MY late father, former assistant Garda Commissioner and United Nations Commissioner Stephen Fanning, brought me to Michael Connolly’s yard in Kildare when he was Superintendent for the Kildare district. His best friend was veterinary surgeon Stan Cosgrove and he was an avid racing fan.

I was nine years old and when I watched the string at the Connolly yard, I fell in love with horses. My late brother Gerry, a solicitor, was also mad into racing and involved in many syndicates.

Show jumping

My dad travelled a lot during his career and I was educated by the Loreto nuns at Stephen’s Green and later boarding at their school in Balbriggan. I qualified with the late Iris Kellett as a riding instructor and show jumped professionally in Italy and the USA but knew I would never make the cut.

When I returned from the United States, I was one lucky girl to be taken on by the late great newspaper editor Jarlath P Burke of the Tuam Herald. The paper turned out 29 national journalists! It was known as the ‘University of Dublin road!’

Radio and journalism

I joined the RTÉ newsroom in the early ‘80s and these were heady days when kidnapping was a regular occurrence! I covered the Tidey kidnap, Jennifer Guinness’s abduction and, of course, Shergar. I also did a weekly radio programme, Provincial News Roundup and Nationwide’s predecessor, Countrywide.

I loved that because it allowed me to cover horse shows and racing with an expert knowledge. In 1985, I was awarded the AT Cross prize for women journalists in the broadcasting section. The episode was on the last days of the Smithfield Horse Fair in Dublin. It’s mad to think there was actually a special award for women journalists in those days but our sex accounted only 20% working in the media then!

National Hunt

I married farmer Larry McCormack and we did a lot of showing of sport horses, in collaboration with Bernie Stack. We won a lot of young horse championships and then went into the production of National Hunt horses.

Coolmore’s Grange Stud and Albert Sherwood were very supportive. In 2007, Quadco, trained by P.A. Fahy, ridden by Monasterevin jockey Peter Fahey, won the GPT Handicap at the Galway Festival by 14 lengths.

Quadco was by Be My Native out of Anega, by Run the Gantlet. Her daughter, Quinnsboro Ice bred Grade 1 winner Finger Onthe Pulse, Cheltenham’s Jewson Novices’ Chase winner in 2008 and Galway Plate winner in 2010, trained by Tom Taaffe.

I was thrilled when filming a feature at Jackdaws Castle with Jonjo O’Neill for a Punchestown festival special to see both Finger and his brother, The Mad Roberston, at that yard. We are now in the fourth generation of that family!

Nationwide

It is a privilege to work for Nationwide – we cover so many diverse stories. I love doing the programmes associated with the racing industry and we always try to show how important the industry is as an employer and a cornerstone of rural Ireland.

The highlights of my career were producing a programme from Jerusalem in 2009 and reporting from Kiev in 2005 for the Eurovision Song Contest.

Larry and I have five children: Laurence jnr, who works in politics with Kilkenny TD Bobby Alyward FF; Kate, who was one of the youngest barristers ever called to the bar at 22; Tori, a brand manager with L’Oreal; Martin, a medic, at present with the RAF in Cyprus; and Gerard, my youngest. He is the only one working in racing. His qualifications are in sports psychology but he has worked at Leopardstown racecourse on Willie Gibbon’s ground staff team for the last year.

I think it is so important for young people to be mentored in the industry by those with experience. That is why I have so much admiration for Gordon Elliott as a trainer.

He promotes and rewards excellence with young people.

In the future, I hope along with the Nationwide team, to continue to celebrate rural Ireland and as for the horses, fingers crossed for another Finger Onthe Pulse!

Mary Fanning was in conversation with John O’Riordan.