By Brian Sheerin
Jim Kavanagh, the retired racehorse trainer who has showcased his vast collection of Irish racing memorabilia at the Courthouse in County Kildare for five years now, has made a passionate plea for support from the industry to keep his rare treasures alive by finding a permanent home for the museum.
At 80 years of age, Kavanagh has single-handedly kept the museum open for the past five summers and, while he had initially planned to close up shop for the year after Oaks weekend, has committed to running the tours for another month by appointment only.
But Kavanagh hopes to secure something more long-term for his vast collection of racing memorabilia which dates back to Orby, the first Irish-trained winner of the Derby back in 1907, and says that people in the industry could make a big difference.
He explained, “We are based in the courthouse, which is owned by the Kildare County Council. In their draft of plans, there is a lot of money going to be spent in Kildare town but they have earmarked this building for the arts. There's a feasibility study being done now and we're putting our speak in.
“We hope to convince them that this building is big enough, if it was invested in properly, to host more than just the arts and that there would be room for us in it as well. That's the dream. We have a visitors book, which we get people to sign and, the more signatures we can gather, the easier job we have of convincing the powers that be that there is a demand for the museum.”
There has been a steady stream of people visiting the museum this summer, according to Kavanagh, who explained that a walk through his collection of racing memorabilia was comparable to stepping back in time.
He said, “We've had quality over quantity this summer. We've had a lot of visitors from all over the world who were in awe of what we have here. To have them engaging and interested about what we have on display here is great.
“We have a number of display units and behind each one there is a story. There is memorabilia going back to Orby, the first Irish-trained winner of the Derby in 1907, photographs of the old Curragh stand and trophies that were won by the late Darkie Prendergast. It's a refreshing walk back through time to the black and white era.”
Kavanagh added, “I trained for a long time and was CEO of the trainers' association for many years. When I retired, I had a lot of memorabilia and it was five years ago when the local Derby committee came to me and asked me to do something for the weekend.
“As soon as I started that, people began to come to me with stuff and we've built it up since then. We missed a year through Covid but we've been building every year since we started and it seems to be going down well with a lot of people, including the locals, who bring me in a lot of pictures and like to come and talk about their relations who used to work in the industry.”
Kavanagh's main aim is to find a permanent home for the museum and is convinced that, if enough people show their support, the exhibition could fit in nicely in the Kildare courthouse every summer.
He said, “We will be open for another month and will be doing visits by appointment. I'm happy to put my number [+353872898213] out there and, if there were a small group of people who wanted to come along, I'd be only too happy to give them the tour. I have the time, I'm 80 years old now, so I enjoy doing it and it's a great way to meet people. I love it and I hope to find a permanent home for the museum.”
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