Longford GAA Race Day at Punchestown promises to be extra special

The stage is set for the 20th Longford GAA Race Day, which takes place on Wednesday, May 1 in Punchestown Racecourse.
First held in 2003, the event is held to coincide with Gold Cup day at the National Hunt Festival.

It is one of the most eagerly anticipated events on the Longford social calendar and 100 tables (of 10 people each) will gather on Wednesday next.

MC on the day will be RTE’s Marty Morrissey and there will be expert tips from Johnny Ward of Racing TV.

There will also be an auction, with All-Ireland tickets up for grabs, and Eamon O’Flaherty, of race main sponsors Sherry Fitzgerald Brady O'Flaherty, in charge of the gavel.

To mark the 20th anniversary in style, all the tables in the Longford GAA pavilion will be entered into a special free draw for a prize of €5,000.

“Support for this event since the inaugural Race Day in 2003 has been staggering, to say the least, and it has contributed €2m towards the costs of preparing our county teams. And we are looking forward to an extra special celebration on May 1,” outlined Martin Skelly, Chairperson of the Race Day Committee since it began.

He reflected upon the contribution of two members of the first committee, who have since passed away. “Carmel Fay and Brian Donohue will be in our thoughts this year. When you think back on people that you worked with who are no longer around, it is sad, but we remember their contribution.”

The Longford Race Day, since its inception, has always had input from both the Dublin and Longford committees.

Mr Skelly explained, “At the time that the idea was conceived, Longford GAA was struggling to make ends meet. There were a lot of Longford GAA people in the Dublin area. Seamus Ross (a Drumlish native and developer in Dublin) was a key figure in the decision to start the Race Day. It was a gamble.”

If it was a gamble, then it paid off in spades.

Mr Skelly is keen to mention some of the mainstays behind the event.

“John Bannon has brought great expertise and a high attention to detail. Seamus Ross has brought great business acumen.”

Other people on the Dublin side who Skelly described as being “key” to the Race Day include Frank Kiernan of Knightstone Construction (who is based in Maynooth), Mickey Joe Keogh, Jas Gilna, David Kelly, Enda Conefrey and Oliver Barden.

Padraig Brady is Secretary of the Dublin Committee and himself and his wife Mairead also sponsor both the Best Dressed Lady and Gent events.

In Longford, key movers behind the Race Day have been Mr Skelly, John Bannon, Eamon Reilly, Peter O’Reilly and Eugene Quaine.

“Another person who made a big contribution was Antoinette Kelly. She was on the first committee and subsequently served on the committee for ten years,” he recalled.

MC for the first Race Day was Colm Murray, the late RTE sports broadcaster. A feature of the day is the auction that takes place. The ‘Auctioneer’ for the first Race Day in 2003 was the former Taoiseach, the late Albert Reynolds.

The committee itself still has many of the original members and according to Skelly, “the committee are as passionate today as when we first started. People love their involvement in the Race Day.”

Mr Skelly is really looking forward to May 1. “There promises to be plenty of fun, fashion, frolics and nostalgia in the Longford Pavilion at Punchestown and as it is the 20th anniversary, it will be extra special."

MAIN PHOTO CAPTION: Pictured in Dromard at the launch of the 2004 Longford GAA Race Day were from left - John Bannon, Seamus Kiernan, Mick O'Dwyer, Liam O'Neill (Leinster Vice-Chairman), TJ Ward, TP Pettit (aka Tony McCoy), Christina Donohoe, Enda Conefrey, Gerry Farrell, Oliver Barden, Albert Fallon and Martin Skelly