A LARGE gathering thronged the chapel at Mount Jerome cemetery on Monday to bid farewell to Valentine Lamb following his death on the previous Friday morning.

As a renowned newspaper editor, and a proud one for 33 years of The Irish Field, Val’s timing was immaculate, allowing the paper he cherished to be among the first with the news.

All sectors of the racing, breeding and sport horse world, as well as many of his racing correspondent friends and colleagues, were represented at the simple ceremony. Chief mourners were his wife Marie and his three daughters, Stephanie, Fiona and Celia. The service was conducted by Reverend Michael Cahill, who became a family friend when he met Val’s late mother Lady Pansy in Rome many years ago.

Long-time friend and best man at his marriage to Marie, Jeremy Hill delivered Val’s eulogy, describing him and his sense of fun and mischief wonderfully. Summing him up, he said: “Val was able to move effortlessly among all levels of racing, from the bowler hats to the stable lads, but his greatest pleasure at the races, second only to reducing the weight of a bookies’ satchel, was to be part of the celebration of a small owner, or a one-horse-in-the-yard trainer. Val liked the honesty in the ordinary.”

He went on to recall his last visit to Val’s home. “He told me how grateful he was to Marie for the care and attention she gave him and then, his distinctive voice quavering with emotion, remarked that he couldn’t believe that someone could love him so much as to be so devoted to him.

“It was a soft side of Val, full of humility, that contrasted so strongly with the wildman image of his earlier days, and the tough boss at the editor’s desk. He spoke of his pride in his daughters and his grandchildren, and his surprise again at the strength of the emotion that he felt for them.

“It’s Val’s humility and love in the face of his ultimate respite that I’ll hold dear about him.”

In a final tribute to his friend, Jeremy Hill recalled the words of a great poet. “Dylan Thomas implored his father to rage against the dying of the light. But Val wanted calm; he had seen the seasons rolling round, the familiar being replaced by the new; he accepted life’s inevitable cycle. He was ready for the brilliant darkness.”

TRIBUTES

I had the privilege of working with Val from 1981. Over the next 23 years many changes followed at The Irish Field. We went from replacing typewriter ribbons to embracing new technology. The one constant throughout the many changes was Val. He was a complete gentleman to one and all. I have heard it said many times that everyone had a story about Val - how true. I’ll miss Val’s company and treasure dearly all the stories and memories he left behind - Margaret O’Connor, The Irish Field

Val Lamb was the consummate newspaper editor. He loved a good story and when the hunt was on we knew it would continue to the very end. As a leader he was always willing to back his staff; there when needed with advice and encouragement and delighting in their successes. He created a real team atmosphere and when one looks back at those years, what one remembers above all is the genuine ‘craic’ we all had. Everyone felt valued and believed that their contribution was important. He brought the best out of us all. He was ‘the boss’ but so much more besides. - Margie McLoone, The Irish Field

Exactly 40 years ago I met Valentine in the Windsor Castle Pub in Notting Hill. After several hours of conviviality, we parted company after I had been appointed the French correspondent for The Irish Field at a fee of £12 per article. It was the start of a career which has now been running for four decades. - Desmond Stoneham

My first dealings with Val were in the form of a working relationship, but I am pleased to say that this quickly moved to a friendship. Indeed I was lucky enough to be invited to attend his wedding to Marie, a night which ended up with a visit to the old Lansdowne Road by the wedding party to attend a Leinster v Munster rugby match! Val loved the bit of gossip; however beneath the fun-loving, mischievous exterior, Val possessed a powerful racing intellect and serious business brain. His knowledge of the characters and issues of all aspects of the racing and breeding business was phenomenal and he always expressed his opinion without fear or favour, irrespective of who he was dealing with or writing about. Val was a journalist of the old school and had a real newshound’s instinct when he sniffed a scoop. He liked nothing better than attending the AGM of Goffs or the National Stud and poring over their financial accounts for some different angle. A lifelong Southampton fan, Val used to joke that if they had painted red and white stripes on the Titanic it never would have gone down and that they would be getting vertigo from their current lofty position in the Premier League. Val was a one-off who will be sorely missed by those who loved him and worked with him. - Brian Kavanagh, Horse Racing Ireland

He was the consummate journalist; intelligent, extremely well-informed, fair, fearless and invariably left the reader with much to think about. On a personal note he was a good friend, but that did not inhibit constructive criticism at the same time. He was great company. He will be sorely missed. - Sonia Rogers, Airlie Stud

Val was a great boss, the best anyone could have. He brought out the best in his staff and knew their strengths. He had a great analytical mind, was loyal and kind but, above all, great fun. Everyone has their own memories of Val at the point-to-point dance! - Claire Barry, The Irish Field.

In his early days as editor Valentine brought vision, imagination and the skill of a financial journalist to the task of transforming The Irish Field. The result was an outstanding newspaper that covered the sport of horse racing from every corner of the world. - Jonathan Powell, journalist

Valentine clearly inherited a high degree of his family’s literary talent and his writing, while erudite, contained a high level of humour. He was a true man of the people, and in the words of Rudyard Kipling he could “walk with kings nor lose the common touch.” We met at Goffs’ Ballsbridge premises in the early 1970s and over a drink he casually asked me to write some breeding articles for The Irish Field. We shook hands on that and, although I never had a contract with the paper, I continued to send him articles for over 30 years until he retired. It was always a pleasure to write for him and it says much for Valentine that he always had a wonderful, cooperative team around him, many of whom are still there today. Under his editorship The Irish Field developed into a major international racing publication. I somehow knew when I first met him that he would be a friend for life – and so it proved. His loyalty to his friends was unwavering and he will be greatly missed by all who knew him. I extend my deepest sympathies to his family. - Miles Napier, author.

I spent 30 years working for Val in The Irish Field and will be forever grateful for the opportunity he gave me. He was a very fair person to work for and I can honestly say that in all those years we never had a cross word between us. Val was not just “The Boss”, he was a very good friend to me and I will miss him dearly. – Cliff Noone, Turf Club.