Thank you

I would like to sincerely thank everybody who spoke sympathetically of me after my fall. The pain lasted for 15 days and I was delighted when it subsided. The wound has not healed yet but I am relieved that the pain has almost disappeared. I was very touched by the number of people who sympathised with me. I would like to particularly thank Tammera Vaux, Lynn Dodds, Gordon Meredith and Richard Avery, who gave their time to help me. I am only sorry I could not express my gratitude to them earlier.

Thank you to my wife Jane, my sons Walter, Warwick and Simon, my daughters-in-law Dr Nuala, Fiona and Lyn, my grandson Neil and my granddaughters Eleanor, Rebecca, Judith, Ruth, Siobhan, Lucy and Hannah and Irish friends like Catherine Fallon,Tony & Bridie Doohan and the many other friends from the greyhound world.

Family update

Walter is of course our eldest son. He lives here in Beverley with his consultant radiologist wife Nuala from Dublin. She works for the local hospital Castle Hill. They have restored a fine Georgian house here and Walter continues to keep up his legal work even while running a 5 Star B and B. Their eldest children Siobhan and Lucy are both at Durham University studying languages. Siobhan is currently in Italy for a semester and then will take a work placement in Paris. Hannah is the only one still at home and working on her exams at School.

Warwick is a freelance photographer in London where he has lived for over thirty years with Fiona who works in a restaurant and cafe as manager and chief cook. They have two daughters. Elle is a Programme Leader for English First in Bristol. Their second daughter Rebecca lives in Los Angeles in the USA where she is married to Zac Russell. Zac works for Red Bull. Rebecca is a fashion stylist for an LA magazine, C magazine.

Simon is a lecturer at the University of York. He got his PhD from Leeds with a study on EU defence and security policy. He travels a lot for the university giving lectures and was recently in India. He teaches political economy in York Management School and is Director of Postgraduate programmes. He is married to Lyn who has worked in the arts and in community theatre for many years. They have three children. Jude works in Geneva writing reports on humanitarian crisis management, with a special interest in the Balkans, Palestine, South Sudan and Colombia. Ruth lives in Amsterdam with her partner Mark. Ruth did her MA in the University of Amsterdam on preservation and presentation of film and related media. Mark is a digital designer. Simon and Lyn's youngest, Neil, is studying technical theatre at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London.

The Gang Leader is my 96 year old Jane, the greatest woman in the world. I met her in a cow shed in 1947 in Wolston outside Rugby. She was manager of a herd of Friesian milch cows, one of them giving ten gallons a day. This is the one for which I was called late one evening to treat when she had suddenly stopped giving any milk. I operated on her with the help of that woman. Within a month I asked her to marry me.

Charles Darwin

      But for Charles Darwin  (1809 – 1882)  I might still be a believer in the Creation.

My father-in law Doctor John Dent was a great believer in this great Charles Darwin.

 He was the originator (with Alfred Wallace) of the theory of evolution by natural selection.

 He studied medicine at Edinburgh.  At Cambridge he became interested in botany, zoology, & geometry   He was born into Anglicans - Dr Robert Darwin and Susannah (nee Wedgwood).   His mother died when Charles was eight.  While on holiday from Shrewsbury boarding school he helped his father treat poor people.  Hoping he would study medicine his father sent him to Edinburgh university.    But being only interested in natural science he moved to Cambridge to study wildlife, biology and geology.  He also took an interest in fossils from marine invertebrates.  He became sceptical about creatures being placed on earth by a God.   He speculated that over long periods of time live organisms could change and adapt to their environment and that diversity of life could take place gradually.

     In order to support his theories he decided to travel abroad and search for evidence.

In December 1831 he joined Captain Robert Fitzroy on H.M.S. Beagle for the voyage from Plymouth that was to become historic.    They went south as far as Natal on the East coast of South America and then eastwards below South Africa  making  Zoological discoveries, and fauna on coral reefs, volcanic islands, fauna, & flora.  They continued below Australia and then northwards and across to the volcanic Galapogos Islands near the East coast of South America.   He learned much there and at neighbouring Santiago, Santa Cruz, & San Cristobal and later during his studies on Tierra Del Fuego.  Then they sailed further south to reach the Falklands before turning north to return to Plymouth with a great collection of specimens.

 They had been exploring on land for 3 years and 3 months and at sea for a year and six months.

Darwin’s conclusions were too controversial to be acceptable to many ordinary people.   He was slow in publishing them because he knew they would offend his wife and most devout Christians.   Queen Victoria was interested in his studies and had an open mind about his theories.  While studying the expression on the face of an Orangutan on a visit to a zoo she said    “ He is frightfully human`-looking.”

In 1858 Alfred Russel Wallace published an article praising the research carried out by Darwin.  Within a year Darwin was brave and confident enough to publish his “Origin of Species”.

Benjamin Disraeli in a debate in the House of Commons asked “ Is man an ape or an angel ?  I am on the side of the angels and I repudiate these new-fangled theories .” 

But the leading thinkers of the time were impressed.    The  first 1,250 copies were bought immediately and changed the thinking of millions of people.

The book showed that in the War of Nature most creatures died young and survival was largely dependent on smell, sight & speed.   

  Darwin established that all species descended from a common ancestry  and that a branching pattern of evolution resulted from natural selection.  It was said that he opened the door to our knowledge of genes, DNA and mutations.

Darwin was not just interested in living things ; he admired them.     He wrote :-

“ Sympathy with the lower animals is one of the noblest virtues with which man is endowed.”  His daughter Annie died in 1851 at the age of 11.  He cried whenever he remembered her.  He kept her hair and her shells.

Darwin was not aware of Gregor Mendel’s research on Plant Hybrids in the garden of his monastery in 1866.   That was the foundation of genetics but it was not reported for some years.

     On another voyage in the Beagle while exploring the ocean north of Australia he landed in 1839.  His writings on evolution were more acceptable than those of his grandfather Erasmus Darwin who died 7 years before he was born.   Two of his sons became famous – one as an astronomer  and the other as a botanist.

On my three Aussie trips I never did get to the northern territory.   I remember thinking about it while I was in Port Augusta.    Approaching an entrance to the great Stuart Highway I caught sight of a sign “Darwin  2,200 K”.   Something magnetic in the name tempted me for one brief moment.  But in the next the 2 before the comma told me it was just too far.   So I steered Eastwards around the town until I saw a sign saying Broken Hill 430.   It led me on to a flat monotonous road out into the outback.   Three hours later the skyline was broken by a hill.   It loomed  larger and taller as I got nearer to it.   It turned out to be what Australians call the “hog’s back”.  It is actually a giant slag heap that towers over one of the world’s most famous mining towns.  The rich strip about seven Kilometres long and over two hundred metres wide was claimed in 1883 by a German called Charles Rasp.  With six mates he formed a syndicate that mined millions of tons of lead. 

Our Viscount

              Our Viscount born in '53 

Bred from my friend Paddy Dunphy's  The Grand Champion ex Wild Nellie.

I got this great dog from Mollie Colohan in Galway on Paddy's advice.  Unfortunately his promising career was limited by injury. The cause is mostly due to dangerous surfaces. They are often too firm in dry or frosty weather or too soft and slippery during heavy rainfall.
I find it depressing that many of  the fastest have short careers because the turns are just too acute.

 Mollie and Cecil, her husband, invited me to bring my Jane and family and
  spend a fortnight with them during the summer of  '57.  We thoroughly enjoyed our stay.  I remember the highlight being a day trip to the Aran Islands in Galway Bay.  Cecil took great pride in nursing our youngest lad, Simon.  The other two Walter and Warwick entertained all the passengers with a dance as an islander played an accordion.

I learned a lot about greyhounds from Paddy Dunphy. When travelling in the south of Ireland I often called on him when passing through Castlecomer.  His Grand Champion was popular at stud and attracted a lot of bitches.  Paddy often accepted a pair of pups from a litter instead of the fee.  There were times when I called on him and was invited to join him in visiting breeders who were rearing pups for him.  Sometimes we didn't get back until very late and Paddy would find a bed for me.

 In discussions I  advised him to bring one of his best dogs to England and enter it for the  Derby at White City.  This involved a stay of six weeks and had never been attempted before.   After much thought and planning  he brought over his The Grand Canal in 1962.   He had his food and drink sent over from Kilkenny every week.   He  stayed with the dog at the GRA Hook kennels and his pride and joy went into the record books as the winner of the English Derby.

Some of my oldest greyhound friends

Some of my oldest greyhound friends

One I would like to tell you about is John Doris. His parents came from Mayo and Sligo, and they emigrated to the states. He lived to be 102 and I don't remember anybody older.   He was born in Brooklyn  New York in 1903, and moved back to Longford with his parents when he grew up.   For his stamina he received congratulations from George Bush and of course Mary MacAleese, the president of Ireland.
He was a  very successful business man and among his interests was the promotion of greyhound racing at Longford  under the management of the popular Billy Bligh.   I got to know these  special characters through entering a greyhound at their track while Jane and I spent our first two years in Dublin.   ! well remember that enjoyable evening because Jane and our new born son Walter came with me.   We also had the company of Jim Fallon from Palmerstown - we met no better friend there .  To add to our enjoyment our dog was a winner.   We called him Wheatfield Atom - because  he weighed just 56 lbs.  That was just one of the eighteen races he ran in Ireland.   He was beaten only at Celtic and Dunmore where the  long  straights gave an advantage to opponents who were bigger.

Joe Booth & His Wife

This is the famous Joe Booth & His wife with one of their big winners during the eighties.

Joe always broke down in tears whenever one of his champions broke a hock.  

I first put a plaster on a hock for him in 1951 after a race at Dillington Park in Barnsley.

A Return Home

During my long life I have been fortunate to have had a number of real family friends.   In August 2015  I enjoyed being home in Donegal at a gathering which included many relatives.   Having the company of my Jane, our sons Warwick and Simon with his wife Lyn made it a really memorable week.   It was actually the second of such events. The first was organised ten years ago by enterprising members of the famous Doohan family from Drumnatinney in Donegal who had emigrated to New York for a better life. Warwick and I felt lucky to be invited to that original and unique week.  This recent one was equally enjoyable and it seems likely that it will not be the last.

The great family of fourteen were born to James from the Rosses and Maggie who was one of my Dad's sisters.  The one I knew best was called Bridget or Birdie because she wheeled me in my pram to the strand until I was a year old.

That strand, known as the Back Strand, with its sand dune banks, clean white sand, and fabulous views out to Tory Island, is still there, almost totally unchanged, near Drumnatinney where I was born. There is no building, no caravans, no cafe, and no shops. The only addition has been a life saving ring tied to a post.

My good Dad and Mama slaved and made many sacrifices to rear and educate my three younger brothers, two sisters and myself . Three months before I qualified from the Vet college the sudden death of our wonderful Dad was a bitter blow to our dear mother and every one of us.

Dad had been a life-long supporter of Britain, but he had a brother, a priest, who rarely agreed with him.  He called on us a few months after the war with Hitler started. British troops had sustained heavy losses and the holy one took pleasure in forecasting that the Swastika would soon be hanging in London. I still remember Dad grabbing his arm, pulling him off the chair and kicking him out the door onto the street.

At the time Dad died, Tony was on the Medical course at Trinity, Ted was at the Veterinary College, Owen was giving his life for the Church, and Eileen was also studying. Carmel was working in a chemist's shop so that she could earn enough to support the family. Mama decided that it made economic sense for her to buy a wee house in Dublin and move there where Carmel was working.

Whenever we went over to Donegal we often stayed with Mary and Danny in Cashelnagor. Danny would play wonderful music on his fiddle. We would also visit Packie and Veronica, Alfie and Pat, and Josie and Teresa.   It was hard to get out of any of these houses without refreshment to help us on our way.   Our Warwick, Simon, and his son Neil, enjoy spending time with the next generation, and are good friends with Seamus and Marie, and Denis. Jude has also been over in the last month.

On our way to Donegal we always pass through Dublin and visit Raoul in the nursing home. Tony and Bridie, who live in Celbridge, regularly visit him and we are very grateful to them for their love and care.

My Aunt Bella married Henry McGee, a brave sailor who often went out to fish in stormy seas in a small boat. Bella lived with her family in Knockduff. We always visited her daughter Mary, and her son Father Eugene from Glasgow would be over every summer.  Sadly they have both passed on but this year we called again and met Henry McGee and his wife Marie.   Near Knockduff is the wonderful Marble Hill strand, close to Port na Blagh where we sometimes stayed in the hotel years ago. When I was a small boy aged about four or five I used to go on holidays to my Aunt Rose Sharkey in the Rosses. I remember watching the trains pass the house on the way to Burtonport. In 1925 four unfortunate people were killed when the train to the Rosses was blown off the viaduct.  That story is often spoken about to this day.

In the old days we always used to call on our relative John the Saddler in Dunfanaghy. He was noted for giving news of all the relatives we used to know.