de Courcy Ireland (1 August 1873 – 28 January 1915) was an Irish first-class cricketer and British Indian Army officer.

de Courcy Ireland
Personal information
Full name
de Courcy Ireland
Born1 August 1873
Henzada, Burma, British India
Died28 January 1915(1915-01-28) (aged 41)
British Hong Kong or Peking,
Republic of China
BattingUnknown
BowlingUnknown
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1897/98Europeans
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 1
Runs scored 15
Batting average 15.00
100s/50s –/–
Top score 8
Balls bowled 15
Wickets 0
Bowling average
5 wickets in innings
10 wickets in match
Best bowling
Catches/stumpings –/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 12 October 2020

The son of William de Courcy Ireland, a civil servant, he was born on 1 August 1873 on Henzada in British Burma.[1] He was educated in both Ireland and Germany, before attending the Royal Military College, Sandhurst from which he graduated into the Royal Fusiliers as a second lieutenant December 1892.[2] He transferred to the Indian Staff Corps in July 1897, at which point he was promoted to lieutenant.[3] He took part in the 1897 Tirah campaign against the revolting Afridi tribe in the North-West Frontier Province.[1] In September of the same year, Ireland made a single appearance in first-class cricket for the Europeans cricket team against the Parsees at Poona in the 1897/98 Bombay Presidency Match.[4] Batting twice in the match, he was dismissed for 8 runs by Nasarvanji Bapasola in the Europeans' first innings, while in their second innings he was not out on 7, despite having come into bat at number four.[5] Later serving with the 36th Sikhs, he was promoted to major in December 1910, having been made a captain prior to this.[6] He married Gabrielle Bryan in December 1910, with the couple residing in England at Buckfastleigh, Devon. Their son, John de Courcy Ireland, would become a renowned maritime historian.[1] Ireland was posted to the Republic of China in June 1914, where he stationed at the onset of the First World War. He died from fever in January 1915 at either British Hong Kong or Peking.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d McCrery, Nigel (30 July 2015). Final Wicket: Test and First Class Cricketers Killed in the Great War. Pen and Sword. pp. 429–30. ISBN 978-1473864191.
  2. ^ "No. 26354". The London Gazette. 16 December 1892. p. 7397.
  3. ^ "No. 26893". The London Gazette. 21 September 1897. p. 5215.
  4. ^ "First-Class Matches played by de Courcy Ireland". CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  5. ^ "Europeans v Parsees, 1897/98". CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  6. ^ "No. 28463". The London Gazette. 7 February 1911. p. 956.
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