Jerry Desmond:JERRY DESMOND, who has died aged 67, was a former chief executive of the Irish Coursing Club, an authority on the bloodstock of Irish greyhounds, and a prominent figure in the long-running battle between fans of coursing and the opponents of blood sports in Ireland.
A native of Clogheen, on the outskirts of Cork city, he had lived for more than 20 years in Clonmel, Co Tipperary. He was on holiday in Portugal with his family when he died while swimming. He retired as chief executive and secretary of the coursing club in October 2008.
From boyhood, coursing, greyhounds and horse racing were in his blood. Having worked at the bonded warehouse in Cork, he achieved the rare goal of making a livelihood of his hobby.
A staunch supporter of Countryside Alliance Ireland, the body set up to defend hunting, shooting, fishing and other forms of blood sports, he played a key role in transforming hare coursing into a rural industry.
He took the heat out of vociferous protests over the number of hares being killed at organised meetings by introducing a policy of muzzling greyhounds. Anti-blood sports activists argue that hares continue to be mauled and injured by greyhounds.
Desmond cited the attendance of 30,000 spectators at Powerstown Park, near Clonmel, where coursing championships have been run since 1925, as “testament to its enduring popularity”.
He is survived by his wife Cora, daughters Abbie and Róisín, sons Billy and Ronan, his mother Rose, aged 95, and sisters Colette, Marian, Evelyn, Deirdre, Ursula, Fionnuala, Patricia, Josephine and Angela.
Jerry Desmond: born October 9th, 1943; died November 5th, 2010.