Roscrea RFC receive Lions’ Caps for Wallace brothers
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Presentation to Roscrea RFC by the families of Dr Joseph Wallace and James Wallace of the Caps for the Lions Rugby tour to South Africa in 1903. Back row: Brendan Hyland, Keith Wallace, Dennis Delaney, Raymond Dempsey, Paddy Cody, James Marks, Liam Spooner, Serena Brady. Seated: Gerald Dunne, Kathy Dunne (nee Wallace), Mabel Wallace, Robert Wallace, Ann Collins (nee Wallace), Tim Collins, Julian Wallace, Arthur Dunne, Alan Wallace. PHOTOS: PJ WRIGHT PicasaImage 2 of 2
RIGHT - Robert Wallace (grandson of Dr Joseph Wallace) with his son, Alan Wallace with the Lions Caps. PicasaRoscrea RFC gathered last Friday evening to recognise Dr. Joseph & James Wallace who were posthumously presented with Lions Caps after touring to South Africa in 1903.
Mabel Wallace of Shinrone and members of her family from Wexford and Cork were present to represent the family of Dr. Joseph Wallace and presented with a Lions Cap with the number 98, while Ann Collins and her family from Yorkshire, England, were on hand represent the family of James Wallace and received the cap with the number 99.
This process began in 2017 when the British & Irish Lions Trust launched the 1888 Club, created to celebrate the contributions of all that have represented the Lions. They then began the process of tracking down each and every Lion and presenting them with their Lions number and cap which led to last Friday’s historic evening in Streamstown as not many clubs get to have the honour of having a Lion since it began in 1888 and in that time up to 2021 855 players have represented the British & Irish Lions.
The 1903 Lions Tour was the third tour to South Africa, just a year after the end of the Boer War and contained two men from Roscrea. It was a mammoth tour with 22 games played in two month spell.
James Wallace didn’t play in the three test matches against South Africa but Joseph did with the sides drawing the first two games with South Africa winning the final test 8-0 in Cape Town to win the series.
Joseph & James Wallace hail from Dromakeenan, Roscrea, and played their club rugby with Wanderers in Dublin.
Joseph Wallace gained international recognition earlier that year for Ireland playing against Wales and Scotland while James made his Ireland bow a year later and would play in the green just twice.
Joseph continued to play for Ireland until 1906 making ten appearances, scoring a try in his final game against Walsh before qualifying as a doctor and came home to Roscrea. He helped out with rugby coaching in Cistercian College Roscrea and his influence was felt as the school reached the 1909 Leinster Schools Senior Cup final, in just their fifth year in existence. In 1934-35, Dr Joseph Wallace became President of the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU).