Like most clubs, Terenure's history over the last 20 years cannot be looked at by concentrating on two points in time. But the high and low of those sixteen years does help to give a context to their history over the twentieth century.
Before we start, a note on the nomenclature used. CYM Sports club changed their name to Terenure at the end of the 2009 season. All uses of the club name in this article will say Terenure, irrespective of the date (if anyone from the club wants that changed, please get in touch!)
Terenure ruled the world of T20 cricket in the first half of the 1990s, winning three times between 1992 and 1995. 1994 saw the club's highest ever league position, as Eddie Mooore and Conor Hoey led a potent bowling attack. The following years saw a mini slump (coming bottom of the second tier in 1997) before an improving side gained promotion back to the top flight in time for the 2001 season - the start of these rankings.
That period was reasonably successful for Terenure, but the low standard of cricket in Leinster generally meant that a good 2001 season (finishing fifth in the top flight) meant that the team still had a relatively low ranking. Michael Lax had joined the club in 1998, followed by Bryn Thomas in 1999, and those two, in addition to local talents such as Ken Brennan and Colm Morgan saw a rapid improvement across 2001 and 2002.
Relegation at the end of the 2002 season saw a collapse in the club's fortunes, and the graph below reveals a prolonged slump, with little changing from 2003 until 2010. They were only back in the top flight for the 2005 season, and subsequently remained outside the top three in the second tier.
Terenure's low - rating 43.796 - ranking - 45th - date June 2 2010 - after 61 run loss to Old Belvedere
The lowest point was towards the start of the 2010 season (scorecard here on Cricket Europe). 2009 has been an awful season, with the team losing all ten of their league matches. The only match won all season was a League Cup group phase victory over Dublin University. 2010 didn't immediately improve. An early season Irish Senior Cup win over Cork Harlequins helped, before bowing out of the competition in the next round to neighbours Leinster. On top of that, the first two league games against Pembroke and Rush had been lost.
Terenure then travelled to Cabra to take on Old Belvedere in the first round of the Leinster Senior Cup. There was early success for Terenure as Shane Mott reduced Belvo to 18-2, before Srikant Singh Sharma (60) and Simmi Singh (108) took the game away from Terenure in a partnership of 114. Mott finished with 3-45 and Nathan Carroll mopped up the tail to take 3-11, but 256 was a big score in Cabra.
The Terenure innings progressed in a similar way to Old Belvedere's - two early wickets fell as Kenny McDonald and Donal Vaughan came and went, before a big third wicket stand between Das (35) and Carroll (completing a fine match with 86) gave Terenure hope. It wasn't to be though, as 107-2 became 118-5 and then 195 all out. Sameer Dutt was the pick of the Old Belvedere bowlers with 2-15 from eleven overs.
A number of that team are still playing in Leinster - Benn Hoey, John Hoey and Tom Lynch for Pembroke with Kenny McDonald still playing at the highest level for Terenure. Others, such as Carroll, Mott and Michael Launders made a big impact in Terenure, but no longer play in the province.
From this point, things started to improve. Six of the next ten league matches were won, and it would be an upward path for the next five years.
Terenure's high - rating 80.121 - ranking - 26th - date May 26 2015 - after 18 run over Leinster
Although the very highest point in Terenure's 21st century history was to come about in 2015, the seeds were sown after the 2010 season. One of the greatest players to have played in the province, Andre Botha moved to Dublin 6W, and made as big an impact in Dubin 6W as he had in his other clubs. Overseas player Jason Kleyweg was also a success, as Terenure romped to the Division 2 title.
Dan van Zyl and Zander van der Merwe arrived in 2012, but it was not enough to avert relegation from Division 1. The merry-go-round continued in 2013 - Botha and van der Merwe had gone, but several proven performers from around the province joined - Tom Fisher, Richard Lawrence and Ehtesham Ahmed all had big seasons as Terenure finished runners-up to Clontarf to bounce back to Division 1 at the first attempt.
Fisher, Lawrence and Ahmed had gone for 2014, but in came Dave Langford-Smith, old boy Conor Kelly, Corie Dickeson and Stephen Moreton. That wasn't enough to avert another relgation from Division 1, but those years of competing in Division 1 and at the top of Division 2 were having a positive impact of Terenure's rating.
Back in Division 2 for the 2015 season, and shorn of many star players, it is never the less the 2015 team that has achieved the highest ranking by a Terenure team. 2015 started well, with wins over Balbriggan and Phoenix. Terenure then travelled down the Rathgar Road to play Leinster, and made it three on the trot in the league with an 18 run win in a rain affected match.
Many of those players who played through the lean years were still there for the peak - Ken Brennan, Kenny McDonald, Colm Morgan, Dan van Zyl, as well as a younger generation such as Donal and Diarmuid Lynch, Mick Cotter and James Smith. Van Zyl top scored in this match, with a 49 ball 54, with Donal Lynch contributing well at the end with an undefeated 26 from 17 balls.
Appropriately Ken Brenan (2-16) and van Zyl (0-19) kept it tight at the beginning, and James Smith took crucial wickets at the end (3-28) as Terenure finished relatively comfortable winners. That three match unbeaten run didn't last, with the team eventually finishing fifth in Divison 2.