Francis Browning

Who was Francis Browning?

Francis Henry Browning was an Irish cricketer and President of the Irish Rugby Football Union. He was a right-handed batsman and a wicket-keeper.

Browning was born in Dublin, Ireland. He made his debut for Ireland in August 1888 against Scotland, and went onto play for Ireland 38 times, his last game coming against Philadelphia in September 1909. Eleven of his games for Ireland had first-class status.

Outside cricket, he was a barrister-at-law. He became president of the Irish Rugby Football Union in 1912. Browning raised and commanded the Irish Rugby Football Union Volunteer Corps and was second in command of the Irish Association of Volunteer Training Corps. He was killed in the Easter Rising of 1916 by the rebels whilst serving with the Volunteer Training Corps.

On Easter Monday 1916, his VTC unit were returning to Dublin from a route march when they were fired on at Beggars Bush, Dublin. The men of the 1 battalion were in civilian clothes with arm-bands and were carrying rifles but not ammunition; seven were wounded, four fatally, including Browning. He thus became the only first class cricketer to die in the Easter Rising.