The Junior Grounds at Merrion Road
When Wanderers took up residence at Lansdowne Road the International pitch and the two pitches behind the [East] Stand were shared with Lansdowne. The 1st XV played on the International pitch, while the Juniors played on the other pitches. As the playing strength of Wanderers increased, it became necessary to look for additional playing fields. For a while, a pitch was rented at Tritonville Road. Later – from about the early or mid-1930s – a small pitch about 90x60 yards, was rented at 65 Merrion Road. The Carlton Lawn Tennis Club rented Wanderers their Pavilion and the team washed in buckets and basins of cold water after the matches. The Carlton tennis courts were situated at one side of this pitch. On the other side, there was a very wide hedge which separated it from a field on which cattle grazed, and there was a cultivated garden in the uppermost corner.
For a number of years, the 3rd A’s and B’s played there quite contentedly, but in 1950 the steady increase in membership and the desire for more security of tenure led to the formation of a sub-committee with terms of reference to examine various sites. The house was sold shortly afterwards for £5000 and Wanderers became the owners of the land for £2000.
The committee decided to float an interest-free loan consisting of 200 units each of £10 and the most indefatigable salesman was [Rev.] Snipe Watson, who was to be seen everywhere, with his short butt of a pencil and an old envelope, taking down the name of a member to whom he had just sold a share in the project. The loan was paid off in eight years by annual draws.
The next stage was the development of the ground which was rough and swampy in some places, and as the survey revealed, had considerable variation in levels. A Grounds Committee was formed consisting of two men with agricultural experience, Philip Love and Robert Boothman; two architects, Derek Ryan and Ronnie Dawson, and Dan McGibney, a dedicated worker for the Club, under the Chairmanship of Michael Dowling, then the Hon. Secretary.
Ryan and Dawson put in a great deal of hard work on the surveying and fortunately, too, Dowling had experience of laying out large areas; while two other members, Ernie Cross and Tom Clear, both engineers, gave valuable advice. Three lines of drains first had to be laid before ploughing and seeding could take place, and the magnificent pitches of today are a fitting tribute to the quality of the work done by that committee.
The next target was a suitable pavilion, and that which was designed by Ryan and Dawson, and built at reasonable cost, has stood the test of time so well that the only alteration has been an extension of the kitchen, a tribute indeed to the architects.
As a further interest free loan was floated for the erection of the pavilion, the Club owed some £4000 in loans from members and between £2000 and £3000 to the bank; so, in order to deal with this situation, a Special Committee was formed. The perseverance of the Chairman, Eddie Taylor, and the younger members of the Club was rewarded. The social side has become enormously popular, and with older members joining their more youthful colleagues on the committee, the proceeds have helped to keep the Bank debt down; indeed they are a vital aspect of the Club’s financial structure.
Extract from Wanderers Centenary