A LOVE AFAIR WITH OUR SPORT FOR NOREEN AND FAMILY
Ian Fortune
A wonderful email landed yesterday afternoon, highlighting the joy and love that greyhounds can bring to a family, while also showing the journey they can bring you on.
Those that frequent Limerick stadium are, no doubt, familiar with Noreen Cremin in the racing office but many may not know that her time in the sport only began relatively recently.
Below is the story of how she, and her family, got involved, the joy her dogs have brought to her, her husband and children, while there is also a tale of an Irish sporting success close to home.
THE START OF THE JOURNEY
Noreen takes up the story,
“We as a family, my husband Ger and daughter Lily Ann (13) and son Leroy (10) only got into greyhounds during covid as a pastime when there was nothing else to do really.”
As far as this scribe is concerned, that’s a great start to this tale. She went on, “We had no experience and started from scratch but we totally fell in love with the Sport. We started off with one dog and now have 3 racing.
“They are a great addiction. We absolutely love the dogs and I got the job here, in the racing office some 18 months ago. I love after it and am so glad I applied for it. Of course, I had no choice given the pressure the other three put on me to apply.”
BRANDY GETS THE BALL ROLLING
And so, to the canine stars of this story,
“Our first dog was Millrose Brandy. As you can guess, his pet name is Brandy. We bought him for €600. On Saturday night, at Galway, he will be running his 100th race. He has won 19 times for us and is the king of the kennel and will have a forever home in our sitting room.
“He has brought so much joy to us as a family. He has been in the top three on 60 occasions in his 99 races. We also have two other dogs running, Callura Flyer (Bobby) and Copperjack Boy (Sydney). And, as you can guess, we adore both as well.
“They run at Limerick and Galway and also the odd occasion in Tralee as we live in Newcastlewest which is very central to all tracks. Lily Ann and Leroy are so dedicated and interested in them, out every morning before school and first thing again when they arrive home.”
A FAMILY AFFAIR
From a human point of view, it’s a great tale.
A family looking for something to keep them interested, get them out in the fresh air and bring them even closer together. It certainly ticks all those boxes. To hear that both Leroy and Lily Ann also love the dogs, bringing them out each day and love going to the track is the cherry on top.
But what Noreen failed to mention is that they are clearly, as a family, talented with the dogs. Yes, Millrose Brandy has a fine record but she failed to mention that he has won races in all grades including at top level. In fact, the son of Ballymac Matt has a 28.56 success on his card around Limerick.
BRANDY NOT THE ONLY ATHLETE IN THE HOUSE
But he is not the only talented athlete in the family.
Noreen again take up the story, “My husband Ger is an athlete that was running in the European masters athletics championships for Ireland in Pescara in Italy last week and came home with 2 Gold medals from the Mens 4 x400metres and the mixed 4 x400metres as well.
“He also won a silver medal in his event the 110metre hurdles which he holds the Irish masters record in. He was competing in the men’s 45year age category. It was a very exciting week of sport in our house.”
Pic above: Ger Cremin on the podium with his hurdles medal
GOOD LUCK TO BRANDY AS HE SEEKS WIN NUMBER 20
Indeed, it is a hugely exciting week for Noreen, Ger, Lily Ann and Leroy.
All we can say is congratulations Ger and the very best of luck to all of them especially Millrose Brandy, who will attempt to claim win number 20 at Galway on Saturday night in what is his 100th race. Keep up the good work folks