Clontarf Cricket Club, as we now know it, was founded in 1876, however we learn from archive newspapers that cricket was played in Clontarf since at least the early 1860s. The club started life as a junior club and was based at the bottom of the Howth Road. It was not until 1896 that the club moved to its present location on Castle Avenue and only 2 years later the first trophy was won when Clontarf beat Old St. Marys in the final of the Irish Junior Cup.

Senior status was granted in 1908 and facilities improved by the building of a new pavilion. Before this, however the club had its first international player when S.H. Crawford played against The London Counties in Cork, a team that boasted the legendary W.G. Grace amongst its number.

In 1926 the Leinster Senior League was won for the first time. The club's first Leinster Senior Cup success came in 1943 and again in 1950 (but not again till 1969). The 40's also saw the beginning of Women's cricket and Clontarf were at the forefront of this initiative. The league lasted 22 years and one of our players Marie Coffey was regarded as the best female player of that era, indeed she also played a significant role when the league was revived in 1975.

The 1950s saw big changes in Castle Avenue, previously the ground had been shared with the rugby club however in 1951 the rugby club moved to the adjoining Lido Ground (the area which is now the cricket ground) while the cricket club resurfaced their ground (the current rugby fields). However, it was realised subsequently that the Lido Ground was really too small for the rugby club therefore under the leadership of Evans Dexter, that ground was completely transformed into the cricket ground we now recognise as Clontarf Cricket Club. The new ground was opened in 1958 and the two great English Players Denis Compton and Bill Edrich played in the opening game.

Clontarf hosted its first Ireland game in 1964 when MCC were the visitors and the club has hosted all of the major teams with the highlight being the hosting of the only Cricket World Cup match to have been played on this island when West Indies played Bangladesh in 1999.

The Club has contributed to the wider Irish cricket community by way of administrators, national selectors, scorers and Presidents of the Irish Cricket Union (Enda McDermott and Evans Dexter) and remains committed to Cricket Ireland as it enters the new world of Full Member status.

The club has continued to grow in recent times and investment in coaching and facilities has reaped its rewards with success for senior, junior, women and youth teams. Ten Senior League victories and the same number of Senior Cup wins since 1991 are indicative of a successful period. The winning of the Irish Senior Cup in 2013 was a particular highlight. The growth in women and youth playing numbers indicates a secure future for cricket at Castle Avenue.