LOCAL Fine Gael TD Micheal Creed paid one of his regular visits to the Muskerry point-to-point in Aughabullogue last Sunday but his first as Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Welcomed to the fixture over the airwaves by Jack Murphy, landowner of the Dromatimore venue, the Minister said he was delighted to attend his local meeting. He also stated that he was pleased, through his role in cabinet, to support the sport in general through increased funding as point-to-pointing was the foundation of racing in Ireland. Frankie Ward, who has liaised between the Irish Point-to-Point Handlers Association, the Minister and Horse Racing Ireland over the past few months, also addressed the crowd, saying how important the financial injection was to point-to-pointing. It was “much like a blood transfusion,” she commented.