BALLYGILL Stud is located just 4km outside Ballinasloe, on the Roscommon-Galway border. My late father Martin purchased the land in 1987 and built the stud farm up from there, while working as the Manufacturing and Engineering Manager in Square D in Ballinasloe.

Dad always had a lifelong interest in all types of horses, from Irish Draughts, Connemara ponies, sport horses and thoroughbreds, while also keeping suckler beef cows and sheep.

I took over the farm following dad’s passing two years ago and, with the help of my uncle Benny, our mom, Pauline, my two sisters Carina and Denise and cousin Krystle, we are trying to keep the tradition of breeding quality horses going.

Currently, we are breeding 10 Irish Draught mares, three thoroughbreds and one Connemara pony, as well as keeping a herd of beef cattle.

1. Your late father bred Castlegar Rock, approved as a Class 1 stallion at Cavan this year. A poignant result for the family?

Dad would have been very proud of breeding a Class 1 stallion. We bred Castlegar Rock out of a Welcome Flagmount mare, Mossfort Star. He was sold as a foal to Tom Burke in Galway, who we’ve had several dealings with and who has been very supportive of Carrickrock Close Shave over the years.

He was a lovely, smart foal with a great temperament and Tom has done a fantastic job in producing him and having him passed as a Class 1 stallion.

2. Martin also stood Castlegar Rock’s sire, Carrickrock Close Shave. Tell us more about him?

Carrickrock Close Shave was bred by Viona Wilson in County Tyrone. His name Close Shave came about as they had a close shave with him at birth but, thankfully for us, he lived to fight another day.

Dad bought him in 2003 as a two-year-old with a view to getting him passed as a stallion. The reason he decided to get a stallion was he was working full-time and that particular year, he had made 36 trips to various stallions with mares for coverings and crossings.

Carrickrock is 23 now and still going strong. He is only covering our own mares now and some existing local customers. He is a real traditional type Irish Draught with great bone and feather, has a great jump and has an absolutely dream temperament.

He has been really lucky for us and we’ve sent offspring of his all over the UK, Europe and America.

Another Day Out At Ballybrit: Martin with a young Carrickrock Close Shave at the IDHS National Show held at Galway Racecourse \ Donnellan family

3. Another of Carrickrock Close Shave’s offspring was Oscar, also bred by Martin, who featured in the Garda Síochána viral “Jerusalema’ video?

We were absolutely thrilled to see Oscar star in the viral video and again on the Late Late Show a few weeks later. We have seen Oscar many times since, performing his duties at such events as the Ploughing Championships and October Horse Fair in Ballinasloe.

Unfortunately, dad never made it up to visit the Mounted Unit in the Phoenix Park, but the Gardaí are super and Brendan Duffy, who came into the yard several times, is another gentleman. They’ve been enquiring about the next Oscar, as they love the temperament of the Carrickrocks, so we are going to hold one or two of the next generation to see if they will suit their needs.

4. As well as Irish Draughts, your father also bred thoroughbreds?

Yes, lots of trips down to Rathbarry to Presenting! He was a great stallion and very lucky for us.

We are currently breeding three Presenting mares (full-sisters to Cheltenham winner Call The Cops) at the moment, which are in foal to Doncaster St Leger winner, Galileo Chrome, standing in Starfield Stud, Mullingar.

Hopefully, we will have some more trips to the winner’s enclosure.

5. The Nicky Henderson-trained Call The Cops Cheltenham win was a great day in Ballygill?

That was an exciting day in Ballygill alright. Unfortunately, dad was sick at the time and couldn’t travel over to see the race, but it gave him a great lift to see him coming up the Cheltenham hill. The other great achievement about this win was that dad also bred Call The Cops’ dam, a mare called Ballygill Heights, by Symboli Heights, who stood beside us in Newtown. She won twice and was placed twice for us. She was the first thoroughbred he bred from a race mare dad had bought from Benny.

6. And that also led to a special award that year for Martin from the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association (ITBA) western branch?

It was lovely to see dad get a special achievement award from the ITBA in 2015. It was nice to see all his efforts and investments get rewarded. He received his award at Galway Races, alongside Dr Waldron, Martin Cullinane and Thomas Kelly, who also bred Cheltenham winners Faugheen, Martello Tower and Sizing Granite that year. It was great to see such good horses being produced in the West of Ireland.

Award Winner: The late Martin Donnellan receiving his ITBA award for breeding 2015 Cheltenham winner Call The Cops from Sean Murphy (left) and Shane O’Dwyer (right) at Galway Races

7. Class 1 stallion, Oscar, a Cheltenham winner: could you second-guess which may have been your father’s proudest moment as a breeder?

That’s a hard one to call, as he has produced some good horses down through the years. But, if I had to guess, I would say Call The Cops, maybe. Just the excitement at the time and the lift it gave him was special.

8. Any of the family members still involved in horses?

Dad’s brother Benny still keeps horses and helps me a lot with mine. He has two mares in foal to Carrickrock Close Shave and some younger stock also. We are gearing up for the breeding season now, so a few busy months ahead.

9. Paris 2024 - any medal predictions?

It was great to see Ireland qualify for Paris 2024 at the World Championships in Denmark. It would be amazing to see the Galway-bred James Kann Cruz, bred by the Connolly family down near Tuam, make the team for the Olympics and maybe even improve on the team’s fourth place at those World Championships two years ago and bring home a medal.

10. So what next for the remainder of 2024?

I currently have three horses in prep for point-to-points and, hopefully, if they go okay, we will bring them to a horses in training sale and possibly see them on the racetrack shortly.

We also sold a nice relative of Call The Cops called Ski Lodge, who has gone to Alan King in England. He recently won at Chepstow, so we will be following his career with interest. He is a locally-bred horse by Gatewood, who was standing in Kiltormer with John Lynch.