O’Connor hopes new arena can keep top talent in Ireland

Olympic medallist Cian O’Connor hopes the National Horse Sport Arena in Blanchardstown will stop the drain of talent from Ireland.

O’Connor, who has been having weekly sessions at the new complex over the last month and a half, said: “It’s fantastic. I’m probably its number one fan, probably because it’s the same surface as what was at the Olympic Games in London. So to have a world-class facility here and to be able to use high performance for coaching is really something special.

“Over the last 20 years, the trait has been that we produce wonderful riders and quite often those riders go abroad due to lack of funding or facilities. So maybe this can go towards encouraging people (to stay in Ireland).