Kildare town residents celebrate the successes of jockey Robbie Dolan
Robbie with his family and friends
ON Sunday 17 August residents in the Maryville estate in Kildare town celebrated one of their own when they put together a special presentation for jockey Robbie Dolan who won the richest horse race in the world last November – the Melbourne Cup.
“His mam and dad live in Maryville, and he was born there,” said retired county councillor Paddy Curran.
“I live in Maryville, and I was sitting outside the shop when Robbie McCormack said we should do something for Robbie Dolan because he’s one our own who’s just won the most expensive horse race in the world,” said Paddy.
“They say it is the race that brings a nation to a stop.
“Robbie was also a finalist in the , and has a song out in the charts.
“He’s still riding in Australia and we’d expect him to ride in the Melbourne Cup again this November.
“This was a real, old-style community event. We got a small grant from the Council, but the band and the barbeque staff were voluntary. All of that was fantastic.
“One evening I was up in Maria Macari’s getting chips and she heard me on the phone saying that we were struggling a bit, and she said I’ll help you with sponsorship, which was very good of her.
“It was a real, old-style community event, and I’m glad I was a part of it.
“Robbie even sang on the stage the song he sung in The Voice, and it went down a treat.
“It was right to have it here because in Kildare town it’s either the kick of a horse or a hob-nail boot – horse racing or the army are the only options here, and the amount of people who know so much about horse racing live around Maryville.
“Robbie’s dad Bobbie rode for Dermot Weld, and his grandfather was Peadar Matthews, who also rode winners.
“His cousin Jamie Powell rides for Johnny Murtagh, and with three generations they are a massive racing family.
“He even had a film crew from Australia follow him around as the winner and they filmed him in the National Stud and his old school where he left a message for the kids returning to school next week,” he concluded.
See more photos in next week's on sale from Tuesday in all local stores
