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Post by sheamus on Jan 19, 2011 23:50:03 GMT
Hi Racing fans. I enjoyed reading the posts about all your favourite memories. I was born approximatly 300 metres from the Curragh Racecourse. Unfortunatly the house I was born was demolished in the late 60s. My Father Paddy Kelly worked for the Turf Club for 30 years. He was a gallop man and his job was to open and prepare the gallops all over the Curragh for the local horse trainers and on occassions special gallops had to be opened for horses preparing for Classic Races. Because of my dad's job my Mother who loved to have a flutter had a free Pass to attend the race meetings. Every time there was a Race meeting I would tell the Teacher that I had to go home early to mind the House so my Mother could go to the races. I knew very well that my mother had asked my eldest sister to ask her teacher to get the time off so she could babysit. Mr and Mrs Cronin used to love going racing so they would get their son Micky Joe (RIP) out of school early so I would head off with them and their baby daughter Bridget to the races. Sometimes my Mother would get me into the stand. She often gave me a half crown to have a place bet on the tote. If she saw a trainer or owner at the £5 or £10 window, she would send me over to see what they were backing. It worked sometimes and others I would get a filthy look from the Punter. After the races my brothers and sisters would collect all the Tote tickets in bags and bring them home. My Mother would write out on a sheet of paper the number of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd horse in each race, We would find one or two tickets worth £3 or £4. On a few occassions we made much more than that and the proceeds went on new clothes or shoes. My dad was not a bit interested in betting even though in his early days working on the Curragh he was given £1 by a jockey called Morney Wing to put on a horse he was riding that day which was a great price, but a £1 was a lot of money then so Dad put 10 shillings on instead. The horse duly won at 20 to1. but my Dad's reasoned that it could beaten and it would have been such a waste of money. He never admitted to the Jockey what he had done. I have never tasted chips like the ones sold from the McTiernans from Kilcullen Chip Van opposite the Stand. Some of you must have had a drink in Paddy Leahys (Standhouse Pub) I have many more stories about The Curragh Races
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Post by afcmoore on Jan 20, 2011 1:15:12 GMT
Hi Sheamus. Great story and i'm sure all the forum members will enjoy reading your stories on the sport of Kings.The first installment was great so carry on with the tales of the Curragh races. Cheers. Ant.
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Post by Matt McNamara on Jan 20, 2011 13:01:47 GMT
Hi Sheamus
Great memories indeed. I enjoyed that read and hopefully you will share some more with us in the future.
All the best
Matt
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Post by andybrennan on Jan 20, 2011 15:52:34 GMT
Sheamus,
yet another vivid memory from you and a cracking good read keep em rolling
Andy
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Post by annemcnamara on Jan 20, 2011 20:46:01 GMT
Hi Sheamus, great story well told. I guess we all have stories but as Frank Carson say's it's the way I tell em... You certainally told it well. Cheers, Anne.
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Post by johnnykelly on Jan 20, 2011 21:17:26 GMT
Re:A DAY AT THE RACES. Hi Seamus Imy memories of Paddy Leahys pub at the rear of the racecourse were as i was loaned out to him by Peter Boyle manager of DEWilliams aka the rising sun,on race days Jim Culleton and myself would travel over to the racecourse each race day on the back of Jims auto cycle and as i was so young in Paddy Leahys words your too young to serve in a bar collect glasses instead and Jim Culleton would say that chap is one of the best pint pullers in the trade,and as a broad grin swelled my cheeks out comes from Paddy( one never argued with him) if he is that good ill give him a job me self, so on the day would go and after each race there would be a clammer for pints as thirsty punters would dash in between races for a pint, and when they would see a wee lad pulling pints the reaction would get away from me pint he will kill it and if PJ heard this he would blow his top and shout GET THE FCUK out of my pub thats my staff your insulting your barred and then the customers would all be on the whingers back leave the boy alone his pints are good, at the end of the day about 830pm he would shout what are you still doing here get home Jim this lad should be in bed, here now off you go and would drop a £20 spot into your hand, and off across the Curragh racing to get a wash and off down to the WES to the hop full of me own importance, that was my introduction to Paddy Leahys pub, now to be demolished and forgotten forever,except for the memories, bye for now Johnny
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Post by andybrennan on Jan 20, 2011 23:14:53 GMT
Johnny,
My memories of the said pub Paddy would either lock you in or lock you out.
Andy
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Post by kellquinn on Jan 21, 2011 9:55:50 GMT
Hi all A good thread started by Sheamus there, in" A Day at the Races", sounds like the Marx Brothers film. My claim to fame at a Derby meeting in 1963 was when the Racehorse "Relko" was to run in the Irish Sweeps Derby as it was known in those days, "Relko" had won the English Derby in 63, and came over here to complete the double, and as he was parading around the ring he was found to have gone wrong, can’t recall if it was lameness or other, he was taken out of the parade ring and while he was returning to the Stable and at exactly the spot where the current Statue of the Racehorse is, he and his handlers were surrounded by the World media, Shanks Smullen and I happened to be in that location at the time, more than likely trying to sneak into the Grandstand area, We went over to see what all the commotion was about and ended up on the front of The Sunday papers next day, I appeared to be holding the horse by the reins, whatever way some of the photos were taken. Another fond memory of The Curragh Races, was our regular meeting with Micháel Ó Hehir the voice of sport in Ireland at the time, when after sneaking into the Grandstand area along with Shanks, we would always make our way up towards the commentary box where the great man was housed, when in between races he would open the sliding door of the box and hand us out a bar of chocolate or a bottle of Taylor Keith lemonade, he would always ask us how we were and did we back all the winners, what a great and lovely man, he was always my hero when broadcasting the matches etc on Rádio Éireann and would love to hear his great voice again, broadcasting an all Ireland, especially if Kildare were playing and two goals up with a minute to go against the Dubs. Regards JKelly
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Post by johnnykelly on Jan 21, 2011 18:10:07 GMT
Re: A DAY AT THE RACES Hi Joey would you like to tell the tale of our very first day at the Races?? the day you got me and Jerry Stacy lost? Johnny
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Post by sheamus on Jan 22, 2011 14:22:18 GMT
Hi Jkelly I enjoyed reading your post and your memories of 1963 when Relko was withdrawn. It must have been nice to see your photos on the Papers. I would also like to comment on Paddy Leahys barman (Johnny). I should imagine he was a difficult person to understand. Paddy treated everyone the same and if he did not like anyone for any reason, he would just chuck them out. I was home one Christmas, and on Christmas Day around noon before the dinner was ready some of my brothers and I decided to go to The Standhouse for a drink. There was not many people in the pub. Paddy was the only one serving and around 2pm he came over to the table and said that if we wanted to go home, we had better go now or he would lock us in because locking up and would not be reopening until 7pm that evening. He had just served us with pints of Guinness and we had not finished drinking and naturally we did not want to leave our pints. However he locked the door and said he was going upstairs to have his dinner and and said help ourselves to a drink so long as we paid for if. I thought he was joking at first, but I also knew that Paddy was very stubborn. At that stage I began to panic because I knew that my Mother would have the dinner ready and we would be expected back. True to his word he disappeared up stairs and after a few free pints later, he had not returned, so I got my Brother to go up and get the keys so we could get out. Eventually he came downstairs and after giving us plenty of verbal abuse he allowed us to escape. We got plenty more abuse when we got home and found that the rest of the family had finished their Christmas dinner without us. Sheamus
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Post by afcmoore on Jan 23, 2011 0:51:11 GMT
Hi Lads. ;D Great stuff go on go on this is a mighty thread and im lapping it up like the cat laps cream ;D .Ah Begor yas tell them well. Cheers ;D. Ant.
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Post by johnnykelly on Jan 24, 2011 22:25:23 GMT
Re: A DAY AT THE RACES. Hi all Joey must be in hibernation so it is up to Me to tell the true tale of our first day at the races, myself joey and jerry stacey were rambling about the plantations one saturday when we noticed that the races were in progress so off we headed and low an behold we managed to get into the races free our ages at the time was Joey 6 me and jerry 5 with the big crowds we soon became seperated and me and jerry found ourselves outside at the back of the stands and began to ramble along the rail tracks eventually ending up outside Kildare, mean while Joey was mouching about when he was spotted by an uncle of ours whom was a bookie at the time, he got a lift into the Curragh and home safe when we didnt arrive home by 6 oclock the Mothers became worried, and poor Joey got interrogated left and right meanwhile tired after all our wanderings jerrystacey and i fell asleep in woods outside Kildare town, and the alarm went off in the camp and a huge search party was orginazied within the Camp with Army Gardai and CIVILLIANS searching high and low and with very few cars on the road my father cycled all over the place on his Army bike, Kildare Kilcullen Newbridge etc and the poor mammie up all night with worry, priests calling around Barrack o/c orderly officer calling all to no avail when around 11 pm at night in we were brought shoulder high as we had been found by one of the search parties sleeping in the woods outside kildare, I was scoffing food down as if it was going out of fashion whenaround midnight incomes the Da covered in sweat, and up i looked into his face and out he shouts where the fcuk were you all night get over here now so over i slowly moved and as soon as i got within reach of him he grabbed me and gave me the biggest hug and nearly squeesed the life out of me and asked me was i all right, as i tried to explain how we got lost and fell asleep in the woods and were found by the soldiers i fell asleep and was asleep well into the next day, and with all the neighbours constantly calling in to check with the Ma if everything was ok and asking was there anything they could it was my first introduction to the neighbourliness of married quarters looking out for one another in times of need.and it was a tradition held even to today even though Families are thin on the ground but in times of trouble watch the community get involved so that was my first day at the races, probably the longest day bye for now Johnny
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Post by afcmoore on Jan 25, 2011 0:26:34 GMT
Hello Johnny. Well what a great story .I think if children that age went missing these days there would be even more concern. The helicopters would be out and it would on the news on TV.Your parents must have been worried sick. Tales of the curragh race course never a dull moment go on go on. Cheers ;D Ant.
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Post by charlie004 on Jan 25, 2011 18:21:55 GMT
Hi Johnny,that was a great story about the day at the races.A great wee read. Charlie.
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Post by sheamus on Jan 25, 2011 21:44:45 GMT
Hi Johnny, I really enjoyed your story. The Curragh was a very big place when you were that age. Thank God there was a happy ending shamus
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