Pat Critchley stands as an iconic figure of Laois GAA, but his career was one touched by unimaginable tragedy.
The Portlaoise man remains the only Laois hurler ever to win an All-Star, an accolade he earned after the county reached the 1985 Leinster final.
Late that year, however, Critchley was at the centre of a shocking accident which led to the death of Good Counsel and Dublin hurler Paul Mulhere.
This week's episode of Laochra Gael, which aired on Thursday evening on TG4, paid tribute to the career of Critchley, and he explained the traumatic aftermath of Mulhere's untimely death.
READ HERE: 'Not A Tooth In His Head And He Never Played Hurling': Critchley And MacGowan At Feile
Laois' Pat Critchley recalls tragic death of Dublin hurler Paul Mulhere
In a freak incident during a National League game against Dublin in late 1985, Critchley struck the sliotar, with the follow-through striking the helmet of Dublin hurler Paul Mulhere.
Though Mulhere finished the game and shook hands with Critchley after the game had concluded, he would fall into a coma the following day and passed away shortly after.
"Subconsciously, I don't think I got back to where I was playing before it either"
Níor éirigh le Pat an caighdeán imeartha céanna a shroicheadh arís, tar éis bás Paul Mulhare.
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It was a shocking incident which had a truly profound impact on Critchley's life.
Critchley recounts the accident in this week's episode of Laochra Gael, explaining how such a freak incident played out.
"As far as I can remember, it was that basketball move, that spin move that I did," Critchley says, "I used to draw in a player to block me down from the right hand, and then I'd spin around and strike left-handed.
"I struck the ball but my follow through hit the helmet. As far as I can remember, we shook hands after the game. I was in the school the following morning and in between two P.E. classes I was tidying out in the store room and had the radio on.
"It just came on the news that there was a Dublin player. I froze."
Critchley is hugely emotional when recounting the tragic story, fighting back tears as he describes his efforts to reach out to Mulhere's family in Dublin in the days following his death.
"In the next few days, I went up to my brother Mick in Dublin and Paul's family, and his girlfriend Mary. All the Dublin hurlers, [including] Jimmy Gray who died recently. They were fabulous.
"The whole few days were a haze. I can't remember much of it. It was very traumatic."
The Laois man still keeps newspaper clippings about the accident to this day, with some shown during the Laochra Gael broadcast stating that 2,000 had shown up to mourn the late Dublin hurler Mulhere.
It took some time for Critchley to feel comfortable returning to hurling, with the aforementioned family and friends of Mulhere encouraging him to get back to playing as soon as he felt able.
When he did with his club Portlaoise, he struggled to return to the heights he had reached with Laois in 1985.
Critchley says on this week's Laochra Gael that hurling was never the same for him after Paul Mulhere's tragic passing.
All of the Dublin players, Paul's family, and Mary were really good. They wanted me to get back hurling.
It was just little-by-little, you know. I had great family and friends. Looking back, I probably don't know did I get back.
Subconsciously, I don't know if I got back to where I was playing before it.
Though he says he is a naturally reflective person, Critchley understandably found the task of revisiting that awful day in the winter of 1985 a challenging one.
Speaking to Balls.ie and the Irish media earlier this week, he said that he had understood that he would need to recall some dark experiences as part of the Laochra Gael documentary but that it had nonetheless been tough to do so.
Even more importantly, Critchley felt it was vital for the programme to pay tribute to Mulhere and how his life and hurling career were tragically cut short.
When I was approached first to do the programme, I was nervous about all that as to how it would pan out but Cormac and all his crew, they’re just brilliant.
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.
