lit a candle 4h agoMy dad breeds a few horses out here and he saw the Yeomanstown Stud announcement before I did. He just said, that's a big loss for them, and went quiet.
Their story
Annette O'Callaghan (nee Lombard), matriarch of Yeomanstown Stud in Caragh, County Kildare, died peacefully at home on 16 September 2026 surrounded by family. She was 72. Alongside her husband Gay, she had purchased the historic County Kildare farm in 1981 and helped build it into one of Ireland's leading independent…
Annette O'Callaghan (nee Lombard), matriarch of Yeomanstown Stud in Caragh, County Kildare, died peacefully at home on 16 September 2026 surrounded by family. She was 72. Alongside her husband Gay, she had purchased the historic County Kildare farm in 1981 and helped build it into one of Ireland's leading independent thoroughbred breeding and stallion operations.
The couple moved from Cork to Yeomanstown and developed a modern powerhouse whose graduates include the great stayer Vinnie Roe, dual Nunthorpe heroine Mecca's Angel, Definite Article, Garswood, Pipalong and Flanders. No horse flew the family flag quite like Dark Angel, bred at the stud, later returned as a stallion, and crowned champion sire of Britain and Ireland in 2024. Family friend Luke Barry of Manister House Stud said her greatest legacy was her four sons: David and Robert, driving forces behind Yeomanstown; Guy of Grangemore Stud; and Peter, owner of Woods Edge Farm in Kentucky. "She was their rock," Barry said.
O'Callaghan was a successful racehorse breeder and owner in familiar light blue and navy silks, and a long-serving governor on the board of the Irish European Breeders Fund for the last ten years of her life. Irish EBF manager Nessa Joyce praised her passion, humour and integrity. She was also deeply involved in sport horses, from pony club through to five-star eventing. Her horse Electric Cruise competed at the London Olympics in 2012 with Joseph Murphy, and in the days before her death her horse Calmaro posted a clear round at Burghley Horse Trials under Murphy. She was a strong supporter of Riding for the Disabled.
Bloodstock agent Anthony Stroud remembered her enthusiasm and positivity from the early Common Grounds days through Dark Angel's rise, and said she was always present at the sales. She is survived by Gay; sons Peter, David, Guy and Robert; daughters-in-law Rolline, Serena, Jenny and Sarah; and grandchildren William, Eva, Walter, Austin, Arthur, Johnny, Rafe, Eloise, James and Isabelle. She reposed at Yeomanstown, with Mass at the Church of Our Lady and St Joseph, Caragh, and burial in Caragh Cemetery. Donations were directed to the Irish Cancer Society.
Biography adapted from Racing Post; Thoroughbred Daily News; rip.ie death notice; Kfm Radio; Irish EBF tribute.
In their own words
“That's her real legacy - those four boys are a credit to Gay and Annette. She was their rock.”
Luke Barry, Manister House Stud, September 2026
“Annette's good humour, energy and insight will be sadly missed by us all in the boardroom, at the sales and at the races.”
Nessa Joyce, Irish EBF manager
“She was always so enthusiastic and just an extremely positive person who was right behind Gay and everything that he did in this industry.”
Anthony Stroud, bloodstock agent
Photos
3Annette O'Callaghan with a Tattersalls yearling sale catalogue
by People Forever
Gay and Annette O'Callaghan
by People Forever
Dark Angel, Yeomanstown Stud champion sire closely tied to the O'Callaghan family
by People Forever
She was, my brother worked alongside her on a bill years back.