Brian Maguire CBE

## Brian ‘The Breener’ Maguire CBE

The Breener in his glory days

From Aristopaedia, the free, crowd-sourced encyclopaedia of the gentry, knightage, baronetage, and peerage, sponsored by *Cokayne’s* and *Black’s*

**Brian Francis Michael Maguire CBE** (1986 – ), is an Irish-English former cricketer and a *TMS* commentator and a regular after-dinner speaker.

## **Life**

‘The Breener’, as he was known from the cradle, was born in Kilgarvan, County Kerry, to a farming family, a cadet branch of the *Mag Uidhir* who had removed there from Maguiresbridge in 1597, but of which some members continued to reside in their ancestral Fermanagh far. His father in fact was born in County Fermanagh, much to the benefit of The Breener’s future.

Fortunately for Ireland and England both, The Breener had in the local parish priest of St Patrick’s Church a mentor who was not content only to encourage the irrepressible young man in Gaelic games (in which he excelled alongside his promise as a chorister), but who was ecumenical in matters of sport; and fortunately again, the Church of Ireland incumbent in Kenmare was prevailed upon by his Roman Catholic colleague to look over the youngster with a sportsman's eye. This he did, accompanied on the day, as it happened, by the father of the present Earl of Maynooth, an MCC member of long standing, and that Earl’s uncle, the retired (C of I) Bishop of Omagh, both of whom were stopping with the Revd Dr Orpen-Athy-Fitzgarrett on an angling holiday. A lengthy consultation between the three visitors and Fr Healey, who swiftly appealed to Bishop Herlihy in support, resulted in representations which resulted in the finding for the young Breener of an assisted place at Downside, in Somerset, the XI of which did not know what had hit it.

The Breener wasted little time in showing his prowess as a cricketer, becoming very swiftly recognised as a safe pair of hands and a surprising batsman: a wicketkeeper who could bat well up in the middle order. However, as all Old Gregorians can attest, rugby is a madness at Downside School, and The Breener played as expected, as hooker, making up in fierceness what he lacked in bulk. In consequence, he was lost to the school XI for a season owing to injuries sustained on the 2d XV: a baleful omen for the future, although, at the time, a cloud little larger than a man’s hand.

Leaving Downside, The Breener was snapped up as one of the first intake at the newly-established ECB National Academy (now the National Cricket Performance Centre at Loughborough University). He was thereafter signed for Derbyshire, until moving to Somerset CCC three years after. It was whilst he was at Somerset that he was first capped for England Lions, and, in short order thereafter, for the England Test side, making his first Test appearance in 2003, against Zimbabwe at Lord’s. His international career (Test, T20I, and ODI) was shaping well when his old knee trouble, the relic of past scrums for the Downside XV, recurred. Plagued by injury, he was not quite able to reach quite the heights which were confidently predicted for him and clearly within his grasp, although he was twice Cricketer of the Year in his sadly abbreviated career. He played one season as wicketkeeper for Ireland, fulfilling a boyhood ambition.

Upon his retirement, he became and has remained a popular lecturer and a beloved addition to TMS. He remains involved with the Woolfonts Combined CC, which is invariably at the top of the table in the West of England Premier League.

## **Family**

   He married the Hon. Gwen, née Evans, daughter of the racing life-peer The Baron Evans of Pont-y-clun and Aintree, and, with her, manages the Evans stable, the Woolbury Stud, in the Woolfonts, in West Wilts, where he is a Member of the Board of Governors of the Agincourt Housing Association Trust. They are newly parents to twins Máire Mairéad Gwendoline Constance, goddaughter to Lady Crispin Fitzjames-Holles-Clare-Malet (now the Hon. Lady Trulock), and Eoin Aneurin Charles Patrick, to whom MCC stalwart the Duke of Taunton is godfather.

## **Career**

* Derbyshire CCC
* Somerset CCC
* England Lions
* England
* Ireland
* MCC

## **Discography**

*(as baritone, The Fonts) (see article, The Fonts)*

## **See also**

* The Woolfonts, Wilts
* Beechbourne Free School
* The Woolbury Stud
* The Hon. Gwen Maguire
* Mgr Timothy Folan
* The Woolfonts Combined CC
* England (cricket) (ENG)
* Ireland (cricket) (IRE)
* Test Match Special
* The MCC
* The Fonts (charity vocal group)