CRICKETERS throughout the land - and particularly in Leinster CC and Halverstown - will be saddened with the news of the death of PV (Paddy) Boland after a short illness.
One of the great characters of the game, Paddy was a member of most of the Leinster CC winning sides of the thirties, forties and fifties and was renowned not just for his abilities with the ball and some times bat, but also for his remarkable memory in recalling details of almost every match in which he played!
In a senior career spanning 1936-'61, Paddy played 144 games for Leinster CC and took 212 wickets with his fiery fast bowling. He won the O'Grady Cup in 1940 when he claimed 38 wickets at an average cost of 8.7 runs and the following yearn he turned in figures of 45 wickets at 9.73 runs each.
His ability to recount scores at critical stages of matches long since gone was legendary and many's the fielder who was reminded many years later of a catch he missed and hoped had long since been forgotten - definitely by most but not by
Paddy Boland.
When he completed his senior career, Paddy devoted all his cricketing time to his beloved Halverstown CC. And there's hardly a cricketer in the province of Leinster - and many beyond in Scotland - who does not have wonderful tales of memorable trips to Co Kildare.
To his sons, Denis and Anthony, to his daughters, Ruth, Joyce and Patricia, and to his extended family, cricketers throughout the land extend their sincerest sympathies.
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