During the seventies when there was a good solid playing strength in all teams, social life blossomed.
The leadership within the club both administratively and on the field set the example and the atmosphere around the Green was very positive.
The late James (Jimmy) Galway played an integral part in the club at this time.
As a cricketer he performed with his left arm medium pace on the 1st and 2nd XIs and batted down the order on both.
He played in the 1975 Cup Final against Waringstown, resulting in a heavy defeat, but held a great catch at leg slip to dismiss their star international opening batsman Michael Reith. Unfortunately the press gave credit to another North Down player!
Jimmy took this incident and the poor team performance in his stride, and although he played his cricket with determination, he always enjoyed and created a lot of craic and humour with his own team and the opposition.
He captained the 2nd XI in 1973 to a league win with a team of great experience.
He managed his four slow bowlers; Walter Montogomery, Derek McCracken, Syd Elliott and Willie Wilson with skill and relied on Jimmy Boucher and himself for pace.
The runs were scored by Jack McMillan, Peter Artt, Wilmer McKibbin, David McVeigh and John Armstrong.
As is often the case at North Down family connections surface and it was great news for the club when Ryan Galway rejoined in 2023 after a few years away from The Green.
Ryan had been living, working and starting a family on the North Coast but their loss was our gain as he returned ‘home’ and back to North Down CC, where he had played cricket since childhood.
Son of James, Ryan has recently taken up his father’s former role as captain of this year’s 2nd XI.
It will be a demanding task as the side tries to consolidate a Junior League One position.
Ryan will bowl his medium pace but different from his dad he will bat higher in the order, with a century under his belt a few seasons’ ago Ryan is no slouch.
Like his dad, Ryan offers much more to the club than playing. He has developed our social media outlets to new heights and has been the driving force behind the winter nets for our non-first team players.
Being a qualified personal trainer no doubt Ryan will place an emphasis on this important aspect of the game with his players, although for some of the more experienced players it may prove a challenge to keep up!
*Jimmy Galway passed away on the 18th March 1993
