Thurles racecourse closed ‘with immediate effect'
Owned by the Molony family for over a century, the track situated about a kilometre outside the Co Tipperary town has long been a mainstay of Irish racing's winter calendar, famed for its capacity to race during bad weather.
However, Riona Molony, who took over when her husband Pierce died 10 years ago, announced on Friday morning that the course has closed. It is the first racecourse closure in Ireland since Tralee in 2008.
Molony said: 'It has been an honour and a privilege for our family to have run Thurles racecourse, and I am officially announcing our retirement today.
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'We are very proud of the immense contribution our family has made to racing and we are most grateful to our extended racecourse family, our dedicated staff, generous sponsors, loyal patrons and the wider racing community for all your support.
'Horse racing is part of the fabric of our family, and we have been very fortunate to have made so many great friends within the industry over the years. My family and I look forward to going racing with you again, as spectators.'
She continued: 'Since my beloved husband Pierce passed away in 2015, with the help of our four daughters Patricia, Helen, Ann Marie and Kate and our wonderful staff, we've managed to keep the show on the road and I know he would be very proud of us for that.
'The girls all have their own families, careers and lives to live. Ever increasing industry demands and the cost of doing business has also been a major factor.'
The first recorded race meeting at Thurles was in 1732 and the track has belonged to the Molony family since the early 1900s.
The track is licensed to race until the end of this year and has fixtures allotted to it for the 2025/26 racing programme. It is not yet clear whether those fixtures will go ahead.
In February, there was a tragedy at Thurles when jockey Michael O'Sullivan sustained fatal injuries in a fall there. O'Sullivan's mount fell at the last fence. The 24-year-old was airlifted to Cork University Hospital but died 10 days later.
Molony's statement on the closure concluded: 'We're going to enjoy this time together and relax now the decision is made and the news is out before we consider our options.'
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