Following the news of his passing, Basketball Ireland left a statement on their website paying tribute to Boland.

"It was with great sadness that the basketball community learned of the passing of Harry Boland on Wednesday December 18," the statement read.

"Introduced to the sport by the legendary Fr Horan, Harry Boland went on to become a member of the Basketball Ireland Hall of Fame and among other achievements, played in the 1948 Olympic Games for the Irish basketball team.

"Apart from being an outstanding player throughout the 40s and 50s, Harry left a lasting legacy in the sport as an administrator and served as President of Basketball Ireland from 1965 to 1968."

Boland, nephew to the famous Irish politician of the same name and son to Gerald, a founding member of Fianna Fail, was the last surviving member of the 1948 Irish Olympic basketball team, who, in his own words, "were completely outclassed in all our games".

Harry Boland admitted that he and his Irish teammates "were completely outclassed in all our games" during the 1948 London Olympic Games ©Getty Images



In 2012, during the opening of the Fingal Local Studies and Archive "Morning of Olympic Proportions" event, Boland spoke of his involvement in the 1948 Olympics and the difference in preparation back then, to that of modern athletes.

"I became one of the only civilians on the Irish team which went straight to the 1948 Olympics in London," he said.

"If there had been any qualifying competition before you entered like there is now, I don't think we'd have got there.

"We were selected at the last moment.

"When I consider all the preparations now and all the competition that goes into selecting a team, ours was a most extraordinary situation.

"Basketball was very new in Ireland.

"It was strong in Dublin and Cork and a few other places but, by and large, it wasn't as strong as it is now.

"We used to hold trials in Portobello barracks for the Olympic teams; we would come up for these matches and then we couldn't find the key for the gym and so we would just turn on our tail and go home again!"

"Boland ended up being one of just two non-military men to be selected, a connection that ensured that Ireland managed to get a full set of equipment for the trip.

"That was the kind of scene that prevailed.

"We had no outfits so the army loaned us shorts which we had to give back again and then we got a singlet alright!"

Boland is survived by his wife Noirin, daughter Maire, sons Harry and Gearoid and extended family.

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