Former Fine Gael TD Joe Carey has said he is “honoured” to be elected the chairman of a coursing club which catches hares from the wild, holds them in captivity and releases dogs to terrorise them.
The Clare Echo is reporting this week that Carey, who “retired from public life in August 2024 due to health reasons” is the new Chairman of Ennis/Clarecastle coursing club. The ex-TD reportedly said that “he was honoured to be elected as chairman of a proud club with a great reputation.” https://www.clareecho.ie/carey-elected-chair-of-ennis-clarecastle-coursing-club/
The Clare Echo added that the “Carey family have a long tradition of support for Ennis/Clarecastle Club with Joe’s late father Donal serving as an officer of the club over the years”.
During the 2025-26 coursing season, 54 hares were snatched from the wild and used as bait for dogs to chase at the Ennis/Clarecastle coursing meeting on 4 and 5 October 2025. 5 hares were hit and 3 were pinned to the ground. The previous year, 50 hares were captured and forced to run for their lives. 4 hares were hit and 1 was mauled into the ground by dogs. At a Ennis/Clarecastle coursing meeting in 2023, 9 hares were hit and 2 were mauled by dogs.
In 2017, 59 hares were captured for the Ennis/Clarecastle coursing meet. Three hares were hit and mauled by dogs – two died from their injuries and a third injured hare was destroyed by the coursing club vet. At the 2016 meet, 5 hares were hit and one was examined for injuries. Pregnant hares were among the captured hares.
On the first day of the 2015 meeting, 5 hares were struck by dogs, 3 were injured, 1 died due to injury and 2 were put down because of injuries. In 2011, there were 8 fatalities at Ennis/Clarecastle – on day 1, 5 hares were hit, with 3 later dying; on day 2, 7 hares were hit, 2 killed, 4 injured, 1 put down and 2 died from injuries.
In June 2016, Joe Carey was among the 114 TDs who shamefully voted against Maureen O’Sullivan TD’s bill which sought to ban hare coursing. In a speech at the time, he stated: “I have an interest in greyhound racing and coursing. My father continues to be involved in greyhounds having taken an interest in the sport from a young age and there is a strong tradition of greyhounds on my late mother’s side of my family. One of my earliest memories as a young boy is of travelling to a trial in Miltown Malbay in the back of a car with two fawn greyhounds… Last year’s coursing season was very exciting for me. I attended a lot of meetings and had some success as part of the Déise-Banner syndicate.”
It emerged that coursing greyhound Clodagh River was “owned by the Déise-Banner Syndicate from Portlaw, namely Fine Gael TDs Paudie Coffey and Joe Carey”.
Carey was also part of a syndicate of Fine Gael TDs who “stumped up €250 each for a share in [greyhound] Swift Starlet after the 17-month-old bitch showed impressive form at recent trials.”
In a June 2011 Dail speech during a debate on the Welfare of Greyhounds Bill 2011, he stated: “I am a greyhound owner and breeder…I acknowledge and welcome the involvement of greyhound industry interests, including the IGB [and] Irish Coursing Club…”
In 2019, he was among a group of Fine Gael politicians who lobbied the then Minister for Culture Josepha Madigan to scrap a temporary ban on hare coursing which was introduced because of an outbreak of the deadly RHD2 virus. Pressure was put on Minister Madigan despite her warning that RHD2 has “the potential to wipe out the hare population completely” and that “netting and collecting hares for coursing meetings has been identified as a SIGNIFICANT RISK FACTOR in spreading the [RHD2] disease”.
During his time in the Dail, Joe Carey voted in favour of over €420 MILLION in government grants to horse and greyhound racing. Find out more below.
URGENT ACTION ALERT
HELP THE HARES: Tell Heritage Minister James Browne and Minister of State for Nature and Biodiversity Christopher O’Sullivan to give full protection to the Irish Hare and stop licensing cruel coursing.
Minister James Browne (Fianna Fail, Wexford)
Tel: (01) 618 3094
Email: minister@housing.gov.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/james.browne.enniscorthy
Twitter: https://x.com/jamesbrownetd
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesbrownetd/
Christopher O’Sullivan TD (Fianna Fail, Cork South West)
Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity
Tel: (01) 618 3095 or 023 88 11011
Email: mos@housing.gov.ie; christopher.osullivan@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christopher.osullivan.716
Twitter: https://twitter.com/COSullivanTD
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christopher_o_sullivan_td
SAMPLE LETTER
(If you have time, please compose your own personal letter)
Dear Ministers Browne and O’Sullivan,
Please REFUSE 2026-27 hare coursing licences.
The Irish Hare, an icon of Ireland’s biodiversity, has suffered for far too long in this shameful bloodsport.
Past licences have allowed coursers to net thousands of hares from the countryside, hold them in captivity for weeks/months and eventually force them to run for their lives in front of greyhounds.
All the hares suffer fear and stress and, despite the muzzling of the dogs, hares are injured and killed every coursing season when they are caught and mauled. Among the injuries documented are broken back, spinal injury, broken legs, damaged toes and dislocated hips.
With the suffering, stress, injury and death caused to hares at coursing meetings, there should be no hesitation in finally ending this cruel activity by refusing 2026-27 licences. This would be widely welcomed by the vast majority who want coursing banned.
Ireland is in the middle of a government-declared biodiversity emergency. Now is the time to give full protection to the Irish Hare and allow these magnificent animals to live free from persecution.
Please do the right thing and stop licensing hare coursing.
Yours sincerely,
[Name/Address]
It is time for politicians to consign coursing and hunting to history. Join us in contacting TDs and urging them to act to ensure that a ban on hare coursing is urgently introduced. Find contact details on the Oireachtas website https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/tds/?term=/ie/oireachtas/house/dail/34
Get in touch with the leaders of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Sinn Fein and tell them that you want hare coursing and all bloodsports banned.
Micheál Martin TD
Leader, Fianna Fail
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Tel: 01 619 4000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD
Simon Harris TD
Leader, Fine Gael
Telephone: 01 281 3727
Email: simon.harris@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
X: http://www.twitter.com/SimonHarrisTD
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DeputySimonHarris
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
Joe Carey TD (Fine Gael, Clare) and animal cruelty issues
In June 2016, Joe Carey was among the 114 TDs who voted against Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan’s bill which sought to ban cruel hare coursing.
In 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2021, voted in favour of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations which granted €80 million / €80 million / €84 million / €88 million of taxpayers’ money to horse and greyhound racing.
In Dail Eireann on 30 November 2022, Joe Carey TD voted in favour of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2022 which channelled another €91 million of public funds into the two gambling activities (€72.8 million for Horse Racing Ireland and €18.2 million for Greyhound Racing Ireland). The grant for 2023 brought to €1.64 Billion the amount handed over to racing since 2001.
“I welcome the opportunity to speak in opposition to the Bill. The rural activity of government-regulated hare coursing and the Irish Coursing Club have been persistently condemned by the proposer of this legislation and by anti-coursing groups…I have an interest in greyhound racing and coursing. My father continues to be involved in greyhounds having taken an interest in the sport from a young age and there is a strong tradition of greyhounds on my late mother’s side of my family. One of my earliest memories as a young boy is of travelling to a trial in Miltown Malbay in the back of a car with two fawn greyhounds… Last year’s coursing season was very exciting for me. I attended a lot of meetings and had some success as part of the Déise-Banner syndicate. We won the Dungarvan bitch trial stake and qualified for the national meeting in Clonmel with our dark brindle bitch called Clodagh River. She was bred and reared by a great friend of mine, Shane O’Gorman from Portlaw in County Waterford who is also part of the syndicate as is Senator Paudie Coffey…” Joe Carey TD during Dail debate on bill to ban hare coursing, 23 June 2016. See the full speech: Video | Text
“[Coursing greyhound] Clodagh River, named after the river flowing through west Waterford and through, among other areas, Portlaw…is owned by the Déise-Banner Syndicate from Portlaw, namely Fine Gael TDs Paudie Coffey and Joe Carey , Coffey hailing from Portlaw and Carey from Clare.” from Yes, it’s true, they do come from all over for coursing in Clonmel by Conor Kane, Irish Examiner, 30 January, 2016.
“The issuing of hunter certificates and management of entries and declarations for point-to-point racing and the financial receipts associated with those functions will remain with the local hunt clubs…Income streams that currently go to local hunt clubs will be unaffected. I commend the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, under the chairmanship of Deputy Andrew Doyle, on its role in formulating this important legislation.” Joe Carey TD during Horse Racing Ireland Bill 2015, 11 November 2015.
According to a July 2012 Irish Examiner report, Joe Carey was part of a 14-man syndicate of Fine Gael TDs who “stumped up €250 each for a share in [greyhound] Swift Starlet after the 17-month-old bitch showed impressive form at recent trials.” The Irish Greyhound Board website shows that Swift Starlet was entered into 65 races between July 2012 and August 2014 and won 7. The total prize money is listed at €2,179. Her last race was at Mullingar greyhound track on 30th August 2014 when she came last. What happened to her after that remains unknown.
“I am a greyhound owner and breeder…I acknowledge and welcome the involvement of greyhound industry interests, including the IGB [and] Irish Coursing Club…” Welfare of Greyhounds Bill 2011: Second Stage, 30 June 2011.
“I wish to put on record my opposition to this Bill and its knock-on effect on the greyhound industry. The Irish greyhound industry is a world leader and it has been allowed to grow and develop under the Greyhound Industry Act 1958. The Dog Breeding Establishments Bill will tamper with and have a very negative effect on the greyhound industry.” Dog Breeding Establishments Bill 2009: Discussion, 11 May 2010
“This column has gone to the dogs, so today, we are dedicating it to Taco Beauty, a dark brindle breeding bitch belonging to Clare TD Joe Carey. While speaking on the controversial dog breeding Bill in the Dail yesterday, Fine Gael’s new assistant chief whip told his delighted colleagues that he just found out that his breeding bitch is in pup.” from Miriam Lord’s week column, Irish Times, 3rd July 2010
“Deputy Joe Carey: I welcome the Minister’s new-found regard for the Irish Coursing Club.” Dog Breeding Establishments Bill 2009, 8th July 2010.
“Minister for Culture Josepha Madigan was called to a heated meeting with rural Fine Gael Ministers, TDs and Senators this week over a ban on hare coursing [introduced because of an outbreak of the deadly RHD2 virus which affects rabbits and hares]…Sources said 16 members of the Fine Gael parliamentary party attended the meeting with Ms Madigan in Leinster House on Wednesday to express their concerns. Those present included Ministers Patrick O’Donovan, Paul Kehoe and Helen McEntee; TDs Pat Deering, Martin Heydon, Joe Carey, Tom Neville and Kate O’Connell; and Senator Paudie Coffey.” from Rural Fine Gael TDs confront Madigan over hare coursing ban, Irish Times, 10 October 2019.
Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans and associated timelines to allow spectators to attend greyhound racing meetings during 2021. Dail Question, 13 May 2021.
“[Horse] Timourid did the business in style [won a race]!!! Huge thanks to [trainer] @d_g_hogan and jockey @joedoyle96 for a great evening at Clonmel Racecourse #GalwayGirlSyndicate #WinnerAllRight #RollOnListowel” Tweet from Joe Carey TD, 2 September 2021.
In May 2022, the Irish Daily Mail reported that “several Government TDs and senators were given VIP treatment at an event hosted by the gambling industry in a hospitality tent at the Punchestown Racecourse” last month. The exposé by political correspondent Craig Hughes noted that the event – which had not been logged on the lobbying register – “comes as the Oireachtas is preparing to regulate gambling for the first time after more than a decade of promising to do so, amid a major pushback from the industry.” The report entitled “TDS’ DAY AT THE RACES – COURTESY OF BOOKIES” revealed that the politicians invited to the event “were treated to a two-course meal and free bar for the day at the Punchestown races on April 28. They were all guests at the corporate hospitality event, at which the Irish Bookmakers Association paid for three tables in the tent.” It added that representatives from a major gambling company were also in attendance. The politicians who attended were listed as: Paul Kehoe TD (Fine Gael, Wexford) – He told the Daily Mail “I’m not squealing on anyone else who was there” and refused to make any other comments. Joe Carey TD (Fine Gael, Clare), Jackie Cahill TD (Fianna Fáil, Tipperary), Senator Regina Doherty (Fine Gael), Senator Paul Daly (Fianna Fáil), Senator Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael), Senator Martin Conway (Fine Gael), Senator John Cummins (Fine Gael), Mary Mitchell O’Connor (former Fine Gael jobs minister) – declined to comment., Kevin O’Keeffe (former Fianna Fáil TD for Cork East) – declined to comment. According to the Daily Mail, one of the politicians who attended – and who requested anonymity – detailed how a fellow politician was introduced to a senior figure from a major gambling firm at the event and that they talked together for ten minutes. The source maintained that while the politicians were guests of the Irish Bookmakers Association, the Gambling Regulation Bill was not discussed at the event, adding “we didn’t talk about work – maybe they butter you up in the hope it pays off later”.
Read the full article at https://extra.ie/2022/05/26/news/tds-vip-day-at-races-courtesy-of-bookies-before-vote-on-gambling-regulation