The name Margaret Davin may not be instantly recognisable to everyone in the business of racing or breeding, but to anyone involved with the administration of the sport it will be well known and deeply respected. She has been a powerhouse in the sport now for some 15 years, and later this next month she will step away from her role as chief financial officer in Horse Racing Ireland. Yet she has shunned the limelight, instead giving her all to the sector behind the scenes.

Just the job title alone will give you an idea of the pivotal role she has played since joining the then Irish Horseracing Authority on the eve of the Millennium. Martin Moore was chief executive, succeeding Noel Ryan who died that year, 1999. Little did she know what lay ahead, but you get the impression that a challenge is what Margaret enjoys, and her meticulous attention to detail gives her a strength on which she and her colleagues could rely in times of trouble.

Who is this stalwart of the racing world, and what path did she travel that ended up at the heart of Irish racing?

Margaret Davin is often referred to as a Déise woman, and for those unfamiliar with the term, it means a woman from Waterford. That said, she was actually born in Clonmel and has a surname that is steeped in the history of south Tipperary.

Her great granduncle was Maurice Davin who lived from 1842 to 1927. A farmer, he was the first president of the Gaelic Athletic Association, established for ‘the preservation and cultivation of national pastimes’. He co-founded the GAA with Michael Cusack (both men have stands named after them in Croke Park) and was the only man ever to serve two terms as president.

Bringing his name to greater prominence is one of Margaret’s many retirement projects.

Margaret’s grandfather, also Maurice, was a well-known coursing judge in Munster and Leinster, so sport in all its forms was always talked about in the family.

The middle one of three children, she has an older brother John and younger brother Owen. Margaret was educated in Ferrybank, Waterford and followed her older sibling into accountancy. Masking any hint of being ambitious, it is equally obvious from listening to Margaret that she worked diligently in every role she undertook in her career. She built bridges that were never burned, and encountered people on her career path who would come back into her life again in later years.

Choosing to work in some of the best companies and organisations in Ireland gave Margaret an impeccable CV. She started her working life with the iconic Waterford Glass, studying accountancy at the same time. After four years she wished to experience accountancy practice and joined Chambers Halley, thus seeing the profession from both sides. With that under her belt she was off to try business again, moving to Smithwicks in Kilkenny, part of the Guinness group, another national treasure.

It was during this time that she qualified as an accountant and she really enjoyed her time with the company. “I was given a reasonable amount of responsibility which was good, because it got you on the path of managing people, managing systems and delivering on things. I loved Kilkenny and I loved Smithwicks.” While opportunities for a move internally were an option, Margaret’s ambition was probably at play and she made one of the pivotal moves of her career.

“I saw this ad for a job with the Kerry Group and I knew a guy who had gone there from Waterford. I applied. Hugh Friel was the financial director, he had two right-hand people and he needed two more to work under them. Kerry was a co-op at the time. They were really on an upward path; it was a very exciting time.” Denis Brosnan, later to play a key role in the development of Irish racing, was in Kerry then.

“The vision of Brosnan at the time was that they would move away from being a commodity driven business to looking for added value, and Kerry farmers supported that very much. The organisation grew and grew and had a strategy of bringing in lots of graduates to training programmes. That was quite ahead of its time but it worked very well.

“They went public in 1986 and I was the group controller. They started to make acquisitions in the United States and whenever there was a problem Margaret had to go out and sort it. I headed to the States in late ’88 with a team of four or five and was there for a few months. It gave me time to think also about what I wanted to do next.”

The Kerry Group bosses were surprised to learn that Margaret wished to move out of central office and to go to work with Michael Griffin in Britain. It was a time of acquisition and expansion there and the Group was buying maybe a couple of businesses a year. After three enjoyable years Margaret’s next move was to be as a result of her father’s death and she decided to come back to Ireland. A short spell in the beef sector was followed by a role as the first director of finance with the Dublin Institute of Technology, at a time when the various colleges were being brought together into one institution.

A new and exciting challenge presented itself when she was told that Margaret Heffernan was building up a new team within Dunnes Stores and Margaret Davin moved into the retail sector. This fast moving, ever changing world brought with it a chance to work with yet another Irish company, something that Margaret is very proud to say has been a hallmark of her entire career.

After three hectic years in Dunnes, Margaret took stock. “I said I needed a bit of time out then, that I’d been working hard and I decided to travel a bit. So I headed off to Australia and the States with my nephew who was in transition year. It was nice.” On her return to Ireland Margaret did some interim management with two more hugely successful Irish companies, Moypark and Dawn Meats.

The time now was the late 1990s and Margaret, ever the realist, was conscious of being both a woman in the male dominated world of commerce, and the threat of ageism. Though her links with racing were just from a keen family interest, she heard about a role in the Irish Horseracing Authority, chaired by Denis Brosnan. She applied and got the job and set out on the longest section of her distinguished career path.

It was a baptism of fire, given that within a short period of joining IHA the changes to the structure of Irish racing were coming to a head, with Ministers Joe Walsh and Charlie McCreevy going toe-to-toe with the Turf Club. The Horse and Greyhound Racing Act in December 2001 was to see Brian Kavanagh appointed chief executive of Horse Racing Ireland.

A number of key figures in IHA did not join the newly configured organisation that moved to Kildare from their offices in Leopardstown. In the vacuum between the change-over, funding was a key issue and worry, but even then Brosnan was clear that prize money was the key to driving the industry forward.

What was a real eye-opener for Margaret was seeing how many strands there were to the business. There were huge capital programmes underway, such as Galway, Punchestown and Fairyhouse, while HRI Racecourses was responsible for a number of tracks. The Tote was another key element, as was Irish Thoroughbred Marketing, and then there was the main body itself, HRI.

For the initial period based in Kildare HRI was a tenant of the Turf Club, but very soon the speed of growth of the organisation demanded a move and they went to a business park across the road from Goffs in Kill. Some months after that move the Turf Club suffered a devastating fire to their headquarters. A few years later the board of HRI decided to buy the site of its offices today at Ballymany and Margaret played a key role in its setting up.

In all this time the overhanging worry was always about getting funding and being able to plan ahead. Four-year strategies are better than none, and the years between 2009 and 2013 were especially tough ones. “We were trying to keep the balance of prize money and a bit of capital programmes. I was looking up some figures and between 1996 and 2009 capital programmes in the industry amounted to about €210 million, of which half was funded by IHA and HRI and half by the racecourses themselves.

“I think getting back to a four/five year funding model is critical, because it means you can plan. The economic worth of the industry has been put in various documents and what the board wants to do is see that grow to a certain level - probably double in five years - and that’s a big ask. That would need effort, resources and money, but I still don’t believe what the industry is looking for is excessive.

“I do believe that there’s a misunderstanding of what prize money is all about, because ultimately the owners of horses have to be funded. The owners are putting in the investment. Prize money funds the payment to trainers, payment to jockeys, payment to valets – all of those get a bit of that prize money.”

Margaret is acutely aware of the competition for young people’s time and money. To this end she can see the benefit in any investment in facilities at the racecourses, and she understands the need for a new Curragh, Leopardstown and some further investment at Punchestown – three key tracks.

What has it been like working with the very diverse and yet representative board of HRI? “The board works well, in spite of multiple changes over the years. When new board members come in I think they are surprised at the amount of activity going on. We have about 20 committees that are supported by board members. Being part of a Government funded body also means other governance requirements on their shoulders. But they do work well.”

Margaret’s passion for her work is evident, but did she ever experience, as a woman, the glass ceiling syndrome? While admitting it may have been a problem in academia, she has seen changes elsewhere. “I think there used to be a view going back I suppose 20 years that you had token women on boards. But I think that day is gone and I do think women bring a different flavour to things. I think it is the style of women to get on with things and get the job done. Deal with a problem, come up with an alternative and move forward.”

Who better to ask to sum up what Margaret has meant to Irish racing and HRI than its chief executive Brian Kavanagh? “Margaret is one of the most exceptional and loyal people I have ever worked with, one of the genuine unsung heroes of racing. Among the words I would use to describe her are modest, hardworking and dedicated, and she has a wonderful attention to detail.

“She has been centrally involved in all of the major financial decisions of Irish racing in the last 15 years. She has been my full-back and has minded the money most prudently. I always feel that people in the industry do not fully appreciate the governance/accountability obligations that go with being a semi-state body, and Margaret has acted as a very effective bridge between the industry and Government.

“She has served with distinction on the boards of the Equine Centre, RACE and the newly established Irish Injured Jockeys Fund, and has immediately earned the respect of all the jockeys she deals with. Margaret is centrally involved in the Racecourse Capital Grant Scheme and it is notable that under her watchful eye no track has been allowed to get itself into financial difficulty due to over-aggressive development plans.

“Finally, Margaret commands great loyalty from her staff and colleagues and she will be sorely missed. I am sure that racing both in Ireland and abroad will feature prominently in her retirement plans.”

Could there be any more appropriate tribute to one of the great ladies of Irish racing?

Retirement will not divorce Margaret from racing and she is someone who enjoys going to the sport. More outings to race meetings in England are certainly on the agenda, while it is odds on that she will be at Laytown to complete a full house of having visited every course in Ireland.

As she enters the final furlong at work, she is still pushing forward and she will hand over to her successor with everything in pristine order. “I must say I’ve enjoyed my period here and I haven’t felt the 15 years. I’ve enjoyed working with the top team, as well as building my own team.”

Moving to live in Tramore, getting a dog, playing golf and tennis, travelling more, pulling the Davin family history together – these are all part of the retirement plan. And they have to fit on top of spending more time with family and friends. There will be little time to put her feet up.

I asked Margaret to sum up the last 15 years. “Oh it’s been challenging at times. I think from my own point of view I’m leaving with the financial side okay. I think that they’ll say she left a good ship behind.”