Bernard Joseph Curley (5 October 1939 – 23 May 2021) was a

racehorse trainer A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some of the responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them submissive behaviors and/or coaching them for e ...

, gambler and founder of the

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

n charity DAFA from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

Biography

Bernard Joseph (Barney) Curley was born one of six children to Kathleen and Charlie Curley. He attended

Mungret College Mungret College was a Jesuit apostolic school and a lay secondary school near Limerick, Ireland. Located on the western outskirts of the modern-day suburban town of Raheen, it was operational from 1882 until 1974 when it closed as a school f ...

with the intent of becoming a

Jesuit priest , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

, but several years into his training contracted TB and was hospitalised for nine months. He then owned a bookmaker's shop in Belfast (which went bust) and a pub before going into music management, serving as manager of the act Frankie McBride and the Polka Dots who had a hit on the British singles chart with the song ''Five Little Fingers''.? However he decided on a career in thoroughbred horse racing. As a trainer he had stables in

County Westmeath "Noble above nobility" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg , subdivision_type = Sovereign state, Country , subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Provinces o ...

and later in the Newmarket area between 1985 and 2012. Curley was known as a shrewd operator and was suspected of running "coups" against Irish bookmakers. In particular (and his most successful) the 1975 Yellow Sam betting coup in Britain and Ireland which netted him IR£300,000. Following this success he made a point not to pursue further scams against bookmakers. In 1988 he made an extended television appearance on the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

discussion programme '' After Dark'', alongside among others

John McCririck John Michael McCririck (17 April 1940 – 5 July 2019) was an English horse racing pundit, television personality and journalist. McCririck began his career at '' The Sporting Life'', where he twice won at the British Press Awards for his camp ...

, Margaret, Duchess of Argyll and General Sir Cecil "Monkey" Blacker. In 1995 his 18-year-old son, Charlie, died in a car crash. The following year, following a visit encouraged by a friend, he went to

and troubled by the illness and poverty he witnessed Curley founded the charity Direct Aid For Africa (DAFA) to support the underprivileged. He helped develop the careers of several leading

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

s including

Frankie Dettori Lanfranco Dettori (; born 15 December 1970), better known as Frankie Dettori, is an Italian horse racing jockey based in the United Kingdom. Dettori has been British flat racing Champion Jockey three times and has ...

and

Tom Queally Thomas P. Queally (born 8 October 1984 in Dungarvan, County Waterford, Ireland) is a Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He is best known as the regular jockey of Frankel. He was first jockey to leading trainer Sir Henry Cecil. Queally is best kn ...

Death

Barney Curley died peacefully at his home, a stud farm near Newmarket on 23 May 2021, aged 81.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curley, Barney 1939 births 2021 deaths People from County Fermanagh Irish racehorse trainers