Croquet Lawn
Did you know croquet is an Irish invention, with references dating back to the 1830s?
In 1915 Eleanor Colville Cobbe married Cyril Corbally. A native of Swords, Cyril was a pre-war international croquet champion known as one of the ‘Irish Terrors’ (they were so good, opponents were ‘terrified’ to face them!).
Cyril lived at Newbridge (1915-1932) where he built the croquet lawn on the eastern side of the house. The croquet parties at Newbridge were legendary, with champions coming from all over Ireland and England to compete against Cyril.
The lawn was refurbished to international standards in 2016-17 by Fingal County Council. The lawn is now in regular use with games organised by Newbridge House Croquet Club (NHCC) in association with the Croquet Association of Ireland (CAI).
The last weekend of July sees the annual Cyril Corbally Cup Championship, continuing a long tradition of croquet at Newbridge.
Learn more about the history of croquet at Newbridge on a guided house tour.