newmark401
Professional
By Mark Ryan
Part I of III
The Langrishes originally came from England, but were well-established in Ireland by the time May Langrishe and her siblings were born in the second half of the nineteenth century. Their paternal great-great-grandfather, Sir Hercules Langrishe (born in Knocktopher, County Kilkenny, in 1729), became a freeman of Kilkenny in 1750 and represented the constituency of Knocktopher as an MP in the Irish House of Commons for six consecutive terms totalling nearly 40 years, from 1761 until the abolition of the seat with the Act of Union in 1800.
Sir Hercules Langrishe was known for advocating the repeal of the penal laws against Catholics, though his advocacy in this respect is thought to have been motivated primarily by fiscal reasons. His gradual acquisition of property in the borough of Knocktopher allowed him to let exclusively to Catholics, who did not have the vote. In others respects, his politics were mainly protestant. He was awarded a baronetcy by the government in 1777. This has passed down the male line of Langrishes, and was inherited by May’s father, Sir James Langrishe, and by his son, Hercules Robert.
Sir James Langrishe was born on 24 May 1823. He later became a lieutenant colonel and High Sheriff for County Kilkenny. He married Adela de Blois Eccles on 2 July 1857. They had six children, but two of them, girls named Frances Alice and Norah Elizabeth, died in infancy. Their other children were Hercules Robert, born 27 June 1859; Adela Constance, born circa 1861; Maria Cecilia, known as Beatrice (or “Bee” in certain sources), born circa 1863; and Mary Isabella, known as May, born 31 December 1864.
The Langrishes appear to have had a tennis court on their estate in Knocktopher, so May and her siblings would have been able to play and practice there before they began to play competitively. The Langrishes seem to have enjoyed sporting activity in general and tennis was becoming increasingly popular not just as a sport but as a social activity in the late nineteenth century. In Ireland, as in England and other countries, it was initially played by members of the gentry and wealthy families.
The first Irish Championships were held at the Fitzwilliam Club in Dublin in 1879. According to Irish author Ulick O’Connor, in “The Fitzwilliam Story: 1877 – 1977”:
“It was not, in fact, first called the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club. In November 1877, ten men met to found the Dublin Lawn Tennis Club. It was to have 30 members who would pay a subscription of £3 a year. At the next meeting on 23 November, it was decided to lease some ground in Upper Pembroke Street (just off Fitzwilliam Square) from Sir Francis Brady for £25 per annum on a ten-year lease. It wasn’t until the next meeting on 6 December 6 that Arnold Graves, one of the committee, proposed that to ‘avoid confusion’ the club be called the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club.”
Although a men’s singles event had been held at the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon, in 1877, the unique feature of the Irish Championships was that it also included a ladies’ singles and a mixed doubles event, the first championship titles of their kind to be played anywhere in the world.
“The Field”, a sports journal, reported on the tournament in June 1879 as follows:
“For some time the holding of an Irish championship meeting had been talked about, as the game had made great strides in public opinion on the other side of the Channel, and many players were known to be decidedly above average. The Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club, under whose management the whole of the details were carried out, issued a very liberal programme, comprising not only singles matches, but doubles for two gentlemen, and also a lady and gentleman as partners [mixed doubles]. The gentlemen’s single match, for which a first prize, value £20, and a second, value £5, were given, obtained an entry of fifteen; the ladies’ singles, first prize, value £10, second prize, value £2 10s, seven; the gentlemen’s doubles, two first prizes, value £7 10s each, and two second prizes, value £2 10s each, fourteen; and the ladies’ and gentlemen’s [mixed] doubles, two first prizes, value £5 each; and two second prizes, value £2 10s each, an entry of nine.
“Considering it was the first venture of the kind in Ireland, the entries must be considered very good. The matches were arranged to begin on Wednesday last in Fitzwilliam Square, each match to be the best of three sets, and, if possible, to be finished in the day. The ladies’ singles championship, to be played on asphalt today (Saturday), is to take place in the private ground of the Fitzwilliam Club, where admittance will only be by a member’s voucher.”
As reported in the “The Field”, the tournament as a whole was to be played over a week or so, with each individual event being held on one specific day. It is interesting to note that the ladies’ singles event was held in private, on an indoor asphalt court at the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club itself in Upper Pembroke Street, just around the corner from Fitzwilliam Square. The reason for this was that it was considered unseemly for the women to be seen playing in public even though they would have worn what would now be considered an excessive amount of clothing likely to hinder instead of facilitate movement.
This is the draw for the first Ladies’ Singles Championship:
First round
Miss D. Meldon d. Miss Beatrice Langrishe 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
Miss [Connie] Butler d. Miss Aungier 1-6, 6-4, 6-1
Miss Adela Langrishe d. Miss Costello 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
Miss Casey, a bye
Second round
Miss D. Meldon d. Miss [Connie] Butler 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
Miss Casey d. Miss Adela Langrishe 6-2, 0-6, 12-10
Miss May Langrishe, a bye
Third round
Miss May Langrishe, a bye
Miss Casey, absent
Miss D. Meldon, a bye
Final round
Miss May Langrishe d. Miss D. Meldon 6-2, 0-6, 8-6
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Part I of III
The Langrishes originally came from England, but were well-established in Ireland by the time May Langrishe and her siblings were born in the second half of the nineteenth century. Their paternal great-great-grandfather, Sir Hercules Langrishe (born in Knocktopher, County Kilkenny, in 1729), became a freeman of Kilkenny in 1750 and represented the constituency of Knocktopher as an MP in the Irish House of Commons for six consecutive terms totalling nearly 40 years, from 1761 until the abolition of the seat with the Act of Union in 1800.
Sir Hercules Langrishe was known for advocating the repeal of the penal laws against Catholics, though his advocacy in this respect is thought to have been motivated primarily by fiscal reasons. His gradual acquisition of property in the borough of Knocktopher allowed him to let exclusively to Catholics, who did not have the vote. In others respects, his politics were mainly protestant. He was awarded a baronetcy by the government in 1777. This has passed down the male line of Langrishes, and was inherited by May’s father, Sir James Langrishe, and by his son, Hercules Robert.
Sir James Langrishe was born on 24 May 1823. He later became a lieutenant colonel and High Sheriff for County Kilkenny. He married Adela de Blois Eccles on 2 July 1857. They had six children, but two of them, girls named Frances Alice and Norah Elizabeth, died in infancy. Their other children were Hercules Robert, born 27 June 1859; Adela Constance, born circa 1861; Maria Cecilia, known as Beatrice (or “Bee” in certain sources), born circa 1863; and Mary Isabella, known as May, born 31 December 1864.
The Langrishes appear to have had a tennis court on their estate in Knocktopher, so May and her siblings would have been able to play and practice there before they began to play competitively. The Langrishes seem to have enjoyed sporting activity in general and tennis was becoming increasingly popular not just as a sport but as a social activity in the late nineteenth century. In Ireland, as in England and other countries, it was initially played by members of the gentry and wealthy families.
The first Irish Championships were held at the Fitzwilliam Club in Dublin in 1879. According to Irish author Ulick O’Connor, in “The Fitzwilliam Story: 1877 – 1977”:
“It was not, in fact, first called the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club. In November 1877, ten men met to found the Dublin Lawn Tennis Club. It was to have 30 members who would pay a subscription of £3 a year. At the next meeting on 23 November, it was decided to lease some ground in Upper Pembroke Street (just off Fitzwilliam Square) from Sir Francis Brady for £25 per annum on a ten-year lease. It wasn’t until the next meeting on 6 December 6 that Arnold Graves, one of the committee, proposed that to ‘avoid confusion’ the club be called the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club.”
Although a men’s singles event had been held at the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon, in 1877, the unique feature of the Irish Championships was that it also included a ladies’ singles and a mixed doubles event, the first championship titles of their kind to be played anywhere in the world.
“The Field”, a sports journal, reported on the tournament in June 1879 as follows:
“For some time the holding of an Irish championship meeting had been talked about, as the game had made great strides in public opinion on the other side of the Channel, and many players were known to be decidedly above average. The Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club, under whose management the whole of the details were carried out, issued a very liberal programme, comprising not only singles matches, but doubles for two gentlemen, and also a lady and gentleman as partners [mixed doubles]. The gentlemen’s single match, for which a first prize, value £20, and a second, value £5, were given, obtained an entry of fifteen; the ladies’ singles, first prize, value £10, second prize, value £2 10s, seven; the gentlemen’s doubles, two first prizes, value £7 10s each, and two second prizes, value £2 10s each, fourteen; and the ladies’ and gentlemen’s [mixed] doubles, two first prizes, value £5 each; and two second prizes, value £2 10s each, an entry of nine.
“Considering it was the first venture of the kind in Ireland, the entries must be considered very good. The matches were arranged to begin on Wednesday last in Fitzwilliam Square, each match to be the best of three sets, and, if possible, to be finished in the day. The ladies’ singles championship, to be played on asphalt today (Saturday), is to take place in the private ground of the Fitzwilliam Club, where admittance will only be by a member’s voucher.”
As reported in the “The Field”, the tournament as a whole was to be played over a week or so, with each individual event being held on one specific day. It is interesting to note that the ladies’ singles event was held in private, on an indoor asphalt court at the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club itself in Upper Pembroke Street, just around the corner from Fitzwilliam Square. The reason for this was that it was considered unseemly for the women to be seen playing in public even though they would have worn what would now be considered an excessive amount of clothing likely to hinder instead of facilitate movement.
This is the draw for the first Ladies’ Singles Championship:
First round
Miss D. Meldon d. Miss Beatrice Langrishe 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
Miss [Connie] Butler d. Miss Aungier 1-6, 6-4, 6-1
Miss Adela Langrishe d. Miss Costello 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
Miss Casey, a bye
Second round
Miss D. Meldon d. Miss [Connie] Butler 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
Miss Casey d. Miss Adela Langrishe 6-2, 0-6, 12-10
Miss May Langrishe, a bye
Third round
Miss May Langrishe, a bye
Miss Casey, absent
Miss D. Meldon, a bye
Final round
Miss May Langrishe d. Miss D. Meldon 6-2, 0-6, 8-6
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