DRIVING through the town of Doneraile in North Cork, it would not be immediately obvious to passers-by that they are passing a location of immense historical value to the sports of National Hunt and point-to-point racing.

However, a group of enthusiastic locals are working hard to change that, and their efforts have been given the enthusiastic support of many of the region’s most well-known point-to-point handlers.

The first recorded steeplechase took place between Edmund Blake and Cornelius O’Callaghan in a match contest over a four-and-a-half-mile cross-country course, which took them over ditches, stone walls and hedges, along the banks of the Awbeg river, between the nearby Church steeple in Buttevant and St Mary’s Church in Doneraile.

That legendary match race in 1752 gave the sport its name, both under rules and in the pointing fields.

To commemorate the historic event, a 15-strong Doneraile Steeplechase committee has been formed, including racing enthusiasts from across several local community groups.

The Doneraile Steeplechase committee secretary is Mary Cronin, and she explains how the project came about.

“My husband Paddy would have been very involved in organising the re-enactment, which was held in 2012 to celebrate the 260th anniversary,” she said.

“He is a restricted trainer, who has been lucky enough to train winners under rules and in point-to-points, so he would have had racing in his blood, as it were. There were other members of the present committee, who were also very involved, and six or seven months ago they came together for this project.

Local involvement

“In Buttevant, there is a plaque on a wall in the town to mark the location of where it started, but in Doneraile, there isn’t anything to show that this is the spot where the race finished.

“It took us this long to pluck up the courage to take it on, because it is a big job and, if we are doing it, we would like it to look well and fit into the history of the area.”

Their end goal is to have a fitting monument built, featuring two almost life-sized horses with their riders jumping a fence on a limestone plinth. This monument will be erected on a roadside site close to the finish of that 1752 contest.

“We are extremely lucky that a perfect site is available to us,” Cronin explains. “The location is less than 100 yards from St Mary’s Church, where the first steeplechase finished and, interestingly, the address of the site is Horseclose, Doneraile.

“The site was owned by Con O’Keeffe, who was known as the king of the point-to-points in the era around the 1960s and 1970s, and the site is still owned by the O’Keeffe family, two of whom, Antony and Declan, are on our committee.”

With an architect employed and a pre-planning application submitted to Cork County Council, which has received a very favourable reply, the committee is now facing its biggest challenge: securing the required funding to allow the monument to be constructed.

“We are trying to decide on the materials that we are using. We know it will be a limestone plinth, but what the horses will be will depend on the fundraising, because there is a big difference in cost. Ideally, it would be bronze, but bronze is very expensive.

“We have written to over 90 point-to-point committees all over Ireland, and also to all the racecourses in Ireland and England, looking for financial support.

Funding required

“We plan to have a golf classic in Doneraile Golf Club next June, and we also hope that many of the horse trainers and jockeys will support us. If anyone would like to give a donation, however small, it will be gratefully received and, in recognition of a donation of €500 or more, your name will be inscribed on the plinth underneath the monument, whilst if we had a main sponsor, we would be delighted.”

Since that 1752 race, the town has remained closely linked with racing, producing many well-known trainers, jockeys and breeders, whilst it can also boast a connection with the world’s oldest classic race.

Anthony St Leger, a nephew of Arthur, the first Viscount Doneraile, devised a flat race in 1776 that set the pattern for classic racing throughout the modern world.

Subsequently, the race was named the St Leger Stakes, and the St Leger family previously occupied Doneraile Estate for a number of centuries, dating back to the 1630s.

Part of that former estate, which is now in the care of the OPW, will be close to that proposed monument site, emphasising its great historical links to so many different facets of racing.

“We are really looking forward to finishing it,” Cronin concludes. “Everyone on the committee is as passionate about it as I am, but if we could do it, it would be great.

“It would be anyone in Doneraile’s dream to have this put up; it is a massive undertaking, but if a big number of people gave a donation, we could get it over the line.”

A bank account has been set up to accept donations of all sizes, and the account details can be sourced by emailing jmcronin683@yahoo.ie.

OWNERS of horses that are eligible to run in an older maiden for the new spring term will be sure to have February 2nd circled in their calendar, as the Pigeon Hill and Carrigtwohill committee will this year introduce a very welcome bonus prize.

The concluding race at the Ballyvodock venue in Carrigtwohill, a six-year-old and upwards maiden, will carry a €1,500 bonus prize for the winning owner, which the committee is putting up. This will boost the prize pot that the winner will scoop to a notable €2,725.

The older maiden division is one area of point-to-pointing that has seen a worrying decline over the years, and individual point-to-point committees that take the initiative to support owners with horses in that particular division, have to be richly commended.

The Pigeon Hill and Carrigtwohill committee features a number of lifelong point-to-point supporters, with their secretary Tomas Ahern one such individual, having begun volunteering at the point-to-point at the age of 16, when helping to park cars.

Different times

“I am in my 60s now, but in the old days of point-to-pointing, I remember Terence O’Brien’s father used to train a good few point-to-pointers and, on a Sunday that he would have a runner, there could be five or six carloads of people from Carrigtwohill going along to watch it run,” he explained.

“That is gone out of it now, which is a pity, but hopefully, the bonus prize is a gesture from us to encourage an owner, who has an older horse in training. We just wanted to give that owner a bit of a boost.”

A 90-strong team of volunteers, led by committee chairman Johnny Collins of Brown Island Stables, will be working hard to ensure it is a day to remember, and the big crowds that will be expected will not miss any of the action at the Dublin Racing Festival, which takes place on the same afternoon. A large screen has been booked to ensure racegoers will not miss out on any of the action at either venue.

Leopardstown plan

“We often clash with Leopardstown, which is a big drawback,” Ahern added.

“We had a large screen on the day last year and it was a big plus, as we had a great crowd.

“We also put down 8x4 mats in the car park, so there is no problem with parking. Nowadays a lot of people can be afraid to drive their nice cars into a field at this time of year, and the mats have worked very well.” Entries for the race will close on Tuesday, January 28th.