CRICKET: Eoin McCann, the current president of the Irish Cricket Union (ICU), arrived at the top post Ireland by a circuitous route; via St Paul's College in Dublin, nearby Clontarf CC, Canada and finally Limerick.

McCann is only the seventh Munster representative to hold the office since the ICU was established in 1924, and is the first member of Limerick County CC (or of the long-defunct older clubs which preceded it) to be given the title.

"Being president of the ICU is a major honour for my club, for Munster and for myself", he says. "It's a challenging position involving a great deal of travel, but it's also a really rewarding one, especially at a time when Irish cricket is going through an interesting transitional period."

McCann's father was a life-long member of Clontarf ("he made me my first bat"), so it was natural that he learned his cricket at underage levels with the club; among his coaches was Gerry Carroll.

After that he went to the north west to Magee University College, and though approached by Davy Todd (who would become ICU president in 1982) McCann didn't play cricket there - "I wouldn't have been any great capture," he says.

Instead he returned to Dublin and played for Merrion and Trinity ( "just one match in the cup") before leaving for Canada where he lived in Saskatchewan.

"It wasn't exactly a hot-bed of cricket, but there were a lot of West Indians and British ex-pats there, and at least you could get a game," says McCann.

McCann had played rugby at school at St Paul's. He recalls that when he was in Canada, "I met a fella in a pub who asked if I played rugby and then said immediately: 'you couldn't play tomorrow, could you?' I ended up playing outhalf, centre and wing for a team called the Regina All Blacks; we won all round us in 1972 and I played once for Saskatchewan Province."

McCann was also involved in administration with both the Saskatchewan Rugby Union and the Canadian Rugby Union and was also a referee.

So it was natural that when he moved to the University of Limerick (where he is now Assistant Dean, Academic Affairs in the College of Science) in the early 1970s, he continued to referee. Before retiring, he was a senior Munster Branch IRFU referee, officiating at senior cup and league levels.

McCann joined Limerick County CC when the club was based in Shannon Airport (it is now located at the University) and went on to captain to the club's first XI. But he says his greatest triumph came in 1992, when he led the club to success in the Munster minor cup and league campaigns.

Apart from the odd social match, he is not involved with the club at present, although down the years he served in various capacities, as committee member, honorary secretary and president.

McCann was for many years a Munster Cricket Union (MCU) delegate to the ICU and served as a national selector for eight years, from 1978 to 1986, which, he says, could be considered among the golden eras of Irish cricket.

"If you were picking an all-time great Ireland team I would say eight or so of the players from that particular period would be in it," he says.

And what of the current state of play in Irish cricket?

"I think we're in a transition period after the disappointment of failing to qualify for the World Cup," McCann says. "But the new coach, Adi Birrell, has made a good start; he seems to be building a situation where he's going to go with a small panel of players, to work with a group, rather than constantly chopping and changing."

McCann points to the importance of the ICU's strategic plan and hopes the appointment of a full-time chief executive will happen "in the not too distant future."

And in playing terms, he believes that the emphasis must be on "the best playing the best"; that is the aim of the new Inter Regional Challenge campaign which, unfortunately, has not been helped by the appalling weather.

McCann would also like to see more matches between Ireland and the overseas professionals.

In fact, a game along those lines will be played at Rathmines tomorrow when the ICU President's XI takes on An Overseas Professionals XI as part of the Leinster club's 150th anniversary celebrations, which means another journey from Limerick for McCann.