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Paul Murphy TD has asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform to “take action to keep hunters away from national monument sites”.
In a 29 March 2023 Dail Question, Deputy Murphy (People Before Profit-Solidarity, Dublin South-West) asked the Minister “if he will investigate an incident involving members of a fox hunt at Hore Abbey, a national monument managed by the national monuments service division of his Department, if this constituted trespass and if any damage was caused to the site”
As previously reported by ICABS, among the foxes terrorised during a Tipperary Foxhounds hunt in February was one who was “marked under the ruins of Hore Abbey.” In foxhunting terminology, “marked” refers to the point when the pack of hounds chase the fox into an earth or drain and this is typically followed by the arrival of the hunt’s terriermen to cruelly catch and kill the fox.
According to a sickening report in the Irish Field (23 February 2023), this fox “crossed the link road into O’Keeffe’s of Hore Abbey where there was some serious jumping...They ran right for the town where the field, under pressure, jumped a good stiff wall onto the road just down from the mart...hounds ran right around the town on the Golden side before again going back into Hore Abbey. Like all good things, it had to come to an end and hounds marked under the ruins of Hore Abbey.” https://www.theirishfield.ie/hunting-magic-day-ends-on-a-high-750712
Responding to Deputy Murphy's Dail Question, the Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, Patrick O'Donovan stated: “The Office of Public Works did not receive any request for permission to access Hore Abbey for this event and indeed was not aware of such an occurrence until it was raised by the Deputy. A site inspection has been undertaken in recent days and I can confirm that there was no damage to the National Monument arising from this reported incident. The OPW is not in a position to advise whether this constitutes trespass given the openness of the site, but is seeking advice in this regard.”
“The OPW requires that permission be sought for all events taking place at any National Monument site,” he added. “In deciding whether to allow use of the property, the OPW has regard to the nature of the event, its appropriateness in terms of form and content and its potential impact on both the image and historic fabric of the National Monument.”
The 18 February 2023 Tipperary Foxhounds hunt, which started out from a car park next to the Rock of Cashel, saw foxes being targeted by a pack of 29 dogs.
The Irish Field report provided a reminder of the Tipperary Hunt's obscene persecution of wildlife - the pack of dogs “found [a fox] and crossed the Ardmayle road into the old racecourse” and chased the unfortunate animal across fields.
Later, the hunt “went on to draw a plantation just off the Dundrum road and hounds opened almost straight away”. A fox “broke for the country running towards Cashel before crossing the road into Brittas House Stud”. Hounds were seen “streaming across the parkland” in pursuit of the fox.
The Irish Field also revealed that staff from the local Cashel Palace Hotel shamefully gave drinks to the hunters before they set off to terrorise wildlife - “Cashel Palace staff were on hand to distribute restorative drinks and other good things to sustain the riders for what lay ahead”. The hotel hosted the Tipperary Foxhounds hunt ball later that evening and disgracefully donated a “night for 2 at the Cashel Palace Hotel” to the hunt's fundraising auction. Other lots in the auction included a signed race card donated by rider Rachael Blackmore, “a day’s hunting for 2 with the Ward Union hunt” and “a day’s hunting for 2 with the Limerick Foxhounds”.
The Tipperary Foxhounds is affiliated to the Irish Masters of Foxhounds Association and targets foxes twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Shame on the Irish Government for disregarding the wishes of the majority and allowing this cruel bloodsport to continue.
A RED C opinion poll, commissioned by the Irish Council Against Blood Sports, found that a 77% majority agree that the Irish Government should BAN FOX HUNTING, with just 12% disagreeing with a ban. A majority in both rural and urban areas are in favour of a ban. Please respond to our action alert below and join calls for a long overdue ban.
ACTION ALERT
Boycott the Cashel Palace Hotel and any business that supports fox hunting.
Contact the leaders of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, the Green Party, Sinn Fein and Labour to demand a ban on fox hunting, hare coursing and all bloodsports.
Micheál Martin
Leader, Fianna Fail
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Phone: +353 (0)1–618 4350 or +353 (0)21-432 0088
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD
Leo Varadkar
Leader, Fine Gael
Telephone: +353 (0)1-704 3630 OR +353 (0)1-640 3133
Email: leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@LeoVaradkar
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeoVaradkar
Eamon Ryan
Leader, Green Party
Tel: 01 618 3894
Email: eamon.ryan@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EamonRyanGP/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EamonRyan
Mary Lou McDonald TD
Leader, Sinn Fein
Tel: (01) 727 7102
Email: marylou.mcdonald@oireachtas.ie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaryLouMcDonald
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MaryLouMcDonaldTD
Ivana Bacik TD
Leader, The Labour Party
Tel: (01) 6183136
Email: ivana.bacik@oireachtas.ie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ivanabacik
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bacikivana/
Contact Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Green Party, Sinn Fein and Labour Party TDs and tell them to back a ban.
Email Fianna Fail TDs
micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; john.mcguinness@oireachtas.ie; niamh.smyth@oireachtas.ie; brendan.smith@oireachtas.ie; aindrias.moynihan@oireachtas.ie; michael.moynihan.td@oireachtas.ie; Charlie.McConalogue@oireachtas.ie; michael.mcgrath@oireachtas.ie; sean.haughey@oireachtas.ie; jim.ocallaghan@oireachtas.ie; darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie; jack@jackchambers.ie; anne.rabbitte@oireachtas.ie; eamon.ocuiv@oireachtas.ie; james.lawless@oireachtas.ie; sean.ofearghail@oireachtas.ie; sean.fleming@oireachtas.ie; barry.cowen@oireachtas.ie; willie.odea@oireachtas.ie; niall.collins@oireachtas.ie; Robert.Troy@oireachtas.ie; dara.calleary@oireachtas.ie; thomas.byrne@oireachtas.ie; marc.macsharry@oireachtas.ie; jackie.cahill@oireachtas.ie; mary.butler@oireachtas.ie; james.browne@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.murnaneoconnor@oireachtas.ie; cathal.crowe@oireachtas.ie; james.oconnor@oireachtas.ie; padraig.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; christopher.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; paul.mcauliffe@oireachtas.ie; john.lahart@oireachtas.ie; cormac@cormacdevlin.ie; normafoley1@eircom.net; joe.flaherty@oireachtas.ie; Stephen.Donnelly@oireachtas.ie
Email Fine Gael TDs
leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; JohnPaul.Phelan@oireachtas.ie; Heather.Humphreys@oireachtas.ie; joe.carey@oireachtas.ie; david.stanton@oir.ie; colm.burke@oireachtas.ie; michael.creed@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Coveney@oireachtas.ie; joe.mchugh@oireachtas.ie; richard.bruton@oireachtas.ie; Paschal.Donohoe@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Farrell@oireachtas.ie; emer.higgins@oireachtas.ie; neale.richmond@oireachtas.ie; josepha.madigan@oireachtas.ie; colm.brophy@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.carrollmacneill@oireachtas.ie; Ciaran.Cannon@oireachtas.ie; hildegarde.naughton@oireachtas.ie; Brendan.Griffin@oireachtas.ie; bernard.durkan@oireachtas.ie; Martin.Heydon@oireachtas.ie; charles.flanagan@oireachtas.ie; kieran.odonnell@oireachtas.ie; Patrick.O’Donovan@oireachtas.ie; peter.burke@oireachtas.ie; fergus.odowd@oireachtas.ie; alan.dillon@oireachtas.ie; michael.ring@oireachtas.ie; helen.mcentee@oireachtas.ie; damien.english@oireachtas.ie; frank.feighan@oireachtas.ie; paul.kehoe@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Harris@oireachtas.ie
Email Green Party TDs
Eamon.Ryan@greenparty.ie; catherine.martin@oireachtas.ie; patrick.costello@oireachtas.ie; francisnoel.duffy@oireachtas.ie; neasa.hourigan@oireachtas.ie; brian.leddin@oireachtas.ie; steven.matthews@oireachtas.ie; malcolm.noonan@oireachtas.ie; joe.obrien@oireachtas.ie; marc.ocathasaigh@oireachtas.ie; roderic.ogorman@oireachtas.ie; ossian.smyth@oireachtas.ie
Email Sinn Fein TDs
MaryLou.McDonald@oireachtas.ie; john.brady@oireachtas.ie; pat.buckley@oireachtas.ie; Sean.Crowe@oireachtas.ie; david.cullinane@oireachtas.ie; Pearse.Doherty@oireachtas.ie; dessie.ellis@oir.ie; kathleen.funchion@oireachtas.ie; martinkennysf@gmail.com; denise.mitchell@oireachtas.ie; imelda.munster@oireachtas.ie; eoin.obroin@oireachtas.ie; donnchadh.olaoghaire@oireachtas.ie; aengus.osnodaigh@oireachtas.ie; louiseoreillysf@gmail.com; maurice.quinlivan@oireachtas.ie; Brian.Stanley@oireachtas.ie; mark.ward@oireachtas.ie; chris.andrews@oireachtas.ie; martin.browne@oireachtas.ie; matt.carthy@oireachtas.ie; sorca.clarke@oireachtas.ie; roseconwaywalsh@eircom.net; reada.cronin@oireachtas.ie; pa.daly@oireachtas.ie; paul.donnelly@oireachtas.ie; mairead.farrell@oireachtas.ie; thomas.gould@oireachtas.ie; johnny.guirke@oireachtas.ie; claire.kerrane@oireachtas.ie; padraig.maclochlainn@oir.ie; johnny.mythen@oireachtas.ie; ruairi.omurchu@oireachtas.ie; darren.orourke@oireachtas.ie; patriciaryan975@gmail.com; pauline.tully@oireachtas.ie
Email Labour Party TDs
ivana.bacik@oireachtas.ie; brendan.howlin@oireachtas.ie; sean.sherlock@oireachtas.ie; aodhan.oriordain@oireachtas.ie; duncan.smith@oireachtas.ie; gerald.nash@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Kelly@oireachtas.ie
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