NEIL Durkan is a property developer who builds mainly in the Dublin region, he has been involved in the construction industry for most of his life. After leaving school he spent a short period in Lisney before starting work with his father’s company The Durkan Group.

In early 1990 Neil spent time in the US working with his father’s company in upstate New York before transferring to London in 1992. Neil returned to Ireland in 1994. Since this date, Neil has been developing and building new homes in the greater Dublin area. Neil has managed to use his overseas experience in the running of the firm, and they pride themselves on quality.

Supporting racing

The Durkan Group are very well known for supporting the horse racing industry through sponsorship at various tracks down through the years and the family has a long-established relationship with horses for over 40 years both training and owning racehorses. Neil’s father Bill has held a trainer’s licence for over 40 years and still trains privately. Neil acts as an assistant trainer for his father where the main focus is on pre-training their horses.

Neil is no stranger to the racetrack, he held an amateur licence for over 10 years. He rode for the family mainly in point-to-points and he was fortunate enough to ride on the track a few times as an amateur in a couple of hunter chases.

Raising awareness

Speaking of why he is taking part in The Corinthian Challenge Charity Race Series Neil said: “Quite often you see amateur jockeys getting up on young inexperienced horses and their opportunity is to take that ride in the hope that they are successful and if they are successful they will get the next opportunity but often those guys pick up injuries and it’s very sad as it can really set them back. Now I’m retired from riding and I’m at the other end of the scale as an owner, trainer and a father of three. We often call looking for a guy to come in and ride for us and we find that he’s broke up and you feel for these guys as it’s a side of the business that no one really puts a profile on. Irish Injured Jockeys has given me the opportunity to raise awareness and hopefully, we will be able to raise funds and support those jockeys who need support at times when they might not have the ability to ride for whatever reason, there can be many reasons.”

To support Neil in his quest to raise funds for Irish Injured Jockeys, go to everydayhero.com and search for ‘Neil Durkan’.

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