The Quays (Co.Tiperrary)

A “Family run pub located on the quays of the River Suir”, the Quays is an extremely pro-hare-coursing pub in Clonmel. In Facebook posts, it has stated “long live coursing” and wished “all the best” to greyhound owners and trainers travelling to the 3-day hare coursing finals in Clonmel. The pub shows “daily coursing replays on multiple TVs” at the end of each day of the animal cruelty festival. A 27 January 2024 Facebook post stated: “Come and join us at this weekend after the meeting where we will be showing the recordings of the meeting and providing complimentary soup and sandwiches for all.” Hare coursing – like fox hunting – remains legal in the Republic of Ireland, with licences for the netting of thousands of hares issued by the Department of Heritage. A 2019 RED C poll found that 77% of people in Ireland want coursing banned, with just 9% disagreeing with a ban. A majority in both rural and urban areas are in favour of the ban. It’s revealing to see (compared with their more covert pro-hunt cousins across the Irish Sea) just how overt both the remaining support for animal abuse is and the willingness to profit from it. We strongly suspect that were the Hunting Act (which also banned hare coursing) ever to be repealed, at least some venues across England and Wales would come out just as strongly. Many of us will continue to work to make sure that never happens…