BARRY COONEY

Greyhound racing and, more particularly, Shelbourne Park lost a great friend in recent days with the sad passing of Barry Cooney.

A regular at Shelbourne Park, and Harold’s Cross in the past, for many decades, Barry was well known to so many that frequented the tracks of Dublin and each and every one would have described him as a gentleman.

Barry always seemed to have a dog in his ownership, along with his great pal Michael Dowd, and they had plenty of great sport. The first name that comes to mind is that of Ooh Black Betty. Her racing days ended just over a decade ago but she provided the duo with incredible times.

A regular at both Shelbourne and Harold’s Cross, Betty won many races over all distances. Like the vast majority of Barry’s dogs, she was trained by Liam O’Rourke and was a true model of consistency through her career. Se won races over 525, 550, 570, 575, 600, 750 and 1010yds. In fact, she won the consolation final of the Ted Hegarty Marathon back in 2010.

In more recent times, Barry’s star performer was open racer Ringthemoon, while Superior Racking is another very consistent tracker.

Shelbourne Park simply won’t be the same without him. Originally from Donnybrook, but living just around the corner from the famous Ringsend venue, Barry loved nothing more that strolling down the road to the dogs and conversing with his many friends at the track.

It wasn’t his only connection to Shelbourne Park. His son Karl worked at the track for a number of years in almost every capacity, while his daughter in law Edel also worked at Shelbourne.

It came as a shock to all at Shelbourne Park to hear of Barry’s passing and we would like to offer our condolences to his wife Bernadette, his children Fiona, Stephen and Karl, his beloved grandchildren Millie, Jack, Lola, Charlie, Louie, vie and Chrissie, his sisters and brother, extended family and many, many friends.

May He Rest In Peace.

Funeral details

Funeral arrangements not available as yet. We will update when they are posted on-line.