Champion Irish Greyhound 1926-1939
Killeigh, County Offaly
Bronze
Unique
98 x 108 x 34 cm
2010
Commissioned by Mick the Miller Commemoration Committee in Killeigh, County Offaly.
Unveiled by An Taoiseach, Mr. Brian Cowan, on 29 January 2011.
Mick the Miller was the first star of greyhound racing. He was born in the village of Killeigh, County Offaly, Ireland, on 29th June 1926. Mick was bred by the parish curate, Fr. Martin Brophy, and later sold on to English owners. He won 51 of 68 races in Ireland and the UK, including the Greyhound St Leger, the Cesarewitch, the Welsh Greyhound Derby, and was twice winner of the English Greyhound Derby, in 1929 and 1930 (the first dog to do so and one of only four ever to achieve this feat).
When he was retired from racing he spent eight years at stud and spent much time attending social events, often appearing as guest of honour at important races. He was in great demand with celebrities and royalty who were keen to have their photograph taken with him. In 1934 he starred in a film called Wild Boy, produced by Gainsborough Pictures, along with stars of the day, Sonnie Hale, Bud Flanagan and Chesney Allen.
When his puppy-making days were at an end he went to live with his old trainer Sidney Orton at Burhill Kennels in Hersham in Surrey. On the 5th of May 1939 Mick passed away, in the same kennel at Burhill that he lived in while he raced. His owners Phyllis and Arundel Kempton agreed to have Mick stuffed and displayed at the British Natural History Museum in South Kensington in London. Mick went on display there in July 1939; in 1995 he was moved to The British Natural Museum at Tring, Hertfordshire. The base of the sculpture is made from stone from the ruins of Millbrook House where Mick the Miller was born.
You can read more at www.mickthemiller.com.
You can find the village green in Killeigh on the map:
Latitude: 53.21415414653493 – Longitude: -7.452142238616943
or click here to use Google maps.
