In the picturesque village of Killeigh, Co Offaly, Ireland there is a monument to the greyhound ‘Mick the Miller’. Regarded as one of the most famous greyhounds of all time he was born in Killeigh in 1926. Though his racing career lasted only three years his extraordinary achievements attracted widespread publicity.
‘Mick the Miller’ had his initial racing successes at Shelbourne Park in Dublin and at Celtic Park in Belfast before moving to race in England in 1929. At White City track in London he became the first greyhound in history to race 525 yards (480m) in under 30 seconds. ‘Mick the Miller’ went on to win nineteen races in a row including the English Greyhound Derby on two successive occasions in 1929 and 1930. He was retired to stud in 1931. He made various public appearances and appeared in the film ‘The Wild Boy’ in 1934.
‘Mick the Miller’ was a direct descendant of another famous greyhound called Master McGrath (1866-1873). There are monuments to Master McGrath near Dungarvan in Co Waterford where he was born and in Lurgan Co Armagh where his owner Baron Lurgan lived. The monument to Mick the Miller by the artist Liz O’Kane was unveiled by Taoiseach Brian Cowan on January 9th 2011.
The greyhound ‘Mick the Miller’ died at the age of 12 in the year 1932 On This Day.
Killeigh, Co. Offaly