Under starterÕs orders at Galway Greyhound Track

Date Published: {J}

PADDY O’Gorman ambles forth, a wizened, aged man hardened by nature’s dithering mood swings and its long winter nights. The meandering contours of his friendly face read like the flowing lines of a first edition literary classic.

As a long serving employee of Galway Greyhound Stadium – over half a century of his life he has dedicated to the sporting cauldron – O’Gorman is as intricately linked to the venue as the venue is indelibly linked to him.

Those altruistic years of selfless service were acknowledged recently when Glenamaddy greyhound owner, breeder and now trainer, PJ Fahy took over the sponsorship of the race formerly known as the Galway Jacket and renamed it the Paddy O’Gorman Grand Prix.

For O’Gorman – the ever-present starter at the track – it was a pleasant surprise … one that truly overwhelmed him. “I was surprised,” admits the unassuming and shy pensioner, as he sits in the lobby of the stadium’s magnificent stand.

Outside greyhound circles, little is known about O’Gorman. That is no surprise given he is not a loud or brash individual but, quite simply, a man who revels in the simplicity of his life on College Road.

“I am a Galway native, College Road,” says Paddy. “I suppose, I started my career here in 1953 as a greyhound jockey. At the same time, my late mother Maureen used to sell the cards at the main gate.

“As a greyhound jockey, though, I would lead out the greyhounds. I was at that for a few years until I was appointed the official starter at the track. It was a move up the ladder. I have been doing that job for 56 years.”

No surprise, then, that O’Gorman has seen much change over the last six decades, watching on as the sporting landscape of the city’s most famous field was transformed almost beyond recognition.

“When I first started, there was just a long green shed and that was the stand. The kennels were just up against the back of the wall and the only heating system was two half tar barrels, with turf and timber burned in the winter.

“In the late 60s or early 70s, that progressed to the covered stand, which was in existence until the stadium progressed to what it is today.

“In the early days there was two nights of racing, Tuesday and Friday. Even then, they used to come from all over Ireland. In those days, you had dogs like Spanish Battleship. He raced in Galway, and I remember him dead heating with Portalar Lad one night. It was Spanish Battleship’s last race in his career. He was the only dog to win the Irish Derby three times in a row (1953 to ‘55). He was a very famous dog in the 50s.

“There were also other good dogs, such as the likes of Masonbrook Flier, Clear Lodge, Marco Polo, Grand Canal – he was an English Derby winner – and you had Peruvian Style, which equalled an Irish record for winning races in Ireland.”

Of course, there have been others, too many to mention, but looking towards more recent runners, O’Gorman says there is one breeding line that has taken the racing world by storm.

For more read page 51 of this week’s Connacht Tribune.