Widespread sadness at death of popular racing journalist Dave Cronin
One of the sport’s leading tipsters, Dave previously worked on theracing desk of the Irish Examiner. He was 51 and married with two teenage children.
Why was he so popular within the industry and amongst his work colleagues? A marvellously droll sense of humour for one, he was good company at the racetrack or in the newsroom, however tight to deadline it became. Working on racecards and tips for an evening newspaper is a fraught business at the best of times, but Dave’spatience never waned — nor did the quality of his work.
Evening Echo sports editor John McHale described Dave as a remarkable man. “Dave was a great colleague and a peerless racing expert. His dedication to the racing pages in the Irish Examiner and Evening Echo went above and beyond the call of duty. His knowledge of his sport, both horse racing and greyhounds was quite amazing.
“He was an award-winning racing journalist and even up until his passing at the weekend he was picking winners in Curraheen Park and Mallow in Saturday’s Evening Echo. He was leading the racing journalists tipping competition in the Irish Field and he was quietly confident he could land this prize again.
“He made my job so much easier and he made our Friday ‘Starters Orders’ racing special a must for all racing fans. Our thoughts are with his wife Caroline and his children Alison and Paul at this sad time.”
Horse Racing Ireland CEO Brian Kavanagh said: “It was a great shock to hear of the sudden death of Dave at such a young age. He was a dedicated racing correspondent with a great knowledge of the game. Deepest sympathies to his family and friends at this difficult time.”
His long time colleague, Irish Examiner racing correspondent Pat Keane, said last night they had soldiered together for more than two decades.
“There were no set hours with him. His attitude was quite simple, if a job was worth doing, it was worth doing properly. To me he had two great loves in his life, his family and backing the odd winner. He adored his wife, Caroline, and two children, Alison and Paul. If you wanted to see Dave’s face light up then you only had to ask him a question about any of the three.”
Added Keane: “Dave was a good judge of horses, but an even better judge of greyhounds. He was hugely respected in both sports and when, in particular, he told you a dog would win, it invariably did. He was successful on two occasions in the Irish Field Saturday naps table. Sadly, he is the current leader and was well on his way to a third triumph.”
Former Cork greyhound track manager Noel Holland reflected the esteem in which Dave was held within greyhound racing circles. “I had the pleasure of working with Dave for almost 30 years during my time as racing manager at the old Western Road track and general manager at Curraheen Park and I can honestly say that I have known few people as committed to greyhound racing.
“Dave’s attention to detail was second to none and he studied form meticulously in order to make his selections. His manner was always warm and gentle, which is probably why he was so popular and held in such high regard by everyone associated with greyhound racing.”
Among his many attributes, Dave was an accomplished soccer player in his youth and was a member of the Coláiste An Spioraid Naoimh team that reached the All-Ireland schools senior soccer final in the late 70s.
