A Legend Passes
Tribute to John McCarthy

This morning we received word that our friend John McCarthy had passed away in County Cork , Ireland .   John was, in a word, legendary in the world of  the Irish Draught Horse.  Spurning the tractor, he continued to work with horses through the seventies continued the family stallion master tradition which began when his grandfather stood Brian Boru and The Conqueror around beginning of the 20^th century.  John bought the great Ben Purple in 1973, who was followed by many of the finest stallions the breed ever produced including Flagmount Boy, The Conqueror (named after his grandfather’s stallion), Mountain View , Ben Gold, Red Hackle, Mountain Pearl, Glenlara, and Welcome Diamond.  

Always fearing for future of the breed John McCarthy joined Mrs. Mary Quinlan as one of the founders of the Irish Draught Horse Society where he served as the first Treasurer.  He and his friend Billy Cotter traveled the country helping other counties to form branches.   He worked tirelessly to educate people about the breed ever since.

Our own Mountain Pearl owes his very RID status to this visionary man. John purchased him from a family member who had bred him while John owned Mountain View .   Inspectors advised John to not keep the young bay horse a stallion due to the amount of white markings he carried.  John refused to heed such nonsense and brought him forward for inspection and performance testing as a 4 year old where he passed with flying colors.   John was reunited with Mountain Pearl in September 2005 at the IDHSNA Central Region Inspection in Iowa, USA (pictured above).

“Our horses are something we can always be proud of” 
John McCarthy in Irish Draught Horse Society, 25 Years 

You were right, John, and much of the credit belongs to you.  We can only hope to be worthy to carry on the tradition.  Thank you, old friend.

                                                                                                            January 7, 2008