Lord mayor swaps bicycle for horse and carriage

DUBLIN Lord Mayor Andrew Montague — a major advocate of cycling in his city — was forced to saddle up a different type of transport yesterday to attend the Dublin Horse Show.

The Labour Party councillor, who has been widely praised for introducing the highly successful free Dublin Bikes scheme, left his (bicycle) chain at home yesterday as he travelled in the majestic 222-year-old mayoral coach, drawn through the streets by a team of four black horses as part of the traditional prelude to the show’s official opening.

Formally launching the 138th staging of the event, Mr Montague recalled how one of his first jobs on qualifying as a vet in 1991 was to attend the show.