A devoted member of Leopardstown

IRISH racing lost one of its greatest and most enduring fans recently with the passing of Sam Dunne from Stillorgan, Co Dublin, aged 93.

A lifelong racing enthusiast, Sam first attended Leopardstown in the 1940s and has been an annual member there since the ‘new’ grandstand was built, rarely missing a meeting.

Never one for foreign holidays, Sam always orientated his holidays around the racing calendar with many family breaks spent at the Galway Festival and, in later years, at the more sedate Killarney Festival. When Sam occasionally travelled further afield it was to York or Chester or Cheltenham or Longchamp.

Although reduced mobility restricted his racing in recent years he remained a regular at the Members Club in Leopardstown right up to Christmas past. He loved the chat with fellow racegoers and he will be sadly missed.

Sam is survived by his beloved wife Joan, his daughters Colette and Anne and son John.

Ní fheicfimid a leithéidí arís.

J.D.