Sport « Thurles Information

A Quick Glance At Today’s Budget.

Take A Quick Glance At Ireland’s Budget Details Announced Today.

Workers earning the national minimum wage will see an increase of 65 cent per hour, bringing the new rate to €14.15.
Motorists; Same will face higher fuel costs, with a 60-litre tank set to rise by €1.28 for petrol and €1.48 for diesel.
Smokers; The cost of a 20-pack of cigarettes will increase by 50 cent, bringing the average price to just under €19.
Social Welfare, Child benefit & Pensions; Core weekly social welfare payments, including the State pension, will rise by €10 per week. Child benefit; Same will increase by €8 per month for children under 12 and €16 for those aged 12 and over.
Fuel allowance: Eligibility for the fuel allowance will be expanded to include recipients of the Working Family Payment, and the weekly allowance itself will rise by €5.
Education & Grants; In education, college fees will be permanently reduced by €500, bringing the annual charge to €2,500—though this will represent an increase in real terms from the temporarily reduced rate of €2,000 in recent years. SUSI Grants; The income threshold for SUSI grants will rise by €5,000, to €120,000 per household. Capitation grants; Same will increase from €224 to €274 for primary and special schools, and from €386 to €406 at post-primary level. Special Needs Assistants; 1,717 new Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) will be appointed, bringing the total to almost 24,900, alongside 1,042 new teaching posts, including 860 for special education. Building Projects; A €1.6 billion capital investment will progress over 300 school building projects, delivering around 2,800 new places for special classes and schools.
Hospitality: The VAT rate on hospitality will be cut to 9% from July 2026, while the rate for completed apartments will drop from 13% to 9% until the end of 2030.
Renters; Renters will benefit from the extension of the tax credit for a further three years, remaining at €1,000 for individuals and €2,000 for couples. Mortgage interest relief will continue for two more years—€1,250 in 2025 and €625 in 2026.
Income Tax Bands; There are no major changes to income tax bands or credits, other than an increase in the USC 2% rate band to €28,700.
Public Transport; Reduced public transport fares will continue throughout 2026, and the 9% VAT rate on energy bills will be extended until the end of 2028.
Defence; The Defence budget will rise by 11%, funding 50 new civilian roles, 70 additional civil servants for areas such as cybersecurity, and new body armour and ammunition stock replenishment.
Health; The Health budget will increase to €27.3 billion, up €1.5 billion on this year, including 300 new mental health staff.
Law Enforcement; Up to 1,000 new Garda recruits will be deployed in 2026, with further investment in immigration processing, youth diversion, and domestic violence prevention programmes.
National Broadband Plan; A further €433 million will go towards the National Broadband Plan, while €357 million will be provided for broadcasting, including €65.4 million for TG4.
Renewable energy; Households generating renewable energy will benefit from an extension of the €400 income tax disregard for microgeneration earnings until 2028.
Sport; €3 million will be provided to establish League of Ireland youth academies, and the GAA will receive €1.6 million in funding for inter-county players.
Music; From Budget 2026, income tax relief for makers of uilleann pipes and Irish harps will be extended to 2028.

Thurles, Co Tipperary Racecourse Secures Short-Term Management Plan.

Thurles Racecourse Will Reopens Under Interim Management From October 9th 2025.

Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) and the Molony family have confirmed interim management arrangements to ensure racing continues at Thurles Racecourse for the 2025/26 season.

In July, the Molony family announced their retirement from racing and the closure of the track. However, following consultation between HRI, the Association of Irish Racecourses (AIR), the Irish Horse-racing Regulatory Board (IHRB) and the family, a short-term solution has now been agreed.

From October 2025 to March 2026, HRI’s Head of Racing, Mr Peter Roe, will oversee management of the Thurles track as part of his role with the four HRI racecourses. Operations will be managed by Ms Jessica Cahalan of Laytown Races, now contracted by the Molony family.

Mrs Riona Molony has stated that she is delighted to fund and support this short-term solution which allows the family to step back, while racing continues at their Thurles track.

The CEO of HRI Ms Suzanne Eade has thanked the Molony family for facilitating the continuation of racing at Thurles, at least until longer-term plans have been determined.
Thurles has long been fundamental to the winter racing schedule, and with industry support it is hoped that racing will now continue into the future.

The 2025/26 season will open with an all-Flat meeting on Thursday, October 9, followed by the first National Hunt fixture on Thursday, October 16.

Thurles, Co. Tipperary’s Racecourse To Reopen for October Fixtures.

Thurles, Co. Tipperary’s Racecourse To Reopen for October Fixtures After Reprieve

Thurles Racecourse will reopen on Thursday, October 9th, after receiving a last-minute reprieve that will see it host all 11 of its scheduled fixtures through to March 2026.

The Co Tipperary track, regarded as one of Ireland’s most historic National Hunt venues, had shocked the racing community on August 1st when its owners, the Molony family, announced it was closing with immediate effect.

Following urgent talks, Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) has now agreed to take over the running of the racecourse until the end of the current fixture list. The arrangement is intended to give all parties time to draw up a longer-term plan for the future of the venue.

In a joint statement, HRI and Thurles Race Company said: “Following a positive meeting yesterday afternoon between Horse Racing Ireland and the Molony family, Thurles Race Company will facilitate the continuation of horse racing at Thurles Racecourse until March 2026, with operational responsibility passing to Horse Racing Ireland.”

The statement added that the agreement was made possible with the support of the Association of Irish Racecourses, the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board, and the wider industry.

The October reopening will be welcomed by racing fans, with Thurles long regarded as a favourite testing ground for Ireland’s top jump trainers and a regular stepping stone for horses destined for Cheltenham and beyond.

Dundrum House Golf & Leisure Resort, Co. Tipperary Shuts Down With 48 Jobs Lost.

The Dundrum House Golf & Leisure Resort situated in Co Tipperary has been forced to close with immediate effect, resulting in the loss of 48 jobs.

The company said the business had continued to operate at a loss and was no longer able to meet its financial obligations.
A 30-day collective redundancy consultation process with employees is expected to begin later this week.

**Dundrum House Golf & Leisure Resort**. *Pic: G.Wlloughby*.

An IPAS accommodation centre on the Dundrum House campus, which is operated independently, is not expected to be affected by the closure.

Brogan Capital Ventures, which owns and operates the golf resort, informed staff today that the company would cease trading. The decision affects the restaurant, bar, golf course, driving range, golf shop and leisure centre.

In a statement, Brogan Capital Ventures said it very much regretted the adverse impact of this decision on its valued employees, golf and leisure centre members, customers, suppliers, the local community and other stakeholders. However, they state that the closure is unavoidable given the state of the company’s current financial affairs.

Former Pupil & Hockey Player From Ursuline Convent Thurles, Sinks Germany.

Mr Tom Ryan reports:

A leading hockey player and native of Newport Co. Tipperary was on target to score the winning goal in the over 45s Euro Hockey Championship final, against Germany, in Valencia Spain, last week.

The player, Barrister Ms EJ Walsh, daughter of Ed and Stephanie Walsh, of Oakhampton, Newport, was a past pupil of the Ursuline Convent, here in Thurles. Back in 1996, Ms Walsh made history when she captained her team to win the very first All-Ireland schools Senior Hockey final, for her school.

Ms Walsh is presently married to Mr Ray Delahunt and both reside currently, with their two children, namely Hannah (aged 11) and Sam (aged 10), at their home in Donnybrook, Co. Dublin.

Ms EJ Walsh with her children holding a painting showing the moment of triumph after EJ scored the winning goal against Germany. The painting was conveyed to canvas by renowned Dublin based artist, Zanya Dahl.

The whole family were in Valencia for the Hockey final and stayed on, in that city after the tournament, to enjoy a short break.
“I was glad to meet my friend, Linda Caulfield who captained Ireland’s Senior team for many years. We had shared accommodation together for years. Linda holds 151 senior Caps” said Ms Walsh.

Ms Walsh, who specialises in Civil Litigation, now works mainly in Dublin, but still practices on the South East Circuit and will be back in Tipperary when the courts sit again in Nenagh and Thurles.

“Winning in Valencia was great, but not like winning the Kate Russell Trophy, with the Ursulines convent school back in 1996” said Ms Walsh, who still has a great ‘grá’ for her old alma mater, which she formerly attended in Thurles.

That great All-Ireland winning team of 1996, held a lovely re-union in the Ursuline Convent Thurles in 2006.