Paul Darragh (28 April 1953 – 3 January 2005) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: * Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...

who competed in the sport of show jumping. He was on the winning team in the Aga Khan three years in a row from 1977 to 1979 with the

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than fo ...

Heather Honey. He was also on the winning team in 1997. In an international career that spanned a quarter of a century, he joined with

Eddie Macken Eddie Macken (born 20 October 1949 in Granard, Longford, Ireland)

, Con Power and James Kernan in an Irish team that captured the public imagination as they won the

Aga Khan Trophy The Aga Khan Trophy is the prize presented for Ireland's showjumping Nations Cup competition, held annually at the Dublin Horse Show. The first trophy was donated in 1926 by Aga Khan III, who was a frequent visitor to the show. Initially, a count ...

three years in a row from 1977 to 1979. A full 20 years after the first of those successes, Darragh was on the team that won the trophy again in 1997, his last major win on an Irish team. Other highlights included wins in the Hickstead Derby on Pele and the Dublin Grand Prix on Carrolls Trigger. In total, he represented Ireland 54 times in Nations Cups.

Personal life

Paul Darragh was born to Austin Darragh and Terry Roddy on . His father was known for founding the

Irish Cancer Society The Irish Cancer Society (formerly known as the Conquer Cancer Campaign) is the national charity in the Republic of Ireland dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem, and improving the lives of those who have cancer. History Fo ...

, formerly known as the Conquer Cancer Campaign. Paul Darragh died suddenly at his home in Meath aged 51.RTÉ - Death of equestrian legend Darragh - 4 January 2005
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References

1953 births 2005 deaths Equestrians at the 1988 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 1992 Summer Olympics Irish show jumping riders Olympic equestrians of Ireland Irish male equestrians Sportspeople from County Dublin {{Ireland-equestrian-bio-stub