The main goal of Cover Point is to assist in the development of cricket as a sport on the island of Ireland. Primarily we aim to achieve that by providing passionate, thoughtful, incisive and stimulating coverage of Irish cricket and by promoting greater awareness and interest in the game among the greater public.  

Historian and Obituaries Editor - Edward Liddle

"I was educated at St Columba's and Trinity College, Dublin (TCD). Never much of a player but was Secretary of Cricket at St Columba's, then scorer for TCD First XI, until I decided I'd better do some work in my final years there ! I played once for the First XI v Bath Civil Service on tour in 1963. I'd gone on tour as umpire but we were short for the first match. Graeme Guthrie, who later played for Railway Union in Dublin for over 30 years was captain and declared as I was walking out to bat. He was apologetic. I was relieved ! I taught in the UK for 39 years after doing the HDip at TCD and teaching at High School. I took early retirement in 2005 - more time for cricket and grandsons ! In addition to writing for Cover Point I am also writing the Irish biographies on the Cricketeurope and Cricket Ireland websites."  

Founder and Leinster Editor - Liam Rooney

Liam grew up in Newry in the 1970s during the 'Troubles' where playing cricket on a formal basis was definitely and regrettably not an option. His love for the game grew from watching the great West Indies team of the 1970s and from playing the game informally in the back gardens of his neighbourhood in Newry. He is the grand-nephew of Christie and Henry Russell from Balrothery, two of Fingal's finest cricketers and two of the best Irish cricketers never to play for their country.  

Christie and Henry Russell Biography

Patrick and Mary Jane Russell (Hughes) together reared a family of 13, two of whom, Christie and Henry went on to become two of Fingal's greatest ever cricketers.

Christie Russell was born on 14th December 1918, the second youngest of a family of 13. He collapsed and died on 28th September 1974, aged 55, while playing cricket for Balbriggan. His wife Rose, his sons Seamus and Paul and daughter Rosemary survive him.

In his honour, the Christie Russell Memorial Cup was founded and is played to this day, contested now between Balbriggan, Rush, the Hills and North County. Nowadays it is the most important Twenty20 competition in Fingal.

Christie (or 'Kit' as he was also known) started to play cricket in the mid 1930's with Balrothery in the Fingal League. In 1947 he also began to play with Rush in the Leinster League.  Balrothery entered the Leinster League in 1951 and Christie returned from Rush to play for Balrothey in the Leinster League as well as in the Fingal League.

He also began to play for Deanhill in the Meath League, travelling to all the games on his bicycle. According to Balrothery stalwart, Tommy Mooney, "Christie would go anywhere to play cricket. He lived for cricket."

He was one of the characters of the game known for his rogue-ish sense of humour (a precursor to what is known as "sledging" today).

For many years he formed a lethal opening attack with Kit Mooney. They were a much feared duo in Fingal and later in Leinster. Christie was a member of the Fingal Selection who defeated the powerful Phoenix team in a challenge match in 1943 - a famous match when another Fingal great, Simon Hoare, took five wickets for no runs. Phoenix had five internationals in their team including Jimmy Boucher and the four Quinn brothers.

Balrothery were extremely strong in the forties and early fifties. They won the Fingal Cup six times between 1944 and 1955. Balrothery also won the All-Ireland Junior Cup in 1951 and 1952.

Christie was a wonderful bowler, by all accounts. He was an extremely accurate and consistent seam bowler. However he was strong in all three disciplines. He was a fine technically correct batsman while North County stalwart,Tommy Mooney describes him as "the finest slip fielder I ever saw". 

On one occasion when he was playing with Balrothery, in a Leinster League match against Deanhill at Bopark, Christie was fielding at first slip when Richie Byrne who was batting got a thick edge and the ball went to second slip, only for Christie to dive and catch it. John Farrell who was batting with Richie walked down the pitch and shook hands with Christie and said "well done Christie, salmon always return to their native shores". Quite a compliment given the intense inter-club rivalries of the day.

In the late 1960's Christie left Balrothery and went to play for Rush in the Leinster League. It isn't clear why he left but it is likely that it was due to a dispute over team selection. Christie nonetheless continued to play for Balrothery in the Fingal League. Christie also won the Fingal Cup with Knockbrack on at least one occasion. (Knockbrack won the inaugural Fingal Cup in 1930 but then didn't win it again until 1956, then again in '58, '59,'60, '61, '63 and for the last time in 1964).

 In his latter years Christie's health was failing. Not helping matters was the fact that, though he was a pioneer and didn't drink, he was a chain smoker, smoking 60 woodbines a day. Rose was anxious for him not to play but Christie, being Christie, was not having any of it. Rose put the word out that Christie's health was not up to it and the clubs should not be encouraging him to play. The only club Rose didn't get to tell in time was Balbriggan, and sure enough Christie started to play with same.

On that fateful Sunday afternoon on 28th September '74, Christie, in order to avoid being "found out" borrowed Neil Carpenters' gear to play for Balbriggan in a match against Man O'War. Rose was not aware that Christie was playing.  

Christie, batting at the time, drove a ball off Tom Murphy into the covers and ran for a single. Arriving at the other end he turned around and started to lean on his bat. As Tom came into bowl his next delivery, Christie collapsed in a heap, behind Tom and in front of the umpire, former Knockbrack player, Thomas McGrane, dying of a heart attack. In the present day, with progress in first aid awareness around sporting occasions there would have been a possibility that something could have been done. However in the words of Albert Harper, of Balbriggan CC who was playing that day "I believe he was dead before he hit the ground" - something that Tom Murphy and Thomas McGrane concurred with.

It is perhaps a measure of the regard in which Christie is held that he is acknowledged (in some quarters at least) as the person who taught John "the Ranger" Mooney how to play cricket. "The Ranger" Mooney is the father of, Irish internationals, Paul and John Mooney. The Ranger was another very fine player, a very technically correct opening batsman. Ironically he also collapsed and died of a heart attack at a young age after a practice session at 'The Nevitt', Man O'War's ground.

Albert Harper pays a glowing tribute. "My dad Jack who played with Christie held him in the highest regard both as a person and as a cricketer. Everyone in Fingal at the time felt the same way about Christie. There was a sense of mischief about him on the cricket field. He was a sensational bowler. If he was playing in the present era he would be an automatic choice for Ireland. But back in Christie's heyday you had to be playing in the fashionable areas to be picked for Ireland."

Like most of the Russells, Christie was musical and excelled in playing the accordion. He was a friendly and social character and earned his living working with Fingal County Council.

A Christie Russell Memorial Cup was promoted after Christie's death by Balbriggan CC and is played in July of each year. It is sponsored by the Russell family. North County defeated Balbriggan in the 2007 final. (Due to the wet summer in 2008 with the inevitable fixture pile-ups, the Fingal Cup fixtures weren't played).

HENRY RUSSELL 

Henry Russell, Christie's brother was born on 16th September 1916. 

He started to play in the 1930s for Balrothery. Henry was a wicketkeeper, not an outstanding one by all accounts, but competent. However it was as an explosive match-winning batsman with his ability to score runs quickly that marked him out as an outstanding player.

Though he was a small man, standing just 5' 5" and carrying little weight he had a fantastic eye and was able to time the ball superbly. He could score 4s and 6s with a minimum of effort it seemed.

His scoring is the stuff of folklore in Fingal. On one occasion he hit a 50 in eleven minutes. On another occasion in a Leinster match it is told that he hit the ball over a wall surrounding the ground, over a house beyond the wall with the ball landing in the front garden of the house, which was facing away from the ground. Though his brother Christie was a technically more correct batsman, Henry was a more dangerous one - able to take the game away from the opposition.

Like Christie, Henry played mostly for Balrothery in Fingal and Rush in Leinster before Balrothery joined the Leinster League in 1951. He was part of the strong Balrothery team of the late 1940s and early '50s. He did however play for Man O'War for a couple of years in the early '60s before returning to play for Balrothery. The highlight of Henry's career was when Balrothery won the All-Ireland Junior Cup in 1951 in the Mardyke in Cork.

"Not that he did anything special in the final" explains his son Joseph, "but that was the one he used to enjoy talking about when he was relaxing with a pint." 

"Henry was more serious than Christie but social. He enjoyed getting up and singing after a couple of drinks. Though he played the mouth organ, the fiddle and the accordion and was useful, he wasn't say, as expert as Christie was on the accordion. Apart from cricket, like Christie, Henry didn't play any other sports to any serious level, though he followed Arsenal." 


"Henry was more fiery than Christie - he'd lose his temper if things weren't going as intended," says Joseph.

"In those days they had great dedication to the game. I remember him coming in after a match and one of his fingers would have been broken. His attitude was that he had to go to work the next day and he couldn't be going to hospital, so he would just strap the fingers together. They wouldn't be set right and to the day he died you could see his fingers were crooked."

Henry married Molly in 1951 at the age of 35.Molly was some 10 years younger than Henry being born on 8th February 1927 in Ballinalee, County Longford.

Together they had five children, Joseph, Marie, Philomena, Esther and Christy.

Sons, Christy and Joseph both played for Balrothery and then North County following the merger with Man O'War cricket club. Joseph is still playing and will captain the 5ths in 2009.

Like his father before him Henry worked as a farm labourer. That was until Wavin arrived in Balbriggan in the early 1960s. Henry secured employment at Wavin and worked there until his retirement in 1980.

Henry died at the age of 68 on 14th January 1984 after a heart attack. His wife Molly passed away in 2004.

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The Balrothery team of the late 40's early '50s containing Kit Mooney, Simon Hoare, Valie Farrell, Christie and Henry Russell was probably as good as any team in Leinster at the time though they were not admitted into the Senior Leagues. As well as winning the All-Ireland Junior Cup in 1951 and 1952, they reached the final in 1954 but lost to Cahir Park in the final.

The account of Balrothery's victory in the semi-final in 1954, from the Fingal Independent, gives a good flavour of cricket of the time. The account is reproduced below: 

"Balrothery played Ballyclare from Antrim in the semi-final of the All-Ireland Junior Cup. Balrothery batted first and made 85 with Henry Russell hitting 29 including 2 sixes and 3 fours. Christy Russell hit 13, John Mooney 12 and Simon Hoare 10.    In Ballyclare's reply, Mooney and Russell took two wickets with the score on zero. Russell then got Stephenson lbw for 19 and Mooney clean bowled Kirk for 9. Ballyclare were dismissed for 42. Mooney claimed 3 wickets for 26 and Russell 7 for 16."

For the record the Balrothery team which contested the 1954 All-Ireland Junior Cup final was: C. Russell, M. Gassin, V. Farrell, J. Mooney. S. Hoare, C. Mooney, H. Russell, J. Bissett, R. Moore, P. Dillon. N. Hickey