BORN in the north Tipperary village of Toomevara, Matthew O’Meara’s interests spanned Irish country life: hunting, farming Irish Draughts, horse racing, carriage driving, and his annual pilgrimage to Dublin Horse Show.
His father, Jim, was the local stallion master and, while walking to school, Matthew often saw the family’s famous Irish Draught stallion Milestone and his Royal Gem dam Dooree Maid passing by on their way to work in the fields. The pair were bought by Jim from Milestone’s breeder, James Greene.
Matthew attended the Cistercian Monastery secondary school in Roscrea as a boarder. However, his schooldays came to an early end when Jim passed away after a heart attack.
As sharp as a tack, even after 10 decades on this planet, it was hard to decide who their vet - the late Jack Powell - rated most: Prefairy or Matthew and younger brother John, for the way the teenagers took over the farm and stallions, while their mother, Sheila, ran the family shop and public house.
One of those rare shoebox finds is a black-and-white photograph of Prefairy, standing outside a namesake premises on Toomevara’s main street, held by Matthew. “We had Prefairy, Pinzari, ‘the Milestone’, a Connemara and John had an Appaloosa stallion too.”
Prefairy was a beautifully-bred thoroughbred - both he and the continental legend Furioso were Precipitation sons.
Jack, from nearby Nenagh, gleefully recalled a Horse & Hound report, in which the sales correspondent pithily remarked that he hoped Prefairy wasn’t destined to be a “country stallion in Ireland” after his purchase by Dick Jennings.
“If only every country stallion were a Prefairy,” remarked Powell, Ireland’s longest-serving vet.
The art of conversation
Foaled in 1954, Prefairy proved to be an exceptional sire. “He was fiercely popular for the farmer’s mares; they all wanted a Prefairy out of a Milestone mare, or Milestone crossed with a Prefairy mare got lovely half-bred mares,” Matthew recalled.
Prefairy’s recorded progeny from his Toomevara years span from 1962 to 1979. Aptly enough, it was their good customer Philip Heenan who bred the very first: Dolly Bay 2.
Prefairy stock included Graham Fletcher’s Cool Customer, the Foxhunter champion Hold Hard, David Broome’s Fairly Cool and novice show jumpers that went abroad from Libya to Switzerland.
Max Hauri was a good customer for a Prefairy, the damsire too of both the William Micklem-bred Olympic pair of Mandiba and High Kingdom and Slyguff Stud’s Golden Master, all three by Master Imp.
By happenstance, Suma’s Zorro - this week’s Horse of a Lifetime star - features Pride of Shaunlara (Milestone - Boston Burglar, by Prefairy. Breeder: John Hoolan) in her pedigree.
The Thyestes Chase winner Monanore, bred by neighbour John Meagher, was Prefairy’s best on the racecourse.
Milestone and Prefairy proved hard acts to replace and, after Sheila passed away, Matthew decided to continue with dairying instead. Besides, just half an hour away was Philip Heenan’s brigade to compete with. “We became his customers instead!”
No animosity either. His description of Heenan as “A genius in boots” is as apt and generous as it is typical of the Toomevara man’s quick wit, good humour and way with words.
His Covid vaccinations, for example, were described as “two shots of Ivomec!” and fellow train passengers were entertained by this jovial character on his annual pilgrimage to ‘Draught Day’ at Dublin Horse Show.
“I thought we’d be put off the train! But isn’t that what it’s all about? Good craic and conversation at the end of a day out.”
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Matthew O’Meara’s champion foal at Ballinasloe in 2018, a Pointilliste colt out of Ollie’s View, held by John Ryan \Susan Finnerty
The true breed
Days out at shows began with his vivid memories of “standing on a butter box under a ditch at Nenagh Show, throwing the plaits into a grey Prefairy filly at nine o’clock in the morning, back when the horses had to be walked to the shows. I thought it was lunacy at the time!”
His conversion made him a constant presence at shows, particularly Irish Draught shows. One of his proudest show ring moments was presenting the Milestone Cup, awarded to the youngstock champion, at the Irish Draught Horse Breeders’ Association (IDHBA) national show.
“It was Jennifer Haverty who got it all started off again. Jennifer asked if I’d be interested in putting up a cup in honour of ‘the Milestone’ at the Draught show. I said I’d put up a cup in honour of my parents.”
He obligingly filled many roles; from helping to set up show rings, stewarding at stallion parades and as a wise branch representative. In 2025, Matthew was elected to the IDHBA vice-chairperson’s role, the year after he received their Contribution to the Breed award.
This was followed by an FBD Hall of Fame award last year. That award, coupled with stepping into Ring 1 for the IDHBA-sponsored Irish Draught championship presentations last August, were undoubtedly some of his proudest horse world moments.
Another was judging, alongside George Chapman and Philip Scott, the Traditional Irish Horse Association (TIHA) classes at Limerick Show. “Pure Irish breeding, it’s what I know. It’s important to keep it [traditional breeding] going and, to me, it’s the true breed.”
There at Dublin and again at the IDHBA national show in Punchestown was his wife, Catherine. Their first date took place when he asked her to the North Tipperary Hunt Ball.
“And the rest is history!”
Carrying on the link, the couple’s two sons, James and Damien, are both longtime followers of their local hunt. Of Matthew’s own siblings - Anne, Bridget, John, Patricia, James, David and Kevin - both John and David now live in America.
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Matthew’s first Kentucky visit coincided with Roses For Deborah sales-topping feat. Pictured with sons Damien and James, brother John and Debbie Fritz
Carpe diem
John, who bred the Rio Olympics event horse Blackfoot Mystery, even named his Lexington studfarm Milestone Farm, another nod to the Toomevara family’s famous Draught stallion.
While James and Damien had visited Milestone Farm, the pandemic gave Matthew the nudge to visit Kentucky. “Covid would definitely make you more inclined to do all these things that we put off before,” he had said back in 2021.
Thankfully, he took a special family trip in November 2024 to celebrate his and Catherine’s ‘big birthdays’ that year, after she retired from her nursing career at Nenagh General Hospital.
While Catherine visited her sister in California, Matthew, James and Damien went to the Bluegrass State. Perfect timing as they got to witness John’s Grade 2 winner Roses For Deborah sell for $2.4 million, when she topped the Book 1 sale at the Keeneland November Sale.
“I was delighted to get there and then to see John get that price. Just a brilliant experience,” Matthew said.
Matthew passed away on November 26th last year after his battle with the scourge that is cancer. One day before Thanksgiving Day.
There is much, on the eve of the first day of Spring, to give thanks for in having known this great character, himself an astute judge of character.
There must be something in the North Tipperary air to produce the likes of Jack Powell, the Heenan brothers and Matthew with their encyclopaedic knowledge and recall. It’s thanks to them - with their first-hand knowledge, eyewitness accounts, colourful descriptions, precise pedigree details and humorous anecdotes - that much of the area’s otherwise lost ‘horse history’ has appeared in this newspaper.
Don’t put things off - another lesson learned from the life of Matthew O’Meara.
I’m thankful, too, to John O’Meara, who, on a visit to Milestone Farm in 2017, AirDropped Matthew’s phone number. That first phone call afterwards, which ended with his customary ‘God Bless’, was the start of a great friendship with this kindly individual, whose wit, wisdom, stories, and very presence lit up ringside gatherings, secretary’s tents, and train carriages.
To Catherine, James, Damien, daughter-in-law Kim, Damien’s partner Nicole, grandchildren James and Grace, family, neighbours, and so many friends, sincere condolences on the loss of this very unique character.