Liam has had some lovely horses over the years and had his most recent winner when Young Dev won at Navan last Sunday. He also notably purchased Irish and English Grand National winner Bobbyjo as a foal before selling him to his good friend Bobby Burke.

How did you get interested in racing?

I was always interested in racing. I grew up near the racecourse in Galway and we would go there as kids. I came from a farm and we had farm horses there. So, I always had a love for horses. I bought my first horse in 1982. Furlana Wonder was his name, he actually won at Galway. Then I was involved with another horse with a friend of mine, Bobby Burke, Bobbyjo’s owner. The horse we had together at that time won at Galway as well. So that was my first two horses and we had a great start and the bug had bitten me.

Tell us a bit about the background behind Young Dev, who won at the weekend, He has been an amazing servant to you.

Yeah, we bought a mare called Sagarich. She bred a good few nice horses. Gordon Elliott had a nice horse out of her called Wide Receiver who unfortunately got killed. Young Dev was kind of a fluke, really. I was actually thinking of not covering her that year. I decided I’d go up the road here to Fracas who is owned by Joe Joyce. That’s how Young Dev came along. Sagarich is actually in foal at the moment to Walk In The Park, so we hope that will produce a nice horse.

On Young Dev in particular, you have had some fantastic days out with him.

We have, indeed. Coming second in the Midlands National at Uttoxeter last year was certainly a highlight. He ran a cracking race that day. We have had good fun with him at Limerick too. He has won four races down there.

How did you think the race at the weekend panned out for him? He had a little bit in hand in the end, didn’t he?

Yeah, he did. He ran a very bad race last time out before Navan. We were kind of thinking that maybe he was finished. If he didn’t run well on Sunday, we were actually thinking of retiring him. Then he came out and won easy. He loves the testing ground. He needs soft ground and a good stiff track. He got that last Sunday and he delivered. It was a bit unexpected, to be honest. I had a small bet on him myself but not very much.

I assume Young Dev got his name from the former Taoiseach and President?

Well, I did have a horse named Dev some years ago with the Quinlan brothers. But yeah, Dev was named after De Valera. We would be that side of the house around these parts, alright. I probably named him that to annoy a few lads. Our family, going back, has an association with the foundations of the State. My grandfather was involved in the old IRA at one stage. The Black and Tans actually burned down his house. So, there is a bit of history there.

Tell us about Denis Hogan and your relationship with him.

I have been with Denis for a long time now. We have had some lovely winners over the years. We have a very good relationship. He is very good at training horses. He knows when a horse is ready to win. I think an owner’s relationship with a trainer is very important. Denis and I get on great together and it works well.

Eva’s Request is probably the mare that most people will think of when they see your colours.

She was a brilliant mare. Mick Channon did a fantastic job with her. She won some lovely races including a couple of Group races. We ended up selling her and making a very nice profit. But, yeah, she was a fantastic mare to have. She is probably the best horse I ever had.

So, you mentioned you had a horse in the early days with Bobby Burke, who owned Bobbyjo. The pair of you must have had good times when he was on the go.

Well, I actually bought Bobbyjo as a foal. I had him on the farm here. Bobby called up to me one day and I was showing him a few horses. At the time I was just interested in selling a few horses. Bobby bought a couple of them from me and Bobbyjo was among them. We had great fun in those days. Both of us had horses with Tommy Carberry. We had great times with the late Tommy. He was some character.

Do you enjoy going racing as much today as you did in those days?

I’m going racing a long time. It is 40 years since my first winner. There is not too many that have been in racing for that long. Racing has lost a lot of the characters. There used to be fantastic characters going racing years ago. They are not there anymore. Most of my age group have passed away. It just hasn’t got the same pull as it used to. You go to a smaller meeting nowadays and there is no one there. The prize money is probably another issue there. Especially for smaller races. If you’re getting six and a half thousand or that for winning a bad race, by the time all the fees come out of it, there isn’t much left there to keep the horse in training for very long. Training fees have gone up a lot in the last couple of years.

Have you any advice for someone looking to get involved in racehorse ownership?

Yeah…make sure you have a lot of money when you’re starting. You will definitely have less when you’re finished.