An interesting link to Carfin "dugs".
I used to work with a lady who was I think, connected to the Heffernan family in some way, certainly she knew them well and spoke of them often. She was brought up by her granny who lived in Glenburn Terrace, so perhaps they were friends of the family. She used to talk about one of the Heffernans, a son, being electrocuted at the track, I think it was on the last night - although it went through several "last nights" if I remember rightly.
My grandfather and his elder brother used to run dogs there, so many dogs, but they all had the same name - "Curran's Ramelton". Curran was their family name and Ramelton (or Rathmelton as it is sometimes) was the family home in County Donegal. My granda and uncle Pat knew everyone at Carfin (lots of Irish of course) and many a weeks wages were lost there, and many a dog was fed a "plain loaf" soaked in stew gravy before a race, just to keep it from winning - putting up the odds for the next race it was entered in, when of course it would win!
I can still hear my auntie Sarah when she discovered that they had fed her freshly-made broth or stew to the dog as soon as her back was turned. Happy days!
