Looking Back: The day Dalrymple came

Here's a tasty page of nostalgia from my Dad's scrapbook, writes Brian Byrne, which was reminded to me when Keith Powell sent me a copy of the photograph above.

It's his grandfather Paddy Powell, with Aubrey Brabazon, and The Sporting Life columnist Gus Dalrymple.

The occasion was the Irish Derby in 1965, when Dalrymple, who had joined the newspaper as a bookmaker’s gossip columnist in the spring of 1962, came down to study the local form. He had been directed to Kilcullen, and specifically to The Hideout, where he was told all the real information on the race would be found.

Dalrymple's light, humorous, off-beat writing perfectly suited the characters of the racing world, and also those of Kilcullen, where he was quickly pulled into the dangerous charms of local hospitality.

The piece is worth reading. In the style of American writer Damon Runyon, he writes decent sketches of his day here. In addition to Paddy Powell and Aubrey Brabazon, he met with 'Big Jim' Byrne (wonder who he was?), Joe McTernan, Hugh Peacocke, Tom Berney, and even the trainer of the favourite, Paddy Prendergast himself.

All the word was on Meadow Court. Even from the two local bookies still in business, 'Andy' Moloney, and John Keith Murray. Though they did try to inveigle him into a couple of outsider bets.

Dalrymple reported that Kilcullen was a bookie's graveyard, down to the legend of a curse put on the business by a 'Bridie O'Mullen' because one bookie apparently hadn't paid out her winnings after a fight by Dan Donnelly, pugilist, in December 1815.

So in the end he took a ten-pound punt on Meadow Court. The rest is racing history, especially for 23 lucky people around the world who had drawn the horse in the Irish Hospitals Sweepstake on the race, garnering £50,000 each on the result.

Kilcullen is always worth a visit for a journalist. But I hope Dalrymple's expenses were paid for by his paper, because a day in The Hideout in the company mentioned here would have put a fair dent in his wallet ...