LEINSTER LEADER 17 FEBRUARY 1973
NEW JOCKEY CENTRE TO OPEN AT TULLY
A new Training Centre for apprentice jockeys will be located at Curragh House in the grounds of the Irish National Stud, Co. Kildare, and is expected to be operational by June. The house and grounds which form the nucleus of the centre have been leased by the minister for Agriculture and Fisheries to the newly formed Apprentice Jockey Educational and Welfare Trust. The centre will be known as the Racing Apprentice Centre of Education (R.A.C.E.).
Initially a small group of apprentices residential and non-residential, will attend classes organised in conjunction with Kildare Vocational Education Committee. It is hoped that the centre will ultimately accommodate about fifty apprentices.
The project was established by a group of local racing business and educational people interested in youth welfare. The Racing Board and the Turf Club have borne the full brunt of the substantial expenditure involved in establishing the centre. Both of these bodies have pledged their continued support. It marks a new departure for the horse industry which has been largely devoid of social and educational amenities in the past.
It is also hoped that the centre may give impetus to the educational courses for another employment grades in the horse breathing and horse training industry.
The need for a school apprentice jockeys is particularly pressing. The number of boys who actually graduate to become professional jockeys is negligible compared to the number of young boys who annually embark on this career.
The new centre has been formed to cultivate the personal and professional development of young apprentices. It offers a two year-course under the auspices of the local vocational education committee; this will encompass a wide range of subjects including care and management of the horse, workshop practice, English and mathematics.
The course will complement the practical education the boys will receive daily at the centre and their training stables. Apprentices who fail to make the grade due to injury, overweight or other causes will accordingly find themselves better able to adapt to other occupations than is presently the case.
The following comprise the executive committee charged with development of the centre. Mr. Stan Cosgrove, Veterinary Surgeon, Chairman; Mr. Michael Osborne, V.S., Manager of the Irish National Stud, Secretary; Mr. Tom Brophy, Auctioneer, Treasurer; Mr James Marsh, Stewards Secretary, Irish Turf Club; Mr Joseph McGrath, Senior Steward and member of the Irish Turf Club, Mr. Tom Casey, Career Guidance Councillor, Kildare Vocational Education Committee, and Mr. Tom Ryan, Secondary School Teacher.
Mr Derek O’Sullivan who was awarded a first-class honours master’s degree in social science at University College. Dublin has been appointed director of the Centre. He will be responsible for the day-to-day administration of the centre, including its educational programme. In preparation for his new position, Mr O’Sullivan worked as a trainee in the Irish National Stud for a season and spent some time in Mr. Seamus McGrath’s stables in Glencairn Co. Dublin.
Although the centre will not become operational until June a course for a number of licensed apprentices is being run in Kildare National Schools.
In 1962 a small group met in Kildare to discuss the possibility of setting up a hostel and centre for apprentice jockeys. As a result, Col. Brill Rea and Mr. Stan Cosgrove visited all the horse trainers on the Curragh to discuss the possibility of establishing a centre for training apprentices. All trainers contacted were unanimously in favour of the idea particularly to the notion of providing adequate leisure facilities.
An executive committee of “activists” emerged, including Col. Bill Rea; Mr. Tom Brophy, Auctioneer; Mr Tom Casey, Career Guidance Officer; Mr. Tom Ryan, Mathematics Professor, NewbridgeCollege; Mr Stan Cosgrove acting as a chairman of the group. On September 17th, 1972, Mr. Cosgrove wrote to the National Stud to ascertain if it would be possible to use a house on its land as a hotel. On the basis of response, a meeting of those actively involved was convened and a project committee was formed.
Generous financial support for the project was promised by the Irish Turf Club and the Racing Board. In December 1972 the Apprentice Jockey’s Educational and Welfare Trust became a legal entity and the lease on Curragh House in the grounds of the Irish National Stud was signed. An architect was employed to re-adapt the house in accordance with the needs of the Centre. His design has been completed and a builder has already moved onto the site and expects to complete his work by the end of June. The trust and its new director expect that the experience of the first few years will provide the basis on which to plan the long term development of the centre when eventually there will be accommodation for up to fifty apprentices. The trust is studying very closely the experience in this field or other countries particularly in South Africa, Britain and France.
Re-typed by Lydia Potts
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