Doyle, Patrick
June 26, 2010Popular bookmaker and successful sportsman in his youth
Sporting Limerick is mourning the sad loss of a noted sportsman and gentleman bookmaker who was a popular character at race meetings across the country.
Pat Doyle inherited his love of horses from his father Michael who was a horse dealer in Garryowen. The eldest son of Michael and Bridget (nee Shanny from Park), Pat grew up his brother Michael, and sisters, Carmel and Maura, in one of the houses that were known by the family name, Doyle's Cottages, in the shadow of St John's Cathedral.
He attended St John's infants School and was taught by the Christian Brothers in primary and secondary school on Sexton Street.
He got his first taste of bookmaking and writing dockets behind the counter of Malachy Skelly's in 1956 when he was 16, and it was the same year that he won a Munster Colleges Senior Football medal with CBS.
He displayed exceptional talents in Hurling and football, capturing CBS to victory in Munster Colleges Junior Football winning the Frewen Cup in 1957 and 1958, and was beaten by St Flannans in the Harty Cup when he played with CBS the same year.
In an epic clash against Tipperary, who were going for their fifth All-Ireland title in a row, Pat scored three goals, securing victory for the Limerick minor hurling team in 1958. He also won the Limerick County Senior Football Championship with Old Christians, the year the club was founded in 1962.
Pat was happily married to Margaret for over 30 years and adored his two daughters, Barbara and Davina.
He was best known as a popular bookmaker who will be fondly remembered for his sense of style and his expression, win, lose or draw: " on to the next one".
Pat's cries "take it away" and "you're mad" will never be heard again. A quiet gentleman, he never sought the limelight but he stood out at race meetings in his snazzy clothes which he bought at Leonard's on O'Connell Street.
His brother Michael smiled as he described Pat, who always wore a hat, as a "flash dresser".
In later life, Pat became a golf enthusiast and was known for having "a variable handicap" depending on the weather.
"I don't think anyone knew his handicap," Michael said.
In his eulogy at the funeral mass in St John's cathedral last week, George Byrnes said Pat's "generosity of spirit, his immediate offer of help in any situation, was legendary, and will be remembered, forever, by very many people".
In the race of life, Pat was always the favourite among his many friends and acquaintances who describe him as a gentleman who never had a bad word to say about anyone and who treated everyone the same.
Courtesy of the Limerick Leader 26/6/10 Tweet
