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True Stories of an Irish Upbringing and Other
lies by Dan Daneen
Price $ 17.00>> 
 Racing
Nobody goes to the races anymore. It is always too
crowded!! We Irish have a deep love of sport of almost
any kind, but our greatest love is for horses and therefore,
horse racing is sacred to us. Dog racing is also greatly loved as it
gives folk with lower financial means a chance to get into it.
In my youth there was no better way to spend a day than at the
local point-to-point races. The enjoyment for many was increased
by the degree of informality, which gave these local races over a
farmer’s field or at a beach incredible appeal. It is with fond
memories of these local events that I now address myself to a
commentary that will give the reader a small appreciation of these
wonderful sporting competitions. The foremost memory and the
reason that these affairs were so popular was the involvement,
often direct for some of the attendees. It was considered to be
quite acceptable to offer what assistance you could during the race
to the participants. We will consider this matter later.
The day of the races was almost sacred and many of the
people who attended were supposed to be at work. The realistic
employer gave the day off to anyone who wanted to go to
the races. The fact that the employer also wanted to go was
irrelevant. Attending the races instead of going to work
was considered a matter of getting one’s priorities correct!
I remember several years when the village turned into a ghost
town for the duration of the event. Why would anyone stay at
home when the races were on? Some years the local assizes
coincided with our point-to-point races so naturally the courts
closed for the day. Even the pubs closed or to put it more
accurately, they relocated to a tent adjacent to the bookie’s
paddock where the business would be far superior, as their
customers either celebrated or drowned their sorrows as the
results dictated...
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