The Gentlemen of Ireland Cricket Team 1846-1909

Martin Chandler | 9:34am GMT 22 March 2026

Published: 2026
Pages: 461
Author: Smith, Steve
Publisher: Private
Rating: 3 stars

With this title Steve Smith moves away from his subject matter of choice, but although in geographical terms he has crossed the Atlantic from Philadelphia to Ireland, in truth much of the cricket he describes was played in North America.

The Gentlemen of Ireland, as the name suggests a team consisting exclusively of Irish amateurs, played 45 times between 1846 and 1909. The first match was in London, and later there were three in Dublin, but that apart the history of the Gentlemen of Ireland comprises 41 games on five tours of North America, in 1879, 1887, 1888, 1892 and 1909.

Over that time the Gentlemen had a decent record, generally, but only two of their fixtures ever had First Class status, both in 1909 and both against the Gentlemen of Philadelphia. The Philadelphians were of course a decent side, and on occasion defeated much stronger opposition than the Gentlemen of Ireland, but those two Philadelphians won comfortably. There were other meetings between the sides on other tours, and Irish victories were not unknown, but overall the Gentlemen of Philadelphia’s record in their encounters with their Irish counterparts was very good.

The book sets out the background to all of the matches that the Gentlemen of Ireland played, contemporary reports being referenced throughout and all scorecards reproduced. The personnel the Gentlemen of Ireland called upon were a varied bunch and there is, where it was reported at the time, some biographical details about then. Only one, John Dunn, ever played county cricket and even he just played four times for Surrey in 1881. There were also two Test cricketers present amongst those who played, Leland Hone and Clem Johnson, who made one appearance each for England and South Africa respectively. Nothing in the records of any of the Irish players suggests that any of them were outstanding cricketers.

For those interested in the doings of the Gentlemen of Ireland this is certainly a worthwhile read, although personally I would have preferred more about the players themselves than about the cricket matches in which they competed. To give but one example Dunn must have an interesting back story given that he was born in Australia and died off what was then known as Formosa (now Taiwan) at the age of just 30, drowned alongside all but two of his Hong Kong Cricket Club teammates when the ship on which they were returning from an annual match in Shanghai sank.

The above point made the book is not lacking in non-cricketing content, the experience of the 1892 tourists in being quarantined in a cholera struck ship for two days being a salutary reminder of just how long ago these tours took place. That point having been made I do need to be careful as it may be in Steve Smith’s plans to, as he did with the Gentlemen of Philadelphia, write a book collecting together accounts of the lives of the 90 men who, over the years covered by this book, represented the Gentlemen of Ireland.

My only real disappointment arises out of the fact that one of the most vanishingly rare of all cricket books, The Irish Cricketers in the United States, 1879 by one of the tourists, Henry Brougham, does not get a mention. I have never seen a copy, nor do I know anyone who has, but I did hope that Steve might have found one somewhere – a hope for another time perhaps?