Fitting tribute to McAuliffe — heart and soul of bowling

McAuliffe was a figure of enormous standing, not just because of his prowess as a bowler, but because of the way he played.

GREAT: Some sportspeople never achieve greatness no matter what they win. Billy McAuliffe would have been great, even if he won not a thing. Pic: INPHO/Tom Honan

When Denis McGarry penned his famous ode to Mick Barry, he included the line “What a massive crowd will gather for that great score in the sky, we’ll meet the boys from Fairhill and the boys from beyond Fermoy”.

Glanworth, beyond Fermoy, and Billy McAuliffe was certainly what he had in mind. This week Billy McAuliffe joins that band of bowlers who will make up a score on some road inside the Pearly Gates.