Noel Mahony

Noel Mahony, the former Ireland captain and opening batsman, was Ireland's oldest surviving cricketer for over two months following the death of Ham Lambert in October. A solid right-hander with over 6,000 runs in competitive cricket in Dublin, including four centuries and 41 fifties, Mahony never quite lived up to expectation at national level, scoring only 116 runs in five first-class matches and 299 in all matches. His main contribution was as coach. He was the first fully-qualified coach in Ireland and enthused others to follow this route. He is seen by many as responsible for the healthy state of cricket in Ireland today. After retirement he was president of the Irish Cricket Union in 1979 and coached the women's team in the 1985 World Cup. Few have given more to the game.
Edward Liddle, The Wisden Cricketer