Fitting memorial to the great Pat Smullen unveiled

Fitting tributes to legendary Offaly jockey Pat Smullen were unveiled at the Curragh Racecourse last weekend.

The jockeys' room at the Curragh has been named in honour of the late, great Rhode man. It will now be known as the Pat Smullen Jockeys Room.

In addition, a mosaic mural tribute was unveiled in the jockeys' room. It was designed by Pat’s wife Frances and her artist sister Monika Crowley, who worked with Richie Buttle from ProPhoto in Co. Wexford to develop the artwork.

The mosaic mural is made up of over 400 photos of Pat which were donated by many of his friends and colleagues. The unveiling coincided with Pat’s birthday.

There will be a formal opening of the jockeys' room when the Curragh welcomes back racegoers.

Pat's achievements as a jockey speak for themselves. The Rhode native was champion jockey on no fewer than nine occasions and rode almost 2,000 winners worldwide.

He was stable jockey to renowned trainer Dermot Weld for 20 years and the Curragh was almost his second home.

Even after all his success at the Curragh as a jockey, it was out of the saddle that Pat had perhaps his finest day here when he was the driving force behind the Pat Smullen Champions Race For Cancer Trials Ireland on Longines Irish Champions Weekend in 2019. The event raised €2.5 million for Cancer Trials Ireland for their work into pancreatic cancer trials and research. That is a day that will never be forgotten by those lucky enough to be there.

Padraig McManus, Chairman of the Curragh Racecourse, said: “It is very important that there should be a lasting memory of Pat in the Curragh so that we and future generations can be reminded of his wonderful achievements.”