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History
LISMORE RFC -
A Brief History
IN THE BEGINNING...
Founded in 1901 by a group of players who, at that time, were
members of the Royal High School FP Rugby Club, and felt that
they were not being given a chance of showing their rugby
skills - due, mainly, to the large number of players on the
School FP membership roll. This is confirmed by the fact that
the RHSFP Club had a number of internationalists playing at
that time.
Having now broken loose, what would they call the club? As
many members of the new club lived in the Jock's Lodge area
of Edinburgh, and in particular in Lismore Crescent, they
decided to call themselves the LISMORE RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB.
OUR VARIOUS TRAVELS
Lismore's first home was at Lady Napier's Park, Milton Road
West, Portobello, for 37 years. After suddenly being rendered
"homeless", through the good offices of the City
of Edinburgh, playing facilities were granted at Firrhill,
on the Corporation farm. The field first occupied by Lismore,
at Lady Napier's, was where Edinburgh Institution (now the
Melville in Stewart's/Melville) previously played before their
transfer to Ferryfield. The pavilion (left by the Institution)
was a wooden shed of two compartments, and water for washing,
was obtained from a trough in one corner of the field, where
the cattle drank.
The players usually arrived in their strip and carrying their
boots-although sometimes small boys carried the boots of outstanding
players and considered it an honour to be permitted to do
so.
This field was ploughed up during the 1914-18 War. The problem
of where to resume playing was solved when the Countess de
La Warr, the then tenant of Duddingston Cottage, agreed to
the let of the field known as the Paddock, in front of the
mansion house.
After we had been in action for some months following the
end of the war, a pavilion was erected in memory of the many
members of Lismore who fell in action, and the captains of
Lismore and Craigard -the opposing team that day and now,
sadly, not in existence - placed poppy wreaths at the base
of a plaque containing the names of the fallen.
Shortly before the 1939-45 War, we had launched out on a
new pavilion scheme, having first received an assurance that
the new tenant of Duddingston Cottage, a great supporter vocally
and financially of Lismore, had a long lease of the mansion
and the Paddock. The pavilion was duly completed at cost of
about £1,000 and was formally opened by the late Mr
A. A. Lawrie, the then President of the Scottish Rugby Union.
However, there was after all, a flaw in the lease, and the
ground was let for house-building. We found, without any warning
whatsoever, foundations for two bungalows on our pitch and
further-more, we received instructions to remove our pavilion
or it would be moved for us! As it happened, a team of demolition
contractors razed it to the ground and the only item that
was salvaged was the boiler.
From here we eventually found our next home, again courtesy
of Edinburgh Council at Firrhill, but it was to be short lived.
The ground was allocated for new housing and in season 1953-54
we moved to our present ground at Inch Park.
ClUBHOUSES WE HAVE KNOWN
Following the Second World War, Lismore used Milnes Bar at
the corner of Rose Street and Hanover Street, as their Clubhouse.
After a game, tables were put together, and the "chair"
was assumed by one of the regular fraternity, and Wullie the
barman would set up beer and plates of pies and beans.
In 1966 we took over the Liberton Tennis Club Clubhouse beside
Inch Park, but this gradually became more and more untenable,
and so it was off to the pub again. This time to The Southsider
in West Richmond Street where we were made very welcome and
had free use of the function room. Given our habit of using
pubs as Clubhouses, it was only fitting that in 1983 we took
over the lease of The Rock public house and turned into the
Lismore Clubhouse which we still use to this day.
JUNIOR CLUBS
Lismore was originally what was termed a Junior Club. In the
first half of the Century, young players straight from school
joined Junior Clubs for a year or two, before they joined
their FP Club. This was one reason why Lismore until well
into the seventies had fixtures against school teams. The
last fixture being against Merchiston Castle School in the
late Seventies. Other Junior Clubs such as Kenmore, Bruntsfield,
County Rovers and Craigard, have passed into history, whilst
Lismore uniquely has survived and flourished.
SINCE 1970
The seventies saw Lismore playing in the new Edinburgh and
District Leagues, which were below National League level.
Since then we have progressed upward until we now stand in
National League Three, started a popular and successful Womens
Team in 1994, and, contrary to most other Clubs, enjoy an
expanding membership. In 1996 we held our 95th Dinner, mixed
for the first time, followed by our Centenary dinner in 2001.
The Club has come a long way since 1901. It is still independent,
and with a series of new initiative can look forward positively
to our next Century.
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