John McCarthy, noted breeder of Irish Draught Horses, died on Jan. 7 in County Cork, Ireland.

Mr. McCarthy’s roots were firmly established in Twogneeves, Drimoleague, County Cork. His family was involved with Irish Draught stallions for many generations, much before they were registered in 1907. Mr. McCarthy’s grandfather, Danny McCarthy, stood two famous stallions, The Conqueror and Brian Boru, at the beginning of the 20th century.

Mr. McCarthy remained a loyal supporter of Irish Draught Horses during the 1960s, when the breed went into decline due to the introduction of the Fordson Major tractor. Many high-quality Irish Draughts were sent to slaughter, but Mr. McCarthy continued working his own through the 1970s.

In 1973, Mr. McCarthy became interested in breeding and purchased Ben Purple; he later owned other stallions including Flagmount Boy, The Conqueror (named after his grandfather’s stallion), Mountain View, Ben Gold, Red Hackle, Mountain Pearl, Glenlara and Welcome Diamond.

With Mary Quinlan, Mr. McCarthy formed a society to preserve the Irish Draught Horse, which he feared was being lost due to the recurrent crossbreeding with the Thoroughbred. He acted as treasurer of the society and worked tirelessly to educate people about the breed and to form other branches throughout the country.

Mr. McCarthy remained supportive of the Irish Draught his entire life. He once said, “They are our native breed, the foundation and backbone of our show jumpers and eventers, which are renowned the world over. Our horses are something we can always be proud of.”