THE passing of Robert Roe leaves a void in the sporting and farming life of North Tipperary and Laois which will not be easily filled.

The Roe family have been farming at Hollymount since 1896 and Robert was the third generation on the farm. Born in 1940, Robert, an only son, had three sisters Betty (Cummins),Trish (Hyde) and the late Pam (Scully).

Knowledgeable on all matters relating to hunt history and country matters, the family have one of the last trophies awarded by the King’s County Hunt, now long defunct. Robert was a bye word for courtesy and good humour and to meet him in Punchestown, Fairyhouse or the RDS made the trip well worthwhile. Hollymount sits on the Laois and Tipperary border but it was the Queen’s County that claimed his sporting allegiance.

His good counsel and diplomacy led him into many public roles including being president of Ossory show for over 10 years. A keen hunting man, Roe was chairman of the Laois Foxhounds for over 10 seasons and spent a similar term as District Commissioner of Laois Pony Club. Under his direction, the three organisations prospered.

The hunt held a Millennium Day on New Year’s 2000 at Kilbricken where many retired veterans including Robert and Jim Tyrell mounted up in some style for the occasion. His outside farm at Ballintaggart near Borris in Ossory was for many years the venue for the Laois hunter trials. Robert acted as senior steward at the RDS for many years and always looked on it as one of the high points of the year.

Robert produced many good horses over the years and the very useful Cnoc Na Cuille (the Irish for Hollymount) enjoyed success while being trained by Christy Kinane before being passed on to Josh Gifford in England. He went on to be ridden with some success by Princess Anne.

Always a keen farmer, Robert was widely recognised as an outstanding judge of beef cattle and would judged at many fat stock shows including Limerick. A member of the national executive which relaunched ICSA in the mid 1990s, Robert was involved in a celebrated demonstration outside the Department of Agriculture offices which ended with a small flock of sheep and several farmer protesters, including Robert, spending the night in the Department’s offices. Neither sheep nor farmers were any the worse for having to spend the night in the centrally heated environment!

In recent years, Robert and Doreen had downsized and moved into a modern house on the farm while Hollymount became the home of his son Peter and Alison with their young family. Peter is of course the well known and very popular manager of Fairyhouse racecourse. To his wife Doreen and children, Peter, Suzy and Mandy our sympathy. People like Robert don’t often pass this way. He will be missed.

DP