Dorothy Cunningham Donaldson ( Brown) (1915 – 4 September 2011) was an Irish sportswoman who was most prominent in the hockey, badminton and golf circles where she won a plethora of competitions during her 71-year playing career. She played for the

Ireland women's national field hockey team The Ireland women's national field hockey team is organised by Hockey Ireland and represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in international women's field hockey competitions, including the Women's Hockey World Cup and the W ...

between 1941 and 1947 except for the 1942 season. Donaldson was additionally a women's singles and mixed doubles champion in the

Irish National Badminton Championships The Irish National Badminton Championships is a tournament organised to crown the best badminton players in Ireland. The tournament started in 1912. Past winners Roll of honour Men's singles References External linksBadminton Europe � ...

and until 1957 played for the Irish international team.

Early life and career

She was born Dorothy Cunningham Brown in 1915 in the city of

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

. Donaldson was educated at

Newtown School, Waterford Newtown School is a multidenominational, coeducational independent school with both day and boarding pupils in Waterford, Ireland. It is run by a board of management, but owned by the Religious Society of Friends. History Newtown School wa ...

where her sporting skills were first noted in

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

and

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

. Her hockey career started in 1928 when the Munster Junior team selected her to play as a

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

. Donaldson joined the Munster Senior team two years later and remained in the same position for the next seven years. She reached the finals of the 1931 Munster Badminton Championship, finishing as runner-up, but won the title the following year. Donaldson successfully defended the title and partnered with her brother Joe Brown, clinched the mixed doubles title. She once again won the singles title in 1934 and reclaimed the mixed doubles title with Fred South. Donaldson went to the

Scarborough College Scarborough College is a private coeducational day and boarding school aged 3–18 years in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1898 and opened in 1901. The school has been an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

in 1936 to study

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

(PE). She served as part of the Waterford county golf team that same year and reached the semi-finals of the Midland Trophy.where they lost to Kilkenny county. After earning her qualification a year later, Donaldson was appointed PE teacher at Oaklands Girls’ School and joined the local hockey club where she was chosen to be on the women's first team. She also played for the Yorkshire County Women's team against Lancashire and greatly impressed the English selectors in her game to the point where they invited her to trial for the England women's hockey team. However, since Donaldson was an Irish citizen, she had to decline the invitation. Upon returning to Ireland in 1938, she regained her former position on the Munster Senior team. Donaldson was also the captain of the South East Ireland team in 1939, playing as a centre half. She married banker and fellow keen sportsman Basil Donaldson in 1941. The couple moved to

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

and she joined the

Pembroke Wanderers Hockey Club Pembroke Wanderers Hockey Club (''Club Haca Pheambróg'' in Irish) is a field hockey club based in the Sandymount/ Ballsbridge area of Dublin 4, Ireland. The club was founded in 1922 and named for the area of Pembroke, Dublin. The club's seni ...

. In 1941, Donaldson received full international honours and continued to play for the Ireland national team until 1947. The sole exception was the 1942 season when she took a year off because of the birth of her son. After her second son was born, Donaldson announced her retirement from representative hockey.

Later career and death

She returned to competitive badminton in 1949. Donaldson later took the Irish women's singles championship and mixed doubles title with the number one rated player in Ireland at the time,

Frank Peard Frank Peard (1919 - 2019) was an Irish badminton player who played for Ireland internationally in the 1940s and 1950s. Early life and family Frank Peard was born in 1919. Having lived in Mountmellick, County Laois, Peard's family moved to Listo ...

. She was chosen to play for the Irish international team against Scotland and kept her place until 1957. Throughout this period, Donaldson was a competitive player for the Ailesbury Badminton Club. The club displayed its appreciation of Donaldson by appointing her an honorary life member. In the late 1950s she began playing golf again by becoming a member of the Grange Golf Club, Dublin and had a small handicap in a short period of time. Showing her keenness. Donaldson soon joined the Grange Golf Club team and competed in the Irish Women's Senior Club. She was involved in several of the club's memorable matches and won a plethora of club competitions. One such event was securing the Grange Golf Club President's Prize in June 1993 with a net score of 67. The club elected Donaldson an honorary associate member in 1997. She ended her playing career in 1999 when her husband became ill and devoted her time to caring for him at home. Basil died in 2001. She died at the Kiltipper Woods Care Centre in Dublin at 1:30 pm on 4 September 2011. Donaldson was survived by her two sons, four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donaldson, Dorothy 1915 births 2011 deaths Sportspeople from Waterford (city) Irish female badminton players Irish female field hockey players Irish female golfers Ireland international women's field hockey players People educated at Newtown School, Waterford Pembroke Wanderers Hockey Club players 21st-century Irish women Irish field hockey players Sportspeople from County Waterford 20th-century Irish sportswomen