PETER MEANEY
30/04/2012
The greyhound communities in Carlow and Kilkenny were in a state of shock this morning as news filtered through of the sudden and very premature death of Peter Meaney from Bagenalstown.
One of nature’s great gentle men, Peter was a friend to all and devoted most of his life to the service of others, whether it be neighbours in difficulty, his beloved BEAM in Bagenalstown, Kilkenny Track or the local Fenagh Coursing Club.
An ever present in the Paul Hennessy team at the tracks, he was due to attend the Produce Stakes semi-final on Sunday evening but didn’t make it and he was found late on Sunday night by his great friend Paul Hennessy.
Speaking this morning, Paul said, “The Cuckoo“ – as he was affectionately known – “will be a huge loss to everyone around here. He was such a good person and was always helping others. I can never recall him going out to help himself, it was always somebody else. He was virtually a member of our family and I just don’t know how we are going to get on without him”.
Tom Kinane, manager of Kilkenny track, said: “Peter would do anything for Kilkenny track. He was in here every Friday and cut the grass around the track, looked after the flowers and had the place shining. If I asked him to climb the roof he would have been up there in minutes. He was an incredible man and will be very sadly missed”.
Peter owned greyhounds all his life and ran them under the Rathduff prefix. One of his best trackers would have been the top stayer Rathduff Suzuki some years back.
A cousin of the Irish Greyhound Board chairman Phil Meaney, Peter, 57, is survived by his brother Paddy and sister Breda (O’Neill). We extend the sympathies of the greyhound community to his entire family and very wide range of friends.
Funeral details later.
May he rest in peace
