The AGM of the Irish Coursing Club was held yesterday at the Hotel Minella, Clonmel, with representatives from the near 100 individual clubs in all four provinces among the huge attendance, “The biggest in all my years of coming to these AGM’s,” said outgoing president Tony McNamee in his opening address.

THE newly formed Alliance for the Betterment of Coursing held its inaugural National meeting on Sunday last in Nenagh and organisers were delighted with the huge turnout.

For those more used to the muck, mud, rain and cold of deep winter that normally accompanies their favourite sport, it was positively balmy in Clonmel yesterday for the first day of the 83rd running of the annual National Coursing Meeting.

IT must have been a close call but from a very strong field — where his main rival must have been Champion Stakes winner Windfarm — the Greyhound & Pet World coursing dog of the year award has gone to the courageous puppy Eoin Rua (Handsome Billa – Eoin Og), winner of the very competitive JP McManus Irish Cup at Patrickswell and the Keen Laddie Stakes at Clonmel.