The weather has finally turned. Are your groundstaff happy with the track ahead of the Easter Festival?

Noel Fanning and the team are happy with the track at the moment. Considering the weather we had over the winter, they have done fantastic work and they will be keeping an eye on the weather over the next couple 10 days.

How are tickets selling and what is the best value package in your opinion?

Corporate bookings are ahead at the same point as last year. Sales are strong and there are lots of offers out there for people to avail of. There is an online discount for general admission tickets [fairyhouse.ie] and, with the option to print at home, this takes any hassle out of the whole process.

The restaurant packages are great value. The Easter Monday package includes a four-course meal, afternoon tea and a half bottle of wine. Along with the great racing and atmosphere on the day this is the one I’d go for!

The Group Punters Pack is also brilliant value for a gang looking to enjoy a more casual day out. It includes admission, racecard, €5 Tote bet, a drink and pulled pork bap. It’s available online for groups of 10 or more, but if it’s a struggle to get 10 together we can sell to smaller numbers over the phone.

How are you marking the 1916 celebrations?

We will be staging a re-enactment of the 1916 Irish Grand National with the help of the Ward Union Hunt. The 1916 National was won by All Sorts and we will also be welcoming a number of relations of the winning owner, trainer and jockey to join us on the day. The winning jockey’s son Johnny Lynn, who is 89 years old, is a great character. He is really excited and delighted to be a part of the celebrations.

How important is terrestrial television coverage for the meeting?

The RTÉ coverage is brilliant for the profile of Fairyhouse and it’s great to get so many eyes on what is one of the country’s premier tracks and most important festivals, so I feel it is deserved and vital that we have this coverage. It is also really important for our sponsors and it provides great coverage for their brands.

Has the proximity of the meeting to Cheltenham this year makes the Easter Festival harder to promote?

It has made it slightly more challenging, to be honest. I think people need at least a week to recover after Cheltenham, especially if they’ve had a losing streak and are in the bad books at home! But there will be plenty who stayed at home for Cheltenham and are saving themselves for Easter. It’s brilliant to have that support.

Fairyhouse is very close to Dublin. How do you target the city population?

It’s a very important market for us. We had a presence at a number of the Cheltenham preview nights in Dublin and we do target a number of Dublin radio stations and press titles. This year we also have a direct coach service from Dublin city centre with our travel partners Marathon Coaches. Its only a 30-minute spin direct to the door and the bus-admission combination tickets are great value. It’s €30 for Sunday and Tuesday and €40 for Monday.

Some city folk have the impression that “Fairyhouse is miles away” so it’s my job to let them know how accessible we actually are.

There always seems to be a strong Northern Ireland contingent at Fairyhouse. Do you have good contacts in the north?

Yes, we get great crowds down from the North throughout the year. We have had some big GAA fundraisers so it’s not just the festival that attracts this market. Again, it’s not too far of a journey and it is testament to the racecourse that we attract these groups. We love welcoming the Northern Ireland contingent to Fairyhouse and I have tried to tap into this market a bit more with advertising campaigns and competitions on some of the big radio stations up there.

UK trainers seem reluctant to bring their National Hunt horses to Ireland for big races. What has been your experience in talking to them?

We had eight British runners last year which is a good number compared to some of the other Irish fixtures and we are expecting similar this year. I think the Willie Mullins factor and the fact that Easter is a moveable feast can prove tricky for some of the UK trainers. We would of course love more British runners and we are delighted the likes of Nicky Henderson, Harry Fry and Dan Skelton have sent their horses in recent years.

The BoyleSports Irish Grand National always seems to produce a fairytale story. Looking at the entries for this year, what potential storylines are in there?

One I like is Kilford, trained in a small yard in Wexford by Leonard Whitmore. This horse won last Sunday at Navan and in 2012 Lion Na Bearnaí won the same race before going on to win the National.

Noel Meade is on the committee here and has a live contender in Bonny Kate. Then of course there’s Venetien De Mai trained by Jim Dreaper whose family has such a rich Fairyhouse history. Not forgetting a certain W.P. Mullins who has yet to win an Irish National!