Clones, about 1890
Lifted onto the pony and trap
At nine he played in a Leinster chess tournament for adults. He was so small, The Irish Times records, that he had to be lifted onto a pony and trap to get there.
Source: The Irish Times, 2020The early years
James Cecil Parke
Ireland · born Clones, County Monaghan, 1881 · died 1946 · right-handed · Ireland rugby captain who won the Australasian title and the 1912 Davis Cup
All playersBack to the rankings
1912
Australasian singles and doubles champion, at Hastings, New Zealand
1912
Davis Cup won for the British Isles, beating Norman Brookes and Rodney Heath in Melbourne
8
Irish Championships singles titles at Fitzwilliam, 1904 to 1913
20
Rugby caps for Ireland, 1903 to 1909, three as captain
1908
Olympic silver medal in the men's doubles at Wimbledon
Playing career
James Cecil Parke was born in Clones, County Monaghan, on 26 July 1881, one of eight children of William and Emily Parke. He went to Portora Royal School in Enniskillen and read law at Trinity College Dublin, and qualified as a solicitor. Before tennis took over he was a rugby centre of the first rank: he won 20 caps for Ireland between 1903 and 1909, scored 36 points and captained the side three times.
On grass he was the dominant Irish player of his time, winning the Irish Championships at Fitzwilliam eight times between 1904 and 1913. At the 1908 Olympic Games at Worple Road he took silver in the men's doubles with Major Ritchie. His best year was 1912: he won the Northern and Scottish Championships, sailed for Australia with the British Isles team, beat Norman Brookes and Rodney Heath to win the Davis Cup in Melbourne, and then won the Australasian singles and doubles at Hastings, New Zealand. He reached the Wimbledon singles semi-finals in 1910 and 1913, and won the mixed doubles there with Ethel Larcombe in 1914.
He joined the Leinster Regiment as a captain in 1914, moved to the Essex Regiment and was promoted to major in 1917. He was wounded at Gallipoli and on the Western Front and was mentioned in despatches. He came back to win the Northern Championships in 1919 and, aged 39, reached the Wimbledon doubles final in 1920. He married Sybil Smith in 1918, moved to her home town of Llandudno in 1920 and practised there as a solicitor. He died after a heart attack in Llandudno on 27 February 1946, aged 64.
On grass
| Australasian Championships 1912 | Singles final: beat Alfred Beamish 3-6, 6-3, 1-6, 6-1, 7-5. Doubles final with Charles Dixon: beat Beamish and Gordon Lowe 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 |
|---|---|
| Davis Cup 1912 | Challenge Round at the Albert Ground, Melbourne, 28 to 30 November: beat Norman Brookes and won the deciding rubber against Rodney Heath, as the British Isles beat Australasia 3-2. In the 1913 Challenge Round he beat Maurice McLoughlin and Dick Williams, but the United States won the tie |
| Wimbledon finals lost | Mixed 1913 with Ethel Larcombe: lost to Hope Crisp and Agnes Tuckey 3-6, 5-3, retired. Doubles All-Comers finals: 1912 with Alfred Beamish, lost to Herbert Roper Barrett and Charles Dixon 6-8, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4; 1913 with Beamish, lost to Heinrich Kleinschroth and Friedrich Rahe 6-3, 6-2, 6-4; 1920 with Algernon Kingscote, lost to Chuck Garland and Dick Williams 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 |
| Wimbledon mixed 1914 | With Ethel Larcombe, beat Tony Wilding and Marguerite Broquedis 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. The pair had also won the non-championship mixed event at Wimbledon in 1912, beating Arthur Prebble and Dora Boothby 6-4, 6-2 |
| Olympic Games 1908 | Doubles final at Worple Road with Major Ritchie: lost to George Hillyard and Reggie Doherty 9-7, 7-5, 9-7, for the silver medal |
Every grass title: 18
Show every title, tournament by tournament
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1914 | Mixed doubles | with Ethel Thomson Larcombe |
| Irish Championships | ||
| 1904 | Men's singles | |
| 1905 | Men's singles | |
| 1908 | Men's singles | |
| 1909 | Men's singles | |
| 1910 | Men's singles | |
| 1911 | Men's singles | |
| 1912 | Men's singles | |
| 1913 | Men's singles | |
| Northern Championships | ||
| 1911 | Men's singles | |
| 1912 | Men's singles | |
| 1913 | Men's singles | |
| 1919 | Men's singles | |
| Australian Championships | ||
| 1912 | Men's doubles Australasian Championships | with Charles Dixon |
| 1912 | Men's singles Australasian Championships | |
| Scottish Championships | ||
| 1912 | Men's singles | |
| Victorian Championships | ||
| 1912 | Men's singles | |
| Eastbourne | ||
| 1913 | Men's singles South of England Championships | |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. †single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"My four-leaved shamrock ... pulled me through"
Anecdotes
The person behind the player.
Belfast, 1906
Thirteen men against Wales
Parke was in the Ireland side that beat Wales 13-6 in Belfast in 1906 with only 13 players, after two half-backs were injured. The rugby writer E. H. D. Sewell called it the greatest of all wins in international rugby or any other.
Source: The Irish Times, 2020Melbourne, 1912
A shamrock in the post
He wore a four-leaved shamrock in every match, sewn onto his shirt. Ulick O'Connor, author of The Fitzwilliam Story, wrote that it had come in the morning post in a box, with a message inside in a feminine hand: "Play Up. Good luck." Parke credited it with the Davis Cup win over Australasia.
Source: The Irish Times, 2020Wimbledon, 1920
Johnston beaten, Tilden next
In 1920, aged 39 and back from the war, he beat the American No. 1 Bill Johnston at Wimbledon before losing to Bill Tilden, who went on to win the title. That year he also reached the doubles final with Algernon Kingscote.
Source: The Irish Times, 2020Llandudno, 1920 to 1946
Courts for the town
In Llandudno he joined the law firm Chamberlain and Johnson, helped develop the town's municipal tennis courts and chaired the North Wales Golf Club. He died after a heart attack while walking on Mostyn Street in February 1946 and is buried in the Great Orme Cemetery. Some of his trophies are in the Monaghan County Museum.
Source: The Irish Times, 2020Join Grass Tennis Club
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Where they won on grass
- Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club, Dublin
- Hastings Lawn Tennis Club, New Zealand
- All England Club, Worple Road, Wimbledon
- Northern Championships, Manchester and Liverpool
- Devonshire Park, Eastbourne
- Find a grass court near you
Rivals and partners
On Grass Tennis Club
Elsewhere online
Sources
- "Is James Cecil Parke Ireland's greatest ever sportsman?", John O'Sullivan, The Irish Times, 2020
- James Parke, Olympedia
- Wimbledon Compendium 2025 (AELTC)
- James Cecil Parke, Wikipedia
- 1912 Australasian Championships, Wikipedia
- 1912 International Lawn Tennis Challenge, Wikipedia
- Irish Open (tennis), Wikipedia
- GTC roll of grass champions, checked against a second source where one exists
Page updated 4 November 2026. Spotted an error? Send a correction.
