millions and the Woodbrook Estate. He worked to bring regular top-class cricket to Ireland, even paying the

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

£300 (the equivalent of nearly £37,000 in 2017) to play Dublin University in 1905. Shortly thereafter, he founded the Woodbrook Cricket Club and built a cricket ground on his estate, even constructing a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

on the Dublin/Bray railway line to serve the ground. Using his wealth, Cochrane enticed many of the leading players of the day to play for the club, including the likes of

Ranjitsinhji Colonel Kumar Sri Sir Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji II, (10 September 1872 – 2 April 1933), often known as Ranji or K. S. Ranjitsinhji, was an Indian cricketer who later became ruler of his native Indian princely state of Nawanagar State, Nawan ...

and C. B. Fry. Cochrane was the High Sheriff of Wicklow in 1911, and was the High Sheriff of County Dublin in 1912. Attendances at the Cochrane's cricket ground were less than intended, so in 1912 he invited the touring

South Africans South Africans are the citizens of South Africa (officially the Republic of South Africa ''RSA. These individuals include those residing within the borders of South Africa, as well as the South African diaspora. History The first modern inh ...

to play a first-class match there to encourage patronage, with Cochrane playing in the Woodbrook Club and Ground XI. Playing in what would be his only appearance in first-class cricket, Cochrane batted once in the match, scoring 5 runs before being dismissed by Herbie Taylor. Cochrane attempted to get the deciding Test match of the

1912 Triangular Tournament The 1912 Triangular Tournament was a Test cricket competition played between Australia, England and South Africa, the only Test-playing nations at the time. The ultimate winners of the tournament were England, with four wins in their six matches ...

between

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and Australia to be played at Woodbrook, but this request was denied by both boards. Disenchanted by this decision, he closed the cricket ground in 1913 and opted to construct a

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

War service and later life

He served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, serving in the

Royal Dublin Fusiliers The Royal Dublin Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army created in 1881 and disbanded in 1922. It was one of eight 'Irish' regiments of the army which were raised and garrisoned in Ireland, with the regiment's home depot being l ...

. He was made 1st Baronet of Woodbrook in February 1915, for services to sports, music and the welfare of prisoners of war. By war's end he held the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. He was a Justice of the Peace for both

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

and

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

. Cochrane was diagnosed with

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

in the 1920s and was one of the first people to be treated for the condition with insulin. With a strong interest in music, Cochrane had transformed the indoor cricket school on his estate into an opera house, and alongside Michele Esposito he founded the music publishing company C.E. Editions. The company folded in 1929 after Esposito's death. Cochrane died without issue in October 1949 at

Bray Bray may refer to: Places France * Bray, Eure, in the Eure ''département'' * Bray, Saône-et-Loire, in the Saône-et-Loire ''département'' * Bray-Dunes, in the Nord ''département'' * Bray-en-Val, in the Loiret ''département'' * Bray-et-Lû ...

, with his baronetcy becoming extinct.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cochrane, Stanley 1877 births 1949 deaths Younger sons of baronets Cricketers from Dublin (city) People educated at St Columba's College, Dublin Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Irish cricketers Woodbrook Club and Ground cricketers Irish justices of the peace High sheriffs of Wicklow High sheriffs of County Dublin British Army personnel of World War I Royal Dublin Fusiliers officers Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Philanthropists from Dublin (city) Military personnel from Dublin (city)