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Great reading about local cricket and the many teams and clubs that there used to be in days now sadly long gone.
Judging by the amount of teams in the areas mentioned,there must have been alot more local clubs & teams all around the country not even mentioned as yet! What has happened and is club cricket in Ulster, really in decline, are as 'Mary Hopkins' says; people are not committed and young ones just can't be bothered!

Funny enough in the small town of Moira where I come from, 20yrs ago we had a Football Club Moira Albion,(play in the Mid-Ulster league)it consisted of a 1st & 2nd team and a thriving youth team.
Presently, bear in mind the population and housing has increased greatly; Moira Albion F.C. can now barely put out a 1st team and nearly folded last season. And this is soccer we are talking about here!!
Hope local cricket has now turned the corner and maybe the halcyon days of yesteryear,mentioned by some of the previous posters will return again.

If the blink'en summers would dry up,it would certainly help!!

"Those were the days" lads when there was little or no Sunday cricket, no wicket covers, no B&Qs, no shopping centres, limited personal transport but what you had were guys who REALLY wanted to PLAY cricket at the grass roots level ............what do we have now...........Development plans, Development committees, Development Officers, sunday cricket, better facilities and transport but no "local" competitions and a desire amongst some to play less cricket....... I just don`t understand.........I suppose it come down to COMMITMENT

Vic,

Totally agree.. how much older? lol

Taito,
Your dad may remember playing in Creigduff. You probably don't know where it is but if you pass by Tullymurray on the way to Clough from Downpatrick, they played as the ground levels off on the left hand side. As a young fella, the only memories I had were of the concrete wicket, Jack Moreland batting with one glove and pad on and the midges biting at my head!

Andy - Don't get Lowry Cunningham started on the 6 cricket fields he could see out his bedroom window in Donemana!

Stevie, I must let him post more often, he must talk more sense than me ! Just hope he can play like his Dad when he gets older!!!! Would you not agree? lol!!

andy- my dad played for crossgar and tells many a story of playing against several of the teams that have been mentioned on here.

I thought "Zingary" meant gypsies - not I hasten to add ethnic Irish travellers. While we're down memory lane is there anybody out there who remembers playing against Crossbows, Crossgar, Mossley or Cloughfern? I recall playing a cup game at RAF Bishop's Court but that seems about 100 years ago. Interesting to read about the various sides in the Dundrum area. I picked up a Radio Ulster programme a few years ago when Alfie Linehan & Lloyd McKee were talking about the various sides that played in & around Downpatrick and were "feeder" sides for D'patrick. There was a rumour that used to go around Ballymena that when Galgorm had a big game coming up the late Tom Kyle wasn't averse to bringing in a ringer or two and I recall Walter Cosgrove later confesssing to being one of them - but maybe my memory is playing tricks!!

Andy - I do now remember Zingari as C'ville 4ths. 'I Zingari' would be a much more pretentious crowd based as it is/was on Harrow School Old Boys.

It's wonderful how a comment by a 9 year old can strike up such an interesting discussion. Puts some of us to shame. Vic,he must take after his mother! LOL
As a footnote, within a 5 mile radius of Dundrum, over 50 years ago there were numerous cricket teams. Clough, Dundrum, Tyrella, Minerstown, Creigduff and I think Bright. Downshire Cup was won by Clough in 1947. JWE Clarke was the skipper, i think the vice was Dundrum skipper Gavin McNerlins grandfather Campbell. Walrond Clarke some of you older guys may have come across in table tennis circles back in the eighties.

My recollections of Cliftonville are in line with Mr. Milford. In a previous life I was league secretary for Div 2 Section 2 and "Enfield" were in that section. Can anyone confirm that the Cliftonville 4ths were named "I Zingary"? I also was lead to believe that "Ulidia" was another name for "Ulster".

Alan
You just got in ahead of me with the information on Ulidia. When Ulidia folded in 1968 most of the players went on to form Cooke Cricket Club and attached themselves to the Rugby Club at that time playing at Upper Galwally.

Cooke amalgamated with Collegians in 1999 to form Cooke Collegians.

I have always regarded Cooke and Cooke Collegians as the inheritors of Ulidia. Andy might be interested to know that the new Cooke Club celebrated their formation in 1969 with a match versus Muckamore. The club has a handbell presented to them by Muckamore to mark the occasion.

Ulidia were first affiliated to the NCU in 1935 and were last affiliated in 1968.
The name was not associated with Cliftonville whose 1st XI played as Cliftonville and to the best of my knowledge the seconds played under the name - Enfield and the thirds - Dunowen.
Victoria first affiliated in 1954 by the way.

Hello Greg, how r u? Got the ballot tickets this morning.

Your maybe rite about Ulidia,but if Andy does'nt know I'm sure Gerald will! He probably played against them!!!

Oh and yea, cricket is always high on the agenda in the 'Jons' famiy house-hold!!!!

Hello Vic i think Cliftonville used that name [Ulidia] many years ago maybe Andy can confirm this.Good to see that you have the whole family involved in the Forum.