Entrepreneur and polo luminary Craig McKinney dies
THE former Woodchester Bank chairman and past president of the All Ireland Polo Club Craig McKinney has died.
Upon dissolving his business holdings, Craig McKinney played polo around the world
He lost his battle with cancer on 29th May, marking the end of a successful business career that included his Irish interests with Woodchester Bank, his chairmanship of Dublinia’s Medieval Trust and the co-founding of Polo Wicklow, the country’s first year-round polo arena.
A keen horseman, Craig McKinney also served as Master of the South County Dublin Hunt and upon dissolving his holdings in Dublin and Kildare, Ireland, invested in breeding and playing polo ponies in Argentina and the South of Spain. He is fondly remembered by the Irish polo community, particularly for his investment in the sport during the 1990s.
Craig McKinney was a frequent visitor at the All Ireland Polo Club and Polo Wicklow after dissolving his Irish business holdings
“We lost a good friend on Friday, 29th May,” said Polo Wicklow’s co-founder and proprietor Michael Herbst. “He recognised the adrenaline in polo to be similar to his business and his professional Argentine (polo) players helped to improve the standard of play in Ireland.”
Upon wrapping up his business enterprises in 1997, Craig McKinney turned his full attention to polo. He would return to Dublin’s All Ireland Polo Club and to Polo Wicklow and while at home in Spain and Argentina, hosted the friends he had made in the Irish polo community.
“One of the highlights of my career with Craig was on the Polo Wicklow team captained by Craig on the day, winning the international tournament in Berlin in the Olympic Stadium with some 20,000 spectators against Switzerland, Germany, England and France,” said Michael Herbst. “He will be much missed by all of us in the polo world for his sense of humour, dedication to polo and his generosity and loyalty to his many friends.”
