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Calls for a statue to be erected as social media gushes over Pat Critchley appearance on Laochra Gael

By
LaoisToday Reporter
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The much anticipated Laochra Gael TG4 episode about Portlaoise’s Pat Critchley was aired on television last night.

The contributors, the soundtrack, the wonderful old footage from the 1980s and Pat’s modesty and honesty made it compelling viewing.

Only the second Laois GAA star after Sue Ramsbottom to feature on the iconic programme, Critchley’s story has so many strands and layers.

As well as focusing on Critchley’s sporting achievements, the programme also dealt with two very tragic incidents.

First, the tragic death of Dublin player Paul Mulhere, who died a couple of days after a National League game against Laois during which he was accidentally struck by Critchley’s hurl.

Critchley was touched by tragic misfortune again more recently as, in 2016, his car struck Willie Kennedy, a well-known county councillor in Tipperary who was attending a funeral in Stradbally and died as a result of his injuries.

“When I was approached first to do the programme, I was nervous about all that as to how it would pan out but Cormac [Morel] and all his crew, they’re just brilliant,” he told TG4’s Laochra Gael.

“I think they did a great job on that, they dealt with all that end of it very sensitively. It is a commemoration of Paul as a hurler as well to keep his memory as a hurler alive.

“Listen, it was tough going doing it at the same time but we got through it. You couldn’t do the programme and not deal with it.”

Social media reacted overwhelmingly positively to the episode – with one X/Twitter user calling on Laois County Council to erect a statue in his honour.

Check out some of the reaction below:

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