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A History of Fencing
General |
Fencing in Ireland |
IFC Formation |
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The sport of fencing can be traced back through the centuries as far as Ancient Egyptian times when hieroglyphic artwork records
a sport in which two combatants fight using sticks and padding much like modern day fencers. With the evolution of battlefield technology,
such as the introduction of armour the use of swords became increasingly obsolete, despite once having been used by civilisations as diverse
as the Greeks, Romans, Babylonians and Persians.
One of Descartes first works (now sadly lost) was a treatise on fencing based on his own
geometric coordinate system. Modern day fencing has been constantly refined and perfected with every generation of fencers striving to improve
on their forebears.
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History of Fencing in Ireland
Fencing has been included in the Olympic games since their modern day inception in 1896 and the sport formally came to Ireland ten years later in
1906 when the Irish Fencing club was founded in Dublin. It was not the first club in Ireland, but it was the first in which the principal aim was
exercise and sport rather than duelling. The club closed in 1917, but was restarted again in 1933 following advertisements in Dublin newspapers.
This was followed in 1934 by the Cork Fencing club, renamed Club Palestrina in 1943, and the British Legion Fencing club in 1935. CLubs were also
formed in Blackrock college, Dublin University (1936, revived in 1940), Kilkenny (1942), Limerick Fencing Club (1944), Shannon Fencing club (1947), Cork
County (1952), Clonmel (1954).
Well known Irish Fencers include Peter O'Toole and William Butler Yeats (taught by Ezra Pound while Pound
was employed as his secretary).
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Irish Fencing Club Formation - 8th November 1933
Mr. F.C. Perrin (sic) took the chair at a meeting, which was held yesterday, at the Grosvenor Hotel, Dublin, for the purpose of forming a fencing club
in Dublin. He said that Dublin was the only capital in Europe which was behind-hand in this respect, but it was never too late to make a beginning.
After discussion, it was decided to call the new society the Irish Fencing Club (as a provisional title), and to seek recognition from the British
and Irish Authorities. The following officers were provisionally appointed: - President, Sir John Lumsden; Vice-Presidents, Mr. J. Crawford and Mr.
H. E. de Courcy Wheeler; Hon. Secretaries, Mr. W. H. de Courcy Wheeler and Mr. F. C. Perrin (sic); Committee. Messrs. Haig, Stafford Knox and Campbell.
(Irish Times - 8th November 1933, with thanks to the Foxe family of Clondalkin.
The
'Mr. F.C. Perrin' referred to is Mr. F.C. Perrem whose son Guy had taken up fencing while at
school in France.)
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Articles
Other articles of historical interest..
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