NEWS reached the farming, hunting and racing community last week in North County Dublin of the sad passing of Amelia McGuinness who died peacefully in the gentle care of Rush Nursing Home. She was the widow of the well-known horseman Larry ‘Gusty’ McGuinness who was a former point-to-point rider and joint-master of the Fingal Harriers who farmed at Carnhill in Loughshinny, and Walshestown in Lusk.

Amelia was a very popular person, and a pleasure to visit. She was the homemaker, full of vitality, informed, humorous, exceptionally strong willed, a no-nonsense person, quick to size people up, determined always to be independent and driving her own car, sometimes ‘very fast’, up to recently at 91 years of age. She had a tremendous appetite for life and people, possessing a quick sharp wit, and great company. She managed the backroom activities that kept the wheels turning on a very busy farm, and horse livery, bloodstock breeding and schooling yard.

Generous hostess

Amelia was always a generous hostess, and the kettle was always on the boil, especially when there was a hunt or a show nearby, or when visitors came to their yard.

She justifiably acquired a reputation particularly for her signature finger food, salad sandwiches! She was constantly surrounded by her favourite breed of dog, cocker spaniels, for company, and Jimmy was to be her last one.

As an independent lady, she often recalled with a wry smile that she was known understandably as just Amelia before she married Larry. But when she married him and moved into Carnhill, she felt that she was in danger of losing her identity being married to the well-known horseman, as she was then to become known not as Amelia but as Larry’s wife, then Nuala, Emer and Matthew’s mother, and following that as Polly, Emily and Thomas’s grandmother! She had a lifelong love of nature, and her great hobby was gardening, particularly growing flowers such as geraniums and begonias.

Fun yard

Although Amelia did not hunt herself, she enjoyed all the activities in the yard. It was a fun yard to be associated with, everybody passionate about hunting, always hilarious stories, playing practical jokes on each other so much so that people always came away with smiles on their faces and a new story to add to the repertoire.

Amelia and Larry had so many friends and patrons that the yard in Carnhill was buzzing. Dr Frank Healy kept his broodmares and youngstock there, including his best known racehorse and later broodmare Out And About who won in Kerry and Galway. Skerries golf professional Jimmy Kinsella was also a patron of their yard. My colleague and The Irish Field correspondent Margie McLoone and her family were life-long friends of Amelia and Larry, and the yard was the first port of call if advice was needed on an animal, especially when Margie was riding in point-to-points.

Hunt liveries included Professor Patrick Wall, Sharon O’Buachalla, Ian Wickam, Maria Melvin, Brenda Ruigrok and Brian Purcell. Some of their well-known hunting horses like Motor Car, Alfie, Harry and Sukie, are still fondly remembered. Larry foaled, broke and schooled the dual Grand National runner-up Greasepaint, and schooled another Aintree runner on Rush beach: Spittin Image, who ran twice in the National.

Busy fixtures

For a number of years, Larry and Amelia hosted the Fingal Harriers Horse Show at Carnhill, and the hunter trials at their farm in Walshestown. At the initial hunter trials on the new course, there were concerns expressed by some competitors at the length of the fall at the drop fence. Instantly Larry and his fellow master Joe Duff, both former successful point-to-point jockeys, asked if anybody would loan them their horses. They proceeded to jump it not once but twice causing a number of competitors embarrassment, sorry that they ever complained! The sessions during the Dublin Horse Show at Carnhill were legendary with Larry’s absence being so involved in the show for the week testing Amelia’s patience. When Larry was asked on the final day of the show what the atmosphere was like at home, he replied that the first words spoken for the week were at Mass when Amelia turned to him as the priest called for the sign of peace and said, ‘Peace be with you’!

Annual holidays

Amelia and Larry’s annual holidays were usually spent at Listowel and Killarney Races, and Grand National day was always looked forward to with visitors gathering in Carnhill in the afternoon to watch the race.

The tradition of horses lives on in the family as Amelia and Larry’s daughters Nuala and Emer hunted up to a few years ago while their sons-in-law Christopher Horrigan is a member of the Fingal Harriers and the Ward Union Hounds, and Raymond Mangan followed the Wards for many years where his father was joint-master, and hounds frequently cross his farm during the season. Her grandchildren Polly and Emily are also involved in ponies.

It is the end of an era at Carnhill and Amelia will be sadly missed by all who knew her. She is survived by her son Matthew, daughters Nuala and Emer and sons-in-law Christopher Horrigan and Raymond Mangan, grandchildren Polly, Emily and Thomas, sister-in-law Mary Tuite, nieces, nephews, relatives and a wide circle of friends.