By Ray Managh

Chartered accountant Joe Walsh, who has been appointed examiner to Horse Sport Ireland, told the High Court on Monday he was aware the company performed a very important function within the equestrian industry in Ireland.

“I understand that the sport horse industry is worth in excess of €1 billion annually to the Irish economy and supports upwards of 20,000 jobs,” he told Mr Justice Micheal O’Connell.

“Horse breeding in Ireland is world renowned and is a significant export business with the majority of breeders selling horses outside the country,” he added after telling the court he agreed with an independent expert’s view that Horse Sport Ireland was salvageable.

“The sector is of particular importance to rural Ireland,” he said.

Barrister Ross Gorman, counsel for the examiner, said Mr Walsh, as interim examiner, had engaged with the company, it’s directors, senior executives, employees, creditors, Revenue, its banker and other stakeholders.

He believed Horse Sport Ireland had a reasonable prospect of survival based on constructive engagement with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine which was attached as a notice party to the company’s petition for examinership.

Arthur Cunningham, counsel for the company, said Horse Sport Ireland directors had applied for examinership when it had become clear it was unable to meet its debts and had sought the appointment of Mr Walsh.

Mr Cunningham countered suggestions by Bernadette Quigley SC on behalf of the Irish Horse Board Co-Operative Society, which is owed €122,600, that the company had rushed towards examinership.

He said settlement in separate legal proceedings had been entered into in June and in early July the company had sought the advice of Graham Kenny Solicitors and an independent expert on its solvency or otherwise and had proceeded from there to seek the protection of the court from its creditors.

The Society did not oppose the appointment of the examiner but expressed doubts about payment of its debt. The Show Jumping Association of Ireland (Showjumping Ireland) did not oppose the appointment either, but that was on the basis that changes would be made in governance of Horse Sport Ireland.

Shaula Connaughton Deeny, counsel for Revenue, told the court the commissioners were not opposing the appointment of Mr Walsh but were reserving their position on Ms Quigley’s submissions for the protection of payment of the Irish Horse Board Co-Operative Society debt. Ms Quigley said she had engaged with Mr Walsh seeking her client’s debt to be transferred to a special category.

Appointing Mr Walsh as examiner, Judge O’Connell adjourned the proceedings until early October.

The company, which employs 47 full-time workers, is highly dependent on grants from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and Sport Ireland which, alone, had funded the company to the tune of €2.1 million for 2026.

The company was recognized by Sport Ireland, Olympic Federation of Ireland, Paralympics Ireland, the Federation Equestre Internationale and Sport Northern Ireland as the national governing body for the equestrian sector in the country.

Major costs

The High Court had been told that historically the company had nominal reserves to insulate it against any trading issues or significant trading losses but had recently been hit by major legal costs arising from defamation proceedings.

Directors listed in the petition proceedings were named as Kevin Smyth, Balally Park, Dundrum, Dublin; Allison Mercer, Whitethorn Brae, Kinallen, Dromore, Co Down; Susan Foley, Clonshire, Adare, Limerick; Karen Brosnan, Annacoil, Forenaughts, Westown, Naas, Kildare; Pamela Byrne, Ballinowlart South, Rathangan, Kildare, David Markey, Cabinteely, Dublin; Robert Huey, Knockaleery Road, Cookstown, Co Tyrone and Killian Carroll, Blackberry Hill, Carrickmines, Dublin.

It was revealed that the company had incurred costs of €1,581,995 in relation to the development of software programmes as at the end of June 2026 and had ongoing obligations in relation to pension and payroll.

The independent expert Cormac Mohan of AAB Ireland had stated that the formulation, acceptance and confirmation of proposals for a scheme of arrangement, in conjunction with the introduction of additional capital or support of DAFM and Sport Ireland would offer a reasonable prospect of survival.

The company was confident that these conditions could be met and the directors believed that the examinership process would afford the company a reasonable prospect of trading successfully into the future and preserve the current jobs.

Earlier coverage on the examinership can be found here