MANY tributes have been paid to Peter ‘Pete’ Molloy of Rockbrook, Rathfarnham in south Dublin who died following a short illness on January 21st. Born in 1943, he would have turned 80 next month.

Most readers of these pages will have associated Peter with the Irish Pony Society, an organisation in which he played many roles. His death has left a huge void in its ranks and one which will be more keenly felt during the coming months.

However, while his family received ‘phone calls, letters and messages of condolences from the pony showing sphere and, of course, the local community, they were also contacted by others involved in racing and Gaelic games, sports which played a huge part in Peter’s life.

Molloy’s son Mark referred to all of these activities in his eulogy at Peter’s funeral Mass on Wednesday, January 25th in the Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel, Ballyboden where the males in the Molloy family wore bright ties to reflect Peter’s love of same.

“That a Dub would like Gaelic games makes sense,” said Mark. “That a Dub would be fond of the gee gees and going racing seems reasonable too. But what attracted a Dub into a 40-year relationship with something like the Irish Pony Society?

“The answer was obvious – the sadly departed quartet of Dave Errity, Jimmy Curran, Jim Lilley and Jimmy Gleeson; others such as Joe and Kathleen Reynolds, Joe and Bernie Carroll and especially Johnny and Gillian Kyle. Then there were the countless other friends he made not just in Ireland but in the UK as well during that time.

“That was Dad. One day, he was giving constructive criticism to a referee from the stand in Croke Park and the next, he was being introduced to the Princess Royal whilst judging at the Horse of the Year show in Birmingham.” Peter judged at HOYS twice and at many other shows in Britain including the Royal Highland.

His interest in eventing grew out of following the careers of Jean Errity, Mairead Curran (now Ryan) and Amanda Lilley and travelling the country with their fathers. Mairead recalled him from those days, from driving her father Jimmy and her late uncle, trainer Pat Rooney, to race meetings and also from driving the mini bus from their accommodation to the showgrounds in Peterborough when he was chef d’equipe to the many Irish teams who competed at the British show pony championships.

While he tried to turn his son Mark into a rider, it was Mark Kyle who got the best results out of Peter’s pony Morning Dawn.

As with the GAA, Peter’s roles within the IPS were many. He was chairman from 2019 to 2022, was on the Council for 12 years and was chairman of the working hunter committee for 10 years. However, he willingly did any job asked of him at a show and with a smile on his face. It was remarked that children loved him and he never had a bad word for them.

His judging and course-building duties brought Peter to shows all around Ireland, most frequently in the Kildare/North Leinster Area and in the Wicklow Area (of which he was a long-standing chairman) but also further afield.

A favourite fixture in the Cork Area was Charleville Agricultural Show where his friendship with the Carrolls began. Joe and Bernie became such good friends that Peter and his wife Eileen would time their annual holiday to Lanzarote to join the Co Cork couple. Peter last acted as judge in August at another of his favourite venues, Clarecastle, in the Limerick/Clare Area. There were regular visits to the Tipperary Area for shows such as Killusty and Ballylanigan and he never had any trouble driving around the country on his own having spent many hours on the road when dealing in cattle.

Peter Molloy is survived by his wife Eileen (to whom he was married for nearly 58 years), children David, Linda, Ann, Deborah, Mark and Róisín, his grandchildren Lorcán, Conall, Emér, Shane and Hugh, his brother John and sisters Rita, Pauline, Nuala and Eileen. To all of these, we extend our deepest sympathies. M.McL.