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.