An extraordinary display of solidarity by Irish greyhound folk saw another Shelbourne Park meeting abandoned as the position of the Irish Greyhound Board came under seemingly irresistible pressure writes Floyd Amphlett.

Last week’s IGB decision to close and cannibalise Harolds Cross was the catalyst. Instead of destroying morale, it has brought Irish greyhound racing together more than ever before in its history. A picket of Shelbourne on Friday saw racing reduced to a bizarre six runners. Despite warnings of further disruption on Saturday, the Board failed to cancel the meeting, or inform patrons of the issues, and were forced into a humiliating climb-down as no greyhound crossed the picket.

Outside, the good and great of Irish greyhound racing (see below – including an extraordinary speech from PJ Fahy) lined up in criticism of the Board, its chairman, interim CEO, and increasingly the Minister of Agriculture, who ultimately carries the can for the debacle.

Ken Mann of the Dublin Greyhound Owners and Breeder Association said: “This might be happening in Dublin, but this isn’t just about Harolds Cross. Our support has come from all corners of Ireland. We are getting hundreds of people to protest and some are making a six hour round trip. These people are concerned about the future of greyhound racing in Ireland. Today it is Harolds Cross, tomorrow it could be their track. I understand that the Enniscorthy people are due a meeting this week.”

So will the protest spread to other tracks?

Mann replied: “I hope not. We don’t want to do the Board’s job for them; give them the excuse to shut tracks. Harolds Cross makes money. In fact, we believe that the IGB accounts for 2015, which were briefly displayed on the IGB website and then taken down again, suggests that the industry made a €2.5m surplus. They only want to sell Harolds Cross to make up for previous mistakes and because they are making such a bad job of running the whole industry.

“If tracks like Harolds Cross are needed to subsidise the smaller tracks, so be it; we would rather they stay open. We believe that the greyhound industry doesn’t need to make money, only break even.”