Richard Barnett (sport shooter)

Sir Richard Whieldon Barnett (born December 6, 1863 - October 17 1930) was a Irish sport shooter who competed for Great Britain and Ireland in the 1908 Summer Olympics, and at the age of 15 he was the Irish rifle champion.

He was also Irish Chess Champion from 1886 to 1889 at Oxford he was a member of the Oxford University Chess Club, competing in a number of varsity matches against Cambridge, in the 1880s.

In 1908 he finished fourth in the 1000 yard free rifle competition.

After the first world war he served as a Conservative & Unionist MP for St Pancras South West in the House of Commons, where he was a member of the chess circle and hosted World Chess Champion Capablanca on a visit to the UK in 1919. [ [http://www.chessarch.com/excavations/0012_ireland/ireland.shtml History of the Irish Chess Champion by David McAllister] ] [ [http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=113828 The Games of Richard Barnett] ]

Barnett’s obituary was in the Belfast Newsletter for 18th October 1930.

"From his boyhood days he took a keen interest in markmanship, and at the age of 15 he was the Irish rifle champion. He was one of the twelve representatives of the UK at the Olympic Games of 1908, and finished fourth, winning the Diploma of Merit for shooting at 1000 yards. Just as in markmanship so in chess, Sir Richard Barnett distinguished himself in his early boyhood, achieving the remarkable record of being champion chess player of Ulster at the age of twelve, and of Ireland from 1886 to 1889."

"The British Journal of Nursing" [ [http://rcnarchive.rcn.org.uk/data/VOLUME079-1931/page218-volume79-august1931.pdf MEMORIAL TO SIR RICHARD BARNETT - The British Journal of Nursing(August 1931)] ] contained a item about a memorial for him, showing how well regarded he was for his representations on their behalf in parliament.

External links

* [http://users.skynet.be/hermandw/olymp/sho05iem.html list of Irish shooters]

References