FOR Des, it was never just “all creatures great and small”. It was also “all people, great and small”. It made no difference if you were a blue blood with a pedigree acreage to match, or whether you had neither. Everyone received his care in equal measure.

The Co Wexford native’s smile was like a lighthouse. It guided you to him and safety, the certain knowledge that not only were you in the hands of someone who cared, but in the hands of an expert. He was an expert horseman and expert equine clinician.