Dr Austin Darragh - a man for all seasons

OBITUARY

Michael Slavin

Be it in practical medicine, deep science or equestrian sport, the man we lovingly called The Doc was a progressive presence, who saw problems only as incentives for solutions.

Whether it was as founding president of the Irish Cancer Society, research professor of enviornmmental science at the University of Limerick, author of the seminal ecological work The Facts of Light, or master of hounds with the Meaths or the Ballymacads, Dr Austin Darragh was daringly innovative and a leader whose legacy will last.

All this was evidenced in the overflow crowd that attended his burial at Rathfeigh Church, near his home in Tara, on Wednesday of last week. The respect in which he was held in his adopted county was mirrored by John Donohoe’s full-page obituary in The Meath Chronicle, which began by stating that Dr Austin “had faced many challenges over his 88 years, but he used them as stepping stones to something new”.

Big in thought and mind, Austin was a generous friend who was always willing to open a door to a need. His advice was sound and he gave it in a way that never appeared as a diktat. Local people would simply say “he was always there for us”.

The presence at his funeral of personalities like Capt Con Power, James Kernan and Col Billy Ringrose, recalled his many connections with the horse sport and his contribution to various equestrian committees during his lifetime.

Austin now rests beside his first wife, Terry, who died in 1992, and his international show jumping son, Paul, who passed away in 2005.

He is survived by his wife, Anna, his daughters, Marise, Ed and Ruth, his son, David, and sister, Justine. To all, we extend our condolences and shared respect for The Doc.