C. Parker Glorney

This year’s Glorney Cup has been well covered elsewhere (see the ICU report). But relatively little has been written about Glorney himself, other than that he was a Dublin businessman who donated the cup in 1947.

Cecil Parker Glorney was born in Dublin in 1881, or possibly in late 1880: at any rate, he was baptised in 1881, when the family was living in Rathmines. He began his business career at the age of 17, selling timber, and in 1923 founded the successful company C.P. Glorney Ltd., Building Providers. Among other civic activities, he was for many years chairman and later president of the Dublin Shelter for Men, and in 1957 he founded the Glorney Charitable Foundation, an organisation for the alleviation of poverty. He died in Nice on 31^st December 1973.

As far as chess goes, he was President of Rathmines C.C. from 1939 to 1957, and club champion in 1942, 1944 and 1945. No games of his seem to be available, and photos seem to be very rare. The only one I know of is the one here, sent by David McAlister, with Glorney in the centre, between Tom Tormey and D.G. Jackson, taken at the Irish championship in Belfast, 1950, when Glorney was President of the ICU.

Sources:
“Cecil Parker Glorney: An Appreciation”, Irish Times, 15 Jan 1974 p. 4.
Rathmines C.C. web pages.
UCU Archives.