The Irish Greyhound Board has deferred the Annual Irish Greyhound Awards which were scheduled to be held at Shelbourne Park Stadium on Saturday afternoon (February 11th) and has cancelled the racing programme at the Stadium on the same night.
The decision was taken in the wake of a decision by Dublin Greyhound Owners and Breeders Association (DGOBA) to picket the stadium. Despite representations by IGB last night, Wednesday, February 8th, advising of the serious implications of the decision, DGOBA declined to change its decision to picket.
It’s a tough decision taken by interim CEO Dr Sean Brady who knows his way around business battles having previously led Irish Sugar and the Irish Dairy Board.
Brady spoke at the recent announcement of a €1 Million sponsorship deal with Boylesports of the need for the sport to be willing, in the ethos of Munster Rugby, to “stand up and fight.”
He seems to be a man of action and a man of his word.
“It is extremely disappointing that one of the flagship events of the year to acknowledge excellence within the industry has had to be deferred and racing cancelled again because of DGOBA pickets,” read a statement from the IGB. “IGB is not going to allow our owners, trainers, staff and the general public to be used in this way by a small section within the industry.”
“IGB reiterates that its Business Plan is focused on addressing the organisation’s unsustainable debt of €21.6 million. There is an absolute requirement for everybody to recognise the commercial realities and the time is well gone when special interests can hold the industry to ransom.”
IGB apologises to our sponsors, patrons and greyhound owners and trainers for the disruption caused.
