Call to outlaw horse racing on city roads

The practice of people closing off sections of main roads in Galway to facilitate sulky racing – and causing serious traffic delays on the county’s main arteries – was heavily criticised this week.

At a meeting of the County Galway Joint Policing Committee it was claimed that sections of roads on the outskirts of the city have been closed by people who are engaging in competitive races in the one-seater horse drawn carts.

Sulkies are light, open, two-wheeled carts drawn by horses and are mostly, although not always, used by Travellers.

In recent months, sulky races have taken place along stretches of the Headford Road and Tuam Road and this has caused traffic tailbacks of three to four miles, particularly at peak times.

The matter was raised by JPC Committee Chairperson County Councillor Mary Hoade, who asked could bye-laws be introduced to deal with the control of horses along public roads.

Galway County Council Official Martin Lavelle told the meeting that the roads are public rights of way and that people on horses have as much right to use them as people in cars.

“Horse and cart was the first form of transport and people have a right to use horses on the roads for bringing turf or hay home,” he said.But Superintendent Tom Curley, said “absolutely nobody has the right to close off public roads and to have races on them . . . they are not entitled to do that”.

He said there is a “huge volume” of horses in Galway that are not registered and not “chipped”, which poses difficulties when trying to determine who owns the animals.

Supt Curley said there are many horses roaming in gardens and public lands on the Headford Road and if a stray horse was to go through the windscreen of a car and cause injury, “the owner of the horse will deny ownership” and the victim may be unable to claim compensation.

Supt Curley urged the County Council to build a horse pound in Galway, because currently if Gardaí seize stray horses, they have to employ a contractor in Meath to come to Galway and bring the horse down to a pound in Wicklow.

Cllr Hoade said she was shocked to learn there was no horse pound in Galway while Cllr Tim Broderick said a pound “would be filled in a week” because the problem of horses was so widespread. The matter of bye-laws will be discussed at a full Council meeting.