Michael O'Sullivan

Poor sod, that's a hard one for his relatives :-(

I know horse injuries and fatalities are tracked to some degree, does the same thing happen with jockeys?
 
A few words from the well known photographer and gentleman Pat Healy - life is fickle, appreciate it

"Tramore New Years Day 47 nights ago. Mikey steers Embassy Gardens home to win the feature event on the card for trainer Willie Mullins. I photograph him and his mount in a happy kinda celebration shot on the track before they head for the winners enclosure. “Well done Mikey boy, good on you kid” “Thanks Pat, I needed that” the relief washing over him. “Mikey, this game is about the long road, stay on the road” I tell him. “Don’t worry Pat when I get my chance I will turn it into a motorway” he says and a big hearty laugh out of him !!
 
Never was such a crowd seen at an event in these parts in my lifetime, yesterday or today.
The horse is Barr Na Sraide, one of Michael's last p2p rides in 2022.
HIs father William's eulogy is one for the ages; no regrets, a life lived as full and as well as any parent could wish a child to.
He remembered everyone who made Michael the man he became, wished everyone well from Ger O'Leary to Barry Connell .
Fr Liam Kelleher has the content on his Facebook page for anyone to read.
Michael's parents made his organs available for donation to give others a chance at a normal healthy life, becoming a registered organ donor and spreading the word could be the best tribute we can pay to Michael's memory.
Thanks to you all for your sympathy and good wishes and remember to enjoy the small things as they become big things as time passes us by.
 
edgt said:
Never was such a crowd seen at an event in these parts in my lifetime, yesterday or today.
The horse is Barr Na Sraide, one of Michael's last p2p rides in 2022.
HIs father William's eulogy is one for the ages; no regrets, a life lived as full and as well as any parent could wish a child to.
He remembered everyone who made Michael the man he became, wished everyone well from Ger O'Leary to Barry Connell .
Fr Liam Kelleher has the content on his Facebook page for anyone to read.
Michael's parents made his organs available for donation to give others a chance at a normal healthy life, becoming a registered organ donor and spreading the word could be the best tribute we can pay to Michael's memory.
Thanks to you all for your sympathy and good wishes and remember to enjoy the small things as they become big things as time passes us by.
Click to expand...
Well said Eddie -as I've said before I blacked out at the wheel of my car in June 2023 with my 13 year Old son as a front seat passenger.Incredibly the two of us lived to tell the tale -even though I had to have brain surgery twice that summer.I absolutely hero worship my now 14 year Old son and I'm incredibly grateful for every minute I spend with him.
Enjoy the small things -never a truer word said.
 

Courtesy of Racing Post:​

​

'Michael made a lasting impression on everyone and won the hearts of the Irish people - everyone loved him'​

The funeral procession leaves St. John the Baptist Church

The funeral procession leaves St. John the Baptist ChurchCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)
United in grief, united in pride, united in idolising a one-off who "packed more into his 24 years than anyone else would in two lifetimes".

Just after noon on Wednesday, in the quaint village of Glantane in County Cork, the heavens opened outside the St. John the Baptist Church, and Parish Priest Father Gerard Coleman announced that the funeral mass would be live-streamed in the nearby community centre for anybody outside who wanted to take cover. Nobody moved.

Instead, those with umbrellas offered shelter to those who didn't and we all huddled together to cherish the life of somebody our sport was so lucky to have.

Michael O'Sullivan was the jockey you wanted to ride your horse; he was the guy you wanted to be stuck beside on a bus; he was the chap you wanted your daughter to marry; he was the gentleman you wished you could be; he was the perfect son of Bernie and William.

Somehow, only God knows how, William found the strength to speak about that perfect son at the start of the service. It's no wonder Michael turned out the way he did. He came from the best possible stock. Heartbroken, yes, but that same heart is bulging with blissful memories of the last 24 years and we got to hear about some of them during a tear-jerking ten minutes that afforded us a gorgeous insight into Michael the man as well as Michael the jockey.

We heard about him being caught reading the Racing Post during lectures at UCD (University College Dublin), but he mustn't have been reading any articles of mine because he still managed to get a degree in Agricultural Science. A proud day for all the family.

The degree was got, but it wouldn't be needed for a while.

The hearse passes members of the Duhallow Pony Club heading towards St. John the Baptist Church

The hearse passes members of the Duhallow Pony Club heading towards St. John the Baptist ChurchCredit: Patrick McCann
William explained why: "Michael was fixed on being a jockey from a young age. Many a night I came home to find Michael and Alan [brother] riding the couch, watching the videos of my point-to-point rides and, particularly, the Foxhunter at Cheltenham.

"He pursued opportunities in France and England and had success in both. He spoke fluent French in interviews – which delighted his mother!"

Delving deeper into how he managed to achieve so much in such a short space of time, William continued: "Michael wanted to be the very best and take every opportunity. He travelled the length and the breadth of the country for a full book of rides. This ultimately cost him his job in the glare of the public. It was hugely disappointing, but he walked away on good terms and we wish Marine Nationale and his team all the very best because that horse means so much to Michael."

Funny, that Supreme success on Marine Nationale immediately sprang to mind on my way up to the service. It is a fair climb from the village to the church and two women in front of me joked about how they wouldn't be suited to Cheltenham as they were struggling with the undulations and would be "better on a flatter track, Mary".

Michael was magnificent on that Cheltenham hill, taking a pull when others would have panicked on Marine Nationale, allowing Facile Vega an extra length of leeway before taking aim and nailing him halfway up the run-in. It was pure poetry. Everything rhymed. That will be our abiding memory of him on the track. What a glorious gift we have been given.

There was a lovely touch from William when he spared a few words for Gerard O'Leary, the trainer of Wee Charlie, Michael's final ride.

"Michael started 2025 on a high," William said. "A double at Tramore. He was delighted – a new year and a new start – but I would also like to mention another trainer, Ger O’Leary. Michael loved riding for you. He had great success with you. It gives us comfort that his last thought would have determination, anticipation and excitement. We wish you and your team well."

Beautifully put.

William thanked everybody for their support and forgot nobody.

"Behind every good man, there is a good woman and Michael had Charlotte [Giles] alongside him for the last number of years. A good match, we are grateful for the love they shared and the fun they had. You will always be dear to us, Charlotte."

Later in the service, Charlotte read out a poem that encapsulated everything about them. I can't fit in every line, I wish I could, but this one was my favourite: "A man of grit, of courage and grace, whose smile could light up the darkest space."

And, there he is, under those perfect words on the mass booklet, illuminated in yellow on his way back into the winner's enclosure on Marine Nationale.

The congregation follows the procession leaving St. John the Baptist Church

The congregation follows the procession leaving St. John the Baptist ChurchCredit: Patrick McCann
The gifts that were brought up to the altar made us all chuckle, particularly the sunglasses which represented the good times Michael loved to have. Boy, did he love the high life, by all accounts. There were his car keys, given how much time he spent in it driving up and down to meetings. A whip from agent Ken Whelan, his UCD parchment, a Kilshannig GAA jersey, and his grandad's silks.

Father Gerard added some lovely words of his own, saying: "Michael had tremendous understanding. He understood his horses and that is why he was such a great rider, but he also understood people and that is why he made a lasting impression on everyone and won the hearts of the Irish people. Everyone loved him.

"He was an incredibly talented and dedicated sportsman who will never be forgotten."

It was a beautiful ceremony. Ireland does a lot of things wrong, but we do funerals right, and all manner of racing people from Ireland and Britain were among the congregation, as was the Taoiseach's aide-de-camp, Commandant Claire Mortimer. As Father Gerard added: "When tragedy descends on a community, it brings out the best in people."

Michael O'Sullivan always brought out the best in everybody and, as his coffin was carried out with the Kilshannig colours draped across it, it was hard to fathom how somebody so young, somebody with so much to give, could be cruelly taken from us so early. It makes no sense, but his dad told us what he would have wanted.

"Michael was much loved and will be missed," he said. "We are broken-hearted but we will now focus on what Michael would have wanted – he would want us to mend over time, to support Alan and find joy in his achievements. He would want us to find joy in the achievements of his cousins and friends and his many weighing-room colleagues. May you all stay safe. Michael will forever be in our hearts and minds. Thank you."

No, thank you, William. Thank you and Bernie for producing a son for the sport to be proud of. Somebody we adored.

Farewell, Michael. By God we'll miss you.
David JenningsDeputy Ireland editor
Published on 19 February 2025inIreland
 
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