BREAKING NEWS: It has been announced that all greyhound racing and horse racing will cease from midnight tonight.

This follows an announcement this afternoon by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar that "all sporting events are cancelled, including those behind closed doors".

Chief medical officer Tony Holohan said a raft of new public health measures are being introduced to help slow the spread of Covid-19. To-date, 1,125 people have been diagnosed with Covid-19 in Ireland and six people have died.

There had been growing calls for racing to be stopped after shocking footage was published on the Irish Greyhound Board website showing track staff and greyhound owners/trainers ignoring official government social distancing advice. The decision by Horse Racing Ireland to continue racing up to now was slammed as "crass" in the Irish Times today https://www.facebook.com/banbloodsports/posts/2808316042617269

Find out more about Coronavirus (COVID-19) and how you can protect yourself https://www2.hse.ie/coronavirus/