Caitriona Murphy

EMERALD International Equestrian Centre has officially gone on the market via a tendering process which is set to close within three weeks.

A closing date of February 27th has been set for the tender process by selling agents REA McDonald Bros and the Enfield property is being offered for sale in two lots; the first being the equestrian centre on 49.55 acres of land and the second being an 8.73 acres parcel of land. The equestrian centre was originally built in the early 1990s by convicted drug dealer John Gilligan and known at that time as Jessbrook Equestrian Centre. The property, worth an estimated €5m, was seized from him by the criminal assets bureau in 1996 and was sold to current owner James Buckley in May 2014 for a reported €500,000.

Buckley and his family invested heavily in renovating the entire property and re-named it Emerald International during the summer of 2014. The venue hosted its first major show, the ‘Irish Masters’ last November.

Following extensive work by the Buckley family, the 58-acre property now boasts an indoor arena measuring 89m x 40m with seating for 3,000 people, two bars, a restaurant, toilets and extensive office space.

There are two indoor and three outdoor jumping arenas, all with Equestrian Surfaces Ireland-supplied jumping surfaces. There are also 44 stables, 44 permanent stables, tack rooms, feed rooms and a wash bay, as well as a four-bedroom apartment and a one-bedroom apartment.

The venue had been due to host a number of two-star and three-star international show in March, June and November this year, which have now been cancelled.

The sale was prompted by James Buckley’s health issues, which mean he is no longer in a position to fulfil the level of commitments that the venue requires.