For those interested in the history of cricket in Leinster, a new book has been published entitled A History of Merrion Cricket Club 1892 - 2010.
The authors, Alan Little and Danny Parkinson, have brought together a massive amount of archival material, cricket records and photographs. The books starts with the Origin Myths, of which there are many, as the name Merrion was used by a number of teams in the nineteenth century. Of particular interest was the supposed link with the cricket team in the Land Commission which operated between 1892 and 1900. This was often thought to be the direct ancestor of Merrion but as the authors clearly demonstrate, there was a gap of six years between the disbanding of the Land Commission club and the start up of Merrion.
Merrion played their first game in 1906 [a loss to Malahide], moved to Anglesea Road in 1908, obtained senior status in 1926 and won the league and the cup for the first time in 1940. The book brings together a wealth of statistical data but it is the accounts of the war years, of the ground and its fraught relationship with the river Dodder, and of the stories of players and members that will hold the greatest interest not only for members of Merrion but for anyone who has a love for the game of cricket and how it has evolved in Dublin.