Tillain Cup/YMCA Salver
Sunday next sees the finals of two of Leinster's 20 over competitions on the Civil Service ground as follows:
YMCA Salver - 12.00 noon - Malahide 3 v Railway Union 3
Tillain Cup - 4.00pm – Clontarf 2 v YMCA 2
Tillain Cup
The competition started in 1987, being the brainchild of Eddie Tillain of the Railway Union club. Although the Alan Murray Cup had started at Senior level some thirty years earlier, Eddie was concerned at the absence of a similar competition for second elevens. He was of course delighted to be a member of the Railway 2nds team which was successful in the competition's first year.
Since then the competition has grown from strength to strength. Being originally designed for teams in the former Senior 2 and 3 leagues, it is now competed for by clubs with teams in Divisions 3 and 4. The competition has in fact outlasted the original trophy. Following various unfortunate mishaps over various winters, Cricket Leinster was delighted to accept a new trophy from Eddie in 2012. That trophy was the property of Merrion for the two seasons since but will now go to a new home.
This year’s final is a repeat of that in 1993 when Clontarf were successful. In fact Clontarf have never lost in the four occasions they have contested the final. However the last of these was in 2006 which few if any of the current team would remember.
YM will no doubt be particularly keen for success. They have not reached a final since their 1993 loss and in fact their only success in the completion was even earlier in 1991. My recollection is that that team was captained by John Dunlop, brother of Angus, this year’s skipper. In fact if memory serves that YM team also won the Senior 2 Cup in that year beating Old Belvedere 2 in the final. Coincidentally Old Belvedere were captained by Gerry Murphy, now manager of Clontarf 2 and of course chairman of the OCC.
The teams meet again a week later in the Senior 2 Cup final and are both in contention for Division 3 league success so a keen match is expected.
YMCA Salver
To mark an anniversary of their foundation in 1990, the YMCA club donated a Salver to be competed for by teams in the then Middle league. Subsequently the trophy became a memorial for the late Alex Dunlop, former distinguished member of the club and a man who had been president of both the Leinster and Irish Cricket Unions . It is now an established trophy competed for by clubs with teams in Divisions 5 – 8. As a Salver, it makes a welcome difference to cup trophies but club presidents should note that twelve pints fit on it exactly.
Despite being responsible for the trophy,YMCA have never won it being unsuccessful on three occasions.
Malahide will no doubt be very keen for success in a competition they have never won. In fact they have only reached one final in 2001. Railway Union have been more successful. They have never lost a final, winning the trophy twice, but not since 2007