Trevor came to the fore in the 1990s. A good cricketer and an even better footballer, he proved to be possibly the best umpire NIACUS and Ireland ever produced. It was a seismic shock to us in NIACUS and indeed to the cricketing world in general , when he was so suddenly and cruelly taken from us at the early age of 51.

Trevor built his reputation on his absolute certainty and self-belief as to how umpiring should be expedited and he never wavered from it. He was Dickie Bird like, in that he gained the reputation of being hard to convince about LBWs!

With no little irony, we christened him ‘Trigger’. He told me once, quite seriously, that he had a little voice inside his head and if it did not say “Out”, he never gave it. Then one day - shock horror – I was standing with him at Cliftonville, and in the 1st innings of the match he gave three LBWs. As the third victim trudged back up the steps at Greenisland , Ian Callender, jotter in hand, allegedly said to him “I don't think you realise just how unlucky you were!”. Priceless!

In such a relatively short career Trevor chalked up achievement after achievement. His first International came in 1999 – Ireland v South Africa Academy, followed by Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy and Nat West appointments in England, Intercontinental Cup matches, an ICC Trophy tournament, then Ireland v Australia at Ormeau sadly abandoned by torrential rain.

Eric Cooke, Peter White and Trevor Henry at Ormeau in 2001Eric Cooke, Peter White and Trevor Henry at Ormeau in 2001

By now he was on the ICC radar and he went to Malaysia for a World Cup Qualifying tournament.

In 2006 he was appointed to the new 10 strong ICC Associate & Affiliate International panel and was to go to Sri Lanka for the U19 World Cup, when disaster struck and we lost him.

That tournament began with a minutes' silence at the opening ceremony and before Ireland's first match.

The Ireland and England teams observe minute's silence at the 2006 Under 19 World Cup

Australian Test umpire Darrell Hair represented ICC at the funeral, and in the Wisden Obituaries, the then ICC President Eshan Mani wrote “Trevor had the nickname “Trigger” in Irish cricket circles, but it was applied with respect and affection”. Absolutely true - well said that man.

Trevor would have had at least another decade at the top table of International cricket and could well have been Ireland's first ever Test match umpire.

The Trevor Henry Bursary that was created in his memory, has given lots of NIACUS members and several European umpires wonderful experiences observing and working with English 1st. class umpires on the County circuit.

I have to end this piece with a great postscript. At one of the early White Stick Trophy umpires' matches, there was huge hilarity from both teams when ‘Trigger’ became the first player ever, from either side, to be dismissed - LBW!