It was one of those coincidences which happen often in cricket that Richie Benaud and Gerry Duffy should make their final bows to the pavilion earlier this year. There are many points of comparison in their cricketing lives as richly-talented leg-spinning all-rounders - and contrast, as their post-playing careers diverged into media and coaching. But on one thing they will forever be bracketed: as universally loved figures towering over the nation's cricket history.

Benaud is celebrated elsewhere in this programme, but he intersected the life of Duffy on two notable occasions. In 1961, the Dubliner had his finest hour as an Ireland bowler when nipping out 6-29 (including Benaud and Norman O'Neill) at Stormont, a feat remembered in 2010 on the occasion of Gerry's 80th birthday. His friends in Leinster had organised a 'This Is Your Life' evening in glorious celebration of the great man, and it was capped by a video appearance via the internet by Benaud. With typical generosity he concluded that Gerry was the best all-rounder never to play Test cricket.

There were many tributes when Gerry was laid to rest in June, with Ireland batsman Ed Joyce describing him as an 'Irish cricket legend, Leinster and Merrion legend and one of my heroes'.

Gerry was also a true eccentric who was able to take the slagging as well as he doled it out - which he did, albeit gently and with wit. Mike Halliday told a story of how Gerry hated flying and sat shaking in his seat en route to the US on the 1973 Ireland tour. To make things worse the condensation began dropping from the ceiling at which he complained 'I thought I was in an aeroplane not an effin' submarine'.

It was in Rathmines where he was happiest, and a day was not complete without seeing Gerry coming or going across the wall at the end of his garden which boundaried the club. I saw little of him before his later years when he was a lethal 2nd XI bowler. I saw even less of him the one time I faced him on-field. It was a Sean Pender XI game against Leinster and his first gently rolled leg-break found my flailing edge and looped to cover.

He had many greater victims than I, although he was certainly under-bowled during his Ireland career. Team-mate Jack Short recalled: 'He was a very clever and subtle bowler but one odd thing was that he hardly ever wanted a different field. Trying to get him to put in a short leg or a silly point was hopeless. He hated to be hit for four and would prefer to have the fielders on the boundary.'

Growing up next door to Leinster dictated the course of his life and he devoted enormous service to the club. As a boy he was coached by the West Indian legend Learie Constantine who wrote in his autobiography 'Never before or since have I seen such promise in a batsman after so short a period of tuition. If he comes into county cricket.... he may very well open for England one day."

Gerry was once offered a contract by Glamorgan but preferred life in Dublin and tormenting batsmen and bowlers with the glorious LCC side which won eight titles in the 1950s. Short recalled his batting: 'He didn't like to wear gloves and when he did he used those spiky ones that seemed to come from a museum. But I never saw him hit on the hands. He caught the bat right at the top of the handle unlike many modern players. He was a brilliant cutter. Once on tour a frustrated bowler, when asked if he wanted more fielders at third man to deal with Gerry's cutting, demanded that they all be put down there.'

His first cap in 1953 was the finale of his clubmate, the great Eddie Ingram, and his last 21 years later was the debut of another, Jack Short. He played 55 times in those years, scoring 1,123 runs at 18.11 and taking 82 wickets at 19.23.

His two highest scores, 78 and 92, came in the same game against MCC in 1970, while his best bowling was that game at Ormeau against Australia. Duffy hurt his back while bowling and couldn't bowl at all in the second innings, and made just 1 and 3 while batting.

A visit to Rathmines without that warm welcome, all grin and blinks, is hard to imagine but the club that he helped build is his true testament.