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Jockey Rachael Blackmore's shameful connection to fox hunting has been well documented.
According to a March 2021 report in the Irish Field she was “honed on the hunting fields and Tipperary Pony Club” and she and her family have hunted with the Tipperary Foxhounds fox hunt.
She was quoted in the Irish Times of 8 June 2019 as saying “I grew up on a farm and always had ponies and did a lot of pony clubs, hunts and races”.
In 2021, the Tipperary Foxhounds posted a photo on its Facebook page of her “on one of her first day's hunting with The Tipperary Foxhounds” https://www.facebook.com/tipperaryfoxhounds/photos/a.1550237658525747/2802558946626939/
The Tipperary Foxhounds is affiliated to the Irish Masters of Foxhounds Association and targets foxes twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
In February 2023, a signed race card donated by Rachael Blackmore was among the items up for auction at a foxhunt fundraiser.
The auction took place at a Tipperary Foxhounds hunt ball at the Cashel Palace Hotel, hours after a hunt which saw foxes terrorised by a pack of 29 dogs.
The lots in the 18 February 2023 auction included "a picture and signed race card from 2022 Cheltenham Champion Hurdle" which was "kindly donated” by Blackmore. Some of the other lots were “a day's hunting for 2 with the Ward Union hunt”, “a day's hunting for 2 with the Limerick Foxhounds” and a “night for 2 at the Cashel Palace Hotel”.
Prizes for a raffle on the night included a day's hunting with the Kilkenny Hunt, Carlow Farmers' Hunt, North Kilkenny Hunt, Fingal Harriers and Waterford Hunt.
Earlier in the day, the Tipperary Foxhounds' dogs were released to chase foxes in the countryside around the Rock of Cashel.
A sickening report in the Irish Field (23 February 2023) provided a reminder of the hunt's obscene targeting 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.
Another fox was also persecuted - the hunt “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
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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