Irish Coursing Club

The Irish Coursing Club (ICC) is the national association for hare coursing in Ireland. Founded in 1916, it consists of 89 affiliated clubs on the Island of Ireland[1] and acts as the official authority for the Irish variety of the sport.[2] It solely controlled and administrated Greyhound racing in Ireland until the creation of the Irish Greyhound Board in 1958, however it still continues to do so in Northern Ireland.[3][4]

Irish Coursing Club
Formation1916[1]
TypeSports Association
PurposeThe management and promotion of Irish hare coursing
HeadquartersDavis Road, Clonmel, Co Tipperary
Region served
Worldwide
Official language
English
Staff
Limited full-time staff
Websiteirishcoursingclub.ie

National Meetings

The association holds two national meets, the National Meeting at the Clonmel Greyhound Stadium in County Tipperary in February, being the most important event in the coursing calendar, attracting 10,000 spectators,[5] and claimed by its organisers to be worth up to €16 million for the local economy,[6] and the Irish Cup at the County Limerick Coursing Club a few weeks afterwards.[1]

Conservation

A study in 2010 by Dr Neil Reid at Queen’s University Belfast found that the density of hares in ICC preserves was eighteen times higher than in the wild in Ireland.[7][8] It is claimed by the ICC that without regulated coursing there would be an increase of unregulated illegal hunting.[1]

In July 2019, Rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD2), a highly contagious disease nicknamed 'rabbit foot and mouth' which is fatal to Leporidae (rabbits and hares), was discovered in wild hares in County Clare, County Wexford and County Wicklow. As a result, the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht suspended capture and tagging licences issued to the ICC and affiliated clubs.[9][10] RHD2 was found in hares in the counties of Clare, Cork, Dublin, Kildare, Leitrim, Meath, Wexford and Wicklow. In August 2019, restrictions were lifted in areas outside of 25km radius prohibited zones surrounding discovery locations which was welcomed by the Club.[11]

Rules

The rules and regulations appertaining to the Irish Coursing Club are stringent, with 178 sections in 9 parts, this is in addition to Acts introduced by the Law of the Republic of Ireland.[12]

Every greyhound bred in Ireland is required to have an Irish identity card and requires microchipping.[13] The vast majority of greyhounds bred are either sold to owners within Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom or race in Greyhound racing in Ireland. The much smaller majority remain within coursing. The Greyhound Board of Great Britain do not allow registered owners to compete in coursing.[14]

References
  1. "About Us". Irish Coursing Club. Clonmel. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  2. "THE TRUTH ABOUT HARE COURSING". Irish Independent. Dublin: Independent News & Media. 13 December 2006. Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  3. Fenton, Robert (31 July 2008). "Going to the dogs has a new meaning at Drumbo". Belfast Telegraph. Belfast: Independent News & Media. Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  4. Stennett, Aidan (30 April 2010). "The status and funding of greyhound racing" (PDF). Northern Ireland Assembly. Stormont Estate: Research and Information Service (RaISe). p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  5. O'Reilly, M (10 February 2008). "Countryfile". BBC.
  6. "Thousands to attend coursing event". The Irish Times. 3 February 2008. Retrieved 15 February 2008.
  7. Reid, Neil; Magee, Ciarán; Ian Montgomery, W. (March 2010). "Integrating field sports, hare population management and conservation". Acta Theriologica. Queen's University Belfast. 55 (1): 61–71. doi:10.4098/j.at.0001-7051.030.2009. Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  8. Viney, Michael (12 January 2019). "Can coursing be good for hares? The strange answer is yes". The Irish Times. Dublin: Irish Times Trust. Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  9. "Coursing licences suspended after rabbit disease found". RTÉ News. Dublin: Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 9 August 2019. Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  10. Sheahan, Fionnán (10 October 2019). "Government to catch up to 500 hares for high-security study after heated meeting over ban on coursing". Irish Independent. Dublin: Independent News and Media. Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  11. Ryan, Órla (16 October 2019). "Suspension of hare coursing licences lifted in areas not affected by deadly virus". TheJournal.ie. Dublin: Distilled Media. Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  12. "IRISH COURSING CLUB RULES". Irish Coursing Club.
  13. "Introduction to microchipping". Irish Coursing Club.
  14. "GBGB Rules of Racing" (PDF). Greyhound Board of Great Britain.
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