[ad_1]
Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)
“title =” Frances Crowley with her husband Pat Smullen: “I lost my best friend, my soul mate,” said “class =” js-imageLoader “data-at-xn =” https: //www.rp-assets. com / images / news / 2019/05/17/61788-medium.jpeg “data-br-n =” https://www.rp-assets.com/images/news/2019/05/17/61788- medium .jpeg “data-br-m =” https://www.rp-assets.com/images/news/2019/05/17/61788-large.jpeg “data-br-w =” https: // www .rp-assets.com / images / news / 2019/05/17/61788-large.jpeg “data-br-xw =” https://www.rp-assets.com/images/news/2019/05 / 17/61788-large.jpeg “onclick =” return false; “>
By David Jennings
And so, on the gloomiest September afternoon imaginable, we said goodbye to the golden boy of Irish racing. Pat Smullen was buried at the tender age of 43. Too young; too soon.
The final farewell took us to St. Peter’s Church in his hometown of Rhode in County Offaly. Most saw it through Zoom, over 700 at one stage, and among them was Frankie Dettori, who started the round of applause on the video communications platform after Pat’s wife, Frances, delivered a eulogy that he was worthy of her heroic husband.
Frances began: “My heart is broken. I lost my best friend, my soulmate. Hannah, Paddy and Sarah not only lost their adorable dad, but their mentor, friend, ally and rocker. You must know that dad was so proud of each of you and the people you have become. He carried you and I know you will continue to carry them with you every day.
“My heart breaks for all of Pat’s friends around the world, who couldn’t see him, or talk to him, or tell him how much he meant to them. I want you to know that I told him all this and he knew. He saw all your messages, even if I couldn’t respond. Sometimes I just didn’t have the energy. Sometimes I didn’t have the words. “
Frances somehow found the words. The day she dreaded since she first found out that Pat had pancreatic cancer, she managed to hold it all together and utter each and every word more gracefully than any of us.
She continued: “I would like to acknowledge the support of the racing community in general, in particular Pat’s fundraising concert for Cancer Research in Curragh. He died on September 15, exactly one year after that incredible day. I think that symbolizes how much that meant to him.
“Strong; brave; tough, fighter. All those words were used to describe Pat, and here are a few more: insecure, scared, vulnerable, sad. Because he was only human and he knew a body could only take so much. His spirit never gave up, but in the end it wasn’t enough.
“Pat’s death will be a great blow to many cancer sufferers in Ireland. I have a message for you: go ahead, don’t be discouraged; please don’t let this hit you. Pat did not get all the breaks with this disease, some gaps were closed when he needed a clear run, but he always had a great team around him to regroup, swap tactics, and level up again.
“To the entire cancer team at St Vincent Private Hospital, we are eternally grateful. Every night when I looked at Pat, I knew they were going to treat him with kindness and respect. The disappointment on their faces when they saw him vanish was obvious. Pat I could feel it too. I’m doing the best I can, she said. We know you did the best you could in everything you did, Pat. You always did the best you could. Always. “
It seems ridiculous, given his career, but as good as Pat Smullen was at horseback riding, he was even better as a person. That’s quite a feat given he won 25 Groups or Grade 1, the Derby, two Irish Derbies, and was a nine-time jockey champion.
Patrick McCann
“title =” The final farewell to the nine-time champion rider took place at St. Peter’s Church in his hometown of Rhode in County Offaly “class =” js-imageLoader “data-at-xn =” https: // www. rp-assets.com/images/news/2020/09/18/82720-medium.jpeg “data-br-n =” https://www.rp-assets.com/images/news/2020/09/18 /82720-medium.jpeg “data-br-m =” https://www.rp-assets.com/images/news/2020/09/18/82720-large.jpeg “data-br-w =” https : //www.rp-assets.com/images/news/2020/09/18/82720-large.jpeg “data-br-xw =” https://www.rp-assets.com/images/news/ 2020/09/18/82720-large.jpeg “onclick =” return false; “>
That was a point made by the main celebrant, Father Gregory Cormican.
Fr Cormican said: “I wouldn’t be the best on social media, but last night I scrolled down through all the different comments on Twitter to see what people were saying about Pat. There was a constant theme running through them, great emphasis in him he was a gentleman, he was an athlete known throughout the world, but he was underpinned by the feeling of being a very nice person.
“He was kind, humble and brave. He was always willing to help others and people said that it was a pleasure to have him in their lives; that they were richer because of it. People were delighted that they met him, not because he was a famous jockey It was because it was Pat Smullen.
“This morning I googled to see what was stronger than iron. Tungsten, it said. Pat Smullen was tungsten.”
Father Cormican continued to look back on Smullen’s days serving Mass in the same church he was standing in and explained how a young Pat always tried to switch to 8 a.m. Mass instead of 11 a.m. so that he could spend so much time with the horses in Tom Lacy’s nearby yard.
“He used to bike more than three miles to Tom’s so he could work with the horses. That level of commitment carried over to Pat throughout his life,” Father Cormican said.
Smullen’s coffin, wrapped in cloths with the winning numbers, was brought to the church to the sound of Amazing Grace. The next song to be sung beautifully was ‘I Will Never Forget You’ by Carey Landry, and ‘Time To Say Goodbye’ by Andrea Bocelli closed the ceremony.
Somehow, it was time to say goodbye to Pat Smullen – a husband, a son, a father, a friend, an icon. We will never be able to understand why it has happened so soon to someone so special, but, of one thing you can be sure, her legacy lives on.
FIRST POST 7:03 PM, SEP 18 2020
[ad_2]