DEFENCE SPEND ON HORSES MARE-LY A €900K BILL
BUT BEREFT FATHER HAS FAITH IN GARDA PROBE
THE Defence Forces have spent more than €880,000 on new horses as well as feed and equipment for their equestrian school over the past two years.
Top brass shelled out €539,900 last year for the purchase of five horses, with the average paid for each of the animals working out at just under €108,000 each.
That was well ahead of expenditure in 2020 when three horses were bought for a combined sum of €179,500, or around €60,000 each.
The Department of Defence said that during the same period no horses had been sold with no money raised through the onward sale of animals.
Military bosses paid over €107,000 on animal feed during the past two years, for an average of roughly €54,000 annually, Defence Forces figures show.
A further €57,000 was spent on equipment including saddlery, and other items to keep the horses in perfect condition.
The Defence Forces said they could not provide costs for the transport of their horses, saying it was included in their overall transport budget.
An information note said horses for the Equitation School at McKee Barracks in Dublin were procured in one of three ways: through direct purchase, by way of lease, or via a patron.
Proud
A Horse Purchase Board made up of two officers, a retired officer, and a department official assess the suitability of each animal before any horse is bought.
The Defence Forces said they looked for horses that had the desire and ability to jump “carefully”, and animals of a good size who were sound and must first undergo a veterinary examination.
They also prize a “good temperament” and a horse “amenable to training and control” with the ability to lengthen and shorten their stride for jumping.
Captain Risteard Byrne said: “Since its inception in 1926, the Army Equitation School has had a proud tradition of promoting Ireland, the Irish horse, and the Defence Forces.
“The Army Equitation School is unique, as it is the only military establishment in the world whose officers and soldiers participate in the highest level of international equestrian competition.
“The mission of the Equitation School is to promote the Irish competition horse through participation in international events at the highest level.”
He said that army riders had represented Ireland at Olympic, World and European level in show jumping and three-day eventing, all achieved using Irish-bred horses.
THE father of murder victim Kenneth Fetherston has told how he was approached by “very serious” people who offered to “sort” those responsible.
In an exclusive interview ahead of the 13th anniversary of his son’s killing this week, heartbroken Dad
Brian Fetherston revealed that he’s been approached numerous times by people who’ve offered to take the law into their own hands — but he pleaded with them not to do so.
“I’ve been asked if I want somebody else to do it for me and that it can be organised.
“And some of them were very serious people and they offered to sort it, so to speak.
“But I told them:
‘No please do not do this, stay out of it, the guards are dealing with it’,” Brian revealed. a result.
Tragic Ken’s partial remains were “Ken wasn’t one that would be discovered on Military Road at the involved in that kind of behaviour foot of the Dublin Mountains in and I never want to insult his Rathfarnham on January 31, 2010 memory.
— after he went missing and was “I’d much prefer for the suspects likely killed on September 22, 2009. to be given the opportunity to try
Thursday marks the 13th anni- and prove themselves and ultimately versary of the father-of-one’s kill- discover they were wrong ing — in which it is suspected that and then have to live in a confined Ken was stabbed to death by two space for a period of time — ideally men known to him following a row a very long period of time. over money. “I’d prefer them to be getting a
The callous thugs then moved the sentence equivalent to the amount 27-year-old’s body to the mountains, where it lay undiscovered for four months.
But after 13 years his devastated father says he still has faith in the ongoing Garda cold case — and he turned down many offers not just because of his faith in the law but because of his respect for his innocent son.
“A lot of people approached me. But I always pleaded with them not to get involved,” he said.
Law
“I have respect for the law and I don’t want that. We have suffered over the last 13 years and we do not want any more suffering as
‘We have suffered over the last 13 years...’
of time they’ve taken Ken away from us.”
Brian says the toll of Ken’s loss has been long-lasting — and his son’s daughter, who is now 16, visits his grave often as she tries to come to terms with his loss.
“It’s very difficult for everybody. His daughter is growing up and she’s becoming a young woman now.
“She was just a baby back then. She goes up to the grave with his nieces and nephew every couple of weeks.
“They’re going up to the grave of a man they never even knew,” he said.
And Brian, who has been tirelessly campaigning for answers, says his own health has not been great — but he says he will fight on until he gets justice for his son.
“I don’t know if I am going to ever live to see justice being done, but I do plan on being here for the next few years anyway.
“Time is flying and my health isn’t the best at the moment.
“Youth isn’t on my side. I’m going to be 69 and so I don’t have too much longer. But