Nicky Rackard - Early Life

Early Life

Nicky Rackard was born in Killanne, County Wexford in 1922. The eldest son in a family of five boys and four girls. His parents were Robert (Bob) Rackard and Anastasia Doran, who had been married in 1918. He was born into a family that was mildly interested in sport. His granduncle had played with the famous Wexford football team that captured four All-Ireland titles in-a-row between 1915 and 1918. Rackard’s father Bob had planned that his son would play cricket, however, young Rackard was much more interested in Gaelic games. He was educated locally and later attended St. Kierans College, Kilkenny, a virtual academy for young hurling talent. Rackard later attended University College Dublin where he studied to be a veterinary surgeon. In all, his studies took eight years to complete because of his huge commitment to his sporting exploits.

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