Thomas Gilroy
b. 2 October 1852, Dundee
While
born in Scotland he had taken up golf from a young age being thought
by George Morris (a brother of Old Tom Morris) and playing his
golf at Carnoustie. Later as a student at St. Andrews he would
often play golf with young Tom Morris and became proficient at
the game.
Thomas
Gilroy moved with his family to Ireland living in Mornington House
(Coney Hall) between 1885-c.1892. Coney Hall was considered one
of the finest Queen Anne style residences built on a large three
acre walled-estate in County Meath. Later he would build Orkney
Villa a house perched on the banks of the river Boyne. This may
have been brought about by his interest in developing the land
on the other side of the water, at Baltray, into a golf course
despite already having built a fourteen-hole (some records suggest
it was an eleven-hole course) partially on the site of the current
Laytown & Bettystown Golf Club up as far as the Maiden Tower.
It is suggested in the County Louth centenary that he encountered
opposition from locals to the game which might have acted as the
catalyst for the move to Baltray.
Gilroy was one of the
key personalities in bringing golf to Ireland and was himself
considered to be the best golfer in Ireland at the time, he is
attributed with laying out the Phoenix Park golf course in 1885,
the aforementioned fourteen-hole course in Mornington in 1886,
in 1891 the North West Golf Club and in 1892 the first nine-hole
course at Baltray. Three years later he took up a position, as
secretary, of the Seaford Golf Club in East Sussex for £100
per annum and quickly made his mark on the course with a record
72 on 8 June 1896.
Although Scottish by
birth, Thomas Gilroy was the first to represent an Irish Club
(Royal Dublin Golf Club) at the British Open Championship in 1891
and at the inaugural British Amateur Championship in 1885 and
was also a vice-president of the Ladies Golf Union (LGU) at its
inception in 1893. Curiously he entered the Amateur Championship
in 1891 a member of the County Golf Club, Portrush but he had
a close association with this club, when, in 1895, the final of
the first professional championship played in Ireland between
Harry Vardon and Sandy Herd would be refereed by Gilroy.
Gilroy's name from the
outset was synonymous with the Dublin (Dollymount) Golf Club since
his arrival in Ireland in the mid-eighteen eighties during which
his handicap would vary between scratch and plus four. He was
to win some of the earliest prizes like the Black Watch Medal
and the Henderson Cup, which James Henderson presented in 1888
with a view to promoting golf in Ireland. Gilroy won the Henderson
Cup when it was played over the Dollymount course on the 10 June
1889 when, as captain of the club, which at the time was reportedly
the only eighteen-hole golf course in Ireland, he scored a gross
80 playing off scratch.
It was recorded that
Thomas Gilroy broke the record at the County Golf Club (i.e. Royal
Portrush as it would later be named - 1895) when he shot a round
of 71 in a gale; the recorded scores were 5,4,2,3,4,5,3,6,4 -
36 4,5,3,4,3,3,4,4,5 - 35 = 71.
Gilroy was likely a
semi-finalist in the first Irish Amateur Championship played at
the County Golf Club, Portrush and on the 13 September 1893 the
second Irish Open Amateur Championship being played at Newcastle
he was beaten by W. Taylor another scratch player out of Edinburgh
by 3 and 1 in the first round. Gilroy was playing off scratch
while the eventual winner, the legendary John Ball jnr. played
off plus 5.
Gilroy's participation
in the Amateur Championship began as already mentioned in 1885
when he was beaten in the third round by the eventual winner,
Allen F. Macfie, by a margin of 2 and 1. During the championship
he beat Charles Hutchings, the 1902 champion, by 3 and 2. The
following year at St. Andrews he was beaten on the 19th in a first
round match against Major Gregor MacGregor of the Royal Burgess
Golfing Society, one of their finest players at the time and a
person who made all his own clubs. In 1887 the championship returned
to Hoylake where he was beaten in the third round by 4 and 3 by
the aforementioned John Ball jnr. In 1888 at Prestwick, Percy
Wilson exacted revenge for his defeat at the hands of Gilroy in
a second round match. In 1889 at St. Andrews Gilroy exited in
the third round at the hands of J P Henderson by 2 holes. In 1890,
at Hoylake, he lost to D Anderson from Dalhousie by 2 holes after
beating H.S. Everard by a similar margin in a first round encounter.
In 1891 at St. Andrews
he reached the semi-finals:
1st Rnd vs A G Tait
Edinburgh University (won 2 and 1)
2nd Rnd vs Garden S
Smith - Royal Musselburgh (won 3 and 2)
3rd Rnd vs R T Boothby
- Royal & Ancient (won 3 and 2)
4th Rnd vs W Doleman
- Glasgow (won 7 and 6)
Semi-final vs John Ernest
Laidlay - Honourable Company, Muirfield (lost 5 and 4)
Laidlay the 1889 champion
went on to narrowly win the title and was considered, at the time,
with Ball and Hutchinson to be the greatest exponents of the game.
Laidlay is attributed, despite its name, with the discovery of
the "Vardon Grip", which together with the interlocking
grip is the most popular of golfing grips. Now nearing forty this
appears to have been Gilroy's last Amateur Championship but secured
the bronze medal for his troubles, no doubt this was his finest
hour on the golf links as a player.
Thomas
Gilroy was married to Isabel and together had four children; two
sons Randall .R. Gilroy (H/cap - 2) and N. Gilroy (H/cap - 12),
the daughters Winifred and Eunice were also to prove useful golfers.
Randall showed the most promise at the game and was already playing
off a handicap of 2 while in Ireland and would later play to plus
3 while at Newhaven GC. By 1895 Randall Gilroy, playing out of
County Louth, was a serious contender for the Amateur Championship
and had beaten John Ball jnr. in the second round by 2 and 1.
Thomas was beaten by J.S. Reade in the second round match in the
same championship. Taylor again (as in 1893) took a Gilroy scalp
when in the semi-final he beat Randall by 2 and 1, he would go
on to win the event and take a further two titles in 1896 and
1898.
Winifred
played off a handicap of two upon her arrival at Seaford (age
c. 16 years) but would, within a couple of years, lower that to
scratch, managing also to set a course record for Seaford Golf
Club, amongst others, not long after her arrival. Winifred would
win the English Ladies' Championship in 1913 when it was hosted
by Nottingham in only its second year and was a bronze medallist
at Cromer in the Ladies' Amateur Championship in 1905, both under
her married name of Mrs F. W. Brown. At Royal Wimbledon Golf Club
the is according to the Seaford centenary book a photograph with
the caption: "Winifred Brown, 1902-1927. Vice President and
captain. Ever remembered for her devotion to the Club and her
kindness as a friend." The other younger (by two years) daughter
Eunice would make her name at both county and international level
as an administrator of the game who played no small part in the
organising the first post-war Ladies' Championship at Newcastle,
County Down.
By 1900
Thomas Gilroy had left Seaford Golf Club to take up a position
at Chislehurst but by the 1901 census, his profession was given
as "Living on own means". Thomas Gilroy was undoubtedly
one of the early pioneers of golf in Ireland.
