DESSIE LOUGHERY - A MAN APART

Nowso

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My phone went berserk late on Wednesday night as the messages came flying in – all bearing the unfortunate news that another of the genuine legends of our sport, Dessie Loughery had passed away at his home in Limavady in County Derry.

The number of messages received bore testimony to the respect with which this man was held throughout the greyhound world. One message after another contained words to the effect that he had been “a man apart”.
I never actually met Dessie Loughery but on ringing around this morning I found that many of his greatest admirers never did meet him either. He was a very private man who lived for his dogs and was a genius in his breeding and rearing techniques.
Yes, I spoke with him on the phone a couple of times and once when I suggested that he would be a very suitable subject for a major interview, he immediately passed off the suggestion, “Sure, why would folk want to learn about me?”
But that’s where Dessie Loughery was wrong. Hopefully he has imparted his innate knowledge of the greyhound to his sons and those closest to him as he had a massive wealth of knowledge gained over the years.
He was always referred to as the “Farloe Man”, no other introduction was required. The fame of the Farloe dogs spread right across the greyhound world as the dogs he bred and reared proved their prowess on the greatest circuits in the world of greyhound racing.

VERY PRIVATE MAN
The names rattle off the tongue, virtually without having to think about them – Farloes mostly, the likes of Melody, Verdict, Warhawk, Tango, Oyster, Nutter, Mineola, Dingle, Barracuda, Cricketer, Exit, Reason, Shocker, Man, Batman, Rocket, Lane, Kraven, Titan, Ironman, Black, Trent, Scolari, Dancer, Reply, Club, Cobbler and then the likes of Mineola Farloe, Ninja Jamie, etc. etc.
Dessie got into greyhounds initially through the late Dan McCann. The first dog Dessie got was I’m Slippy which he sold on to John Quinn and went on to win the English Derby.
Seamus McCloskey, the Mineola man, explains that when Dan died, half the farm went to Dessie and the other half went to Seamus. Says Seamus, “Des was a very, very private man and he simply loved his dogs. I invited him to the English Derby final when Mineola Farloe was running but he wouldn’t go on a plane or boat. He never wanted to be in the limelight, he just wanted his dogs to be reared properly. He was a genius with them”.
Leading Irish breeder PJ Fahy attributes most of his success to Dessie. “When we started out with greyhounds, Dessie was a huge help to us. I identified him as one of the top breeders in the world and he had a huge knowledge of rearing and breeding, He was so helpful to us, when we had a problem our resort was to ring Dessie and he would put us right. He was one hundred per cent a doggy man, he ate and slept them. If you had a problem with a dog you could ring Dessie and he had the simple solution . He was a great man”.
Unfortunately, the Farloe Man has passed from us. He leaves behind him a massive tradition and legacy. It is extremely doubtful if he will ever be replaced.
Dessie Loughrey, in his mid -70s, will be reposing at home in Limavady and his Funeral Mass will be on Saturday morning at 10am in St Mary’s Church, Limavady. Burial immediately afterwards.

Rest In Peace. He put some great dogs through his hands.