Dennis O'Kelly (1725–1787), born in

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, was a prominent 18th-century

owner Ownership is the state or fact of legal possession and control over property, which may be any asset, tangible or intangible. Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as ''title'', which may be separated and held by diffe ...

and

breeder A breeder is a person who selectively breeds carefully selected mates, normally of the same breed, to sexually reproduce offspring with specific, consistently replicable qualities and characteristics. This might be as a farmer, agriculturalist ...

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

s. He owned

Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event which occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ...

, the pre-eminent

sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" an ...

of the breed and ancestor of 95% of modern thoroughbreds, and from him bred horses including the

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

winners,

Young Eclipse Young Eclipse (1778 – c. 1803) was a Thoroughbred racehorse that won the 1781 Epsom Derby. He raced until he was six years old, winning seven races and retiring to stud in 1785. He was not a successful sire. Background Young Eclipse was f ...

and Serjeant.

Early years

Born to an impoverished Irish

smallholder A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technolo ...

in 1725, O'Kelly moved to London as a young man, where he worked as a

sedan chair The litter is a class of wheelless vehicles, a type of human-powered transport, for the transport of people. Smaller litters may take the form of open chairs or beds carried by two or more carriers, some being enclosed for protection from the el ...

carrier. There he is reputed to have duped a wealthy heiress into marrying him, and absconded with her inheritance of £1,000; elsewhere this tale is dismissed as

hearsay Hearsay, in a legal forum, is an out-of-court statement which is being offered in court for the truth of what was asserted. In most courts, hearsay evidence is Inadmissible evidence, inadmissible (the "hearsay evidence rule") unless an exception ...

and the source of his initial wealth attributed to gambling. Either way, his money was soon frittered away on drink and gambling. This led in 1756 to a stay in the

Fleet Fleet may refer to: Vehicles * Fishing fleet *Naval fleet * Fleet vehicles, a pool of motor vehicles * Fleet Aircraft, the aircraft manufacturing company Places Canada * Fleet, Alberta, Canada, a hamlet England * The Fleet Lagoon, at Chesil Be ...

debtors' prison, where he met

prostitute Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...

Charlotte Hayes. O'Kelly and Hayes formed a business, if not romantic, partnership which persisted for the rest of their lives. Both were freed in 1760 as part of

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

's amnesty for those in debtor's jails. O'Kelly plied his trade as a conman in London's coffee-houses and, through his gambling contacts, introduced clients to Hayes. It is reported that O'Kelly himself took in female clients. Within eight years, they had amassed a total of £40,000, enough to branch out into racehorse ownership. They also came to own a significant property portfolio, including Clay Hill estate outside of

Epsom Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain ...

, Canons Park, a substantial villa built by William Hallett Esq, and former estate of the

Duke of Chandos The Dukedom of Chandos was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain, named for a fief in Normandy. The Chandos peerage was first created as a barony by Edward III in 1337; its second creation in 1554 was due to the Brydges family's service to Mar ...

in Stanmore,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

also property in

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, England, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road (England), A4 road that connects central London to ...

and Half Moon Street in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. O'Kelly began to learn about horse racing and breeding from some of the visitors to Hayes' establishment. It was here, from one of Hayes' clients, that he heard about a stallion bred by the late

Duke of Cumberland Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British royal family, named after the historic county of Cumberland. History The Earldom of Cumberland, created in 1525, became extinct in 1643. The dukedom w ...

, named

, of whom he purchased a 1/8th share.

Eclipse

In 1769, his first season as a racehorse, the five-year-old Eclipse had remained unbeaten in the nine races he contested. This inspired O'Kelly to buy the horse outright from his owner William Wildman for the sum of 1,100

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...

. In 1770, under O'Kelly's ownership, Eclipse remained unbeaten for another nine races and retired having won career prize money of £3,000. Eclipse then went to stud for a fee of 50 guineas, the highest stud fee in the country, where he sired 930 colts and fillies over 17 years. Amongst the best of them were Young Eclipse and Serjeant, who enhanced Eclipse's stud reputation by winning early renewals of the

under O'Kelly's ownership. O'Kelly had narrowly missed out on winning the very first Derby with another son of Eclipse, Boudrow. Success with horses brought O'Kelly wealth, but not social standing. The

Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree Racecourse, Aintree, Cheltenham Racecourse, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs Racecourse, Epsom ...

refused his membership, even after O'Kelly became a Captain and then Lieutenant-Colonel in the

Militia. Despite his social ascent, and obvious charisma, the evidence of his humble upbringing remained:

Death

O'Kelly died of

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of pain in a red, tender, hot, and Joint effusion, swollen joint, caused by the deposition of needle-like crystals of uric acid known as monosodium urate crysta ...

in 1787. He died "at about his sixty-seventh year of age", which would cast doubt on the accuracy of his birth date. His

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

stated that all his racehorses should be sold off and that his brother Philip and nephew Andrew should forfeit £500 of their inheritance if they retained any involvement in racehorses. It is said he was:

References

Bibliography

*Linnane, Fergus (2003). ''London, the Wicked City''. Robson Books. * Rubenhold, Hallie (2005) ''The Covent Garden Ladies''. Stroud: Tempus *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:OKelly, Dennis 1725 births 1787 deaths Owners of Epsom Derby winners