'Aggressive, abusive and demeaning' - Shark Hanlon's fine for verbal abuse of an official increased ten-fold following IHRB hearing

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Shark Hanlon's sanction for verbal abuse of the Listowel clerk of the course, Paul Moloney, was increased tenfold to €2,500 at a referral hearing held on Tuesday morning, while he was also warned that a repeat offence would trigger a suspension of his training licence. 

Evidence from several witnesses was heard to establish whether the €250 fine imposed by the raceday stewards at the Kerry track on June 1 was unduly lenient following a referral initiated by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB).

Colman Sweeney, stipendiary steward on the day, took a contemporaneous note of the alleged abuse which Hanlon directed towards Moloney as a result of a dispute over watering of the track.

Sweeney said that in five years working as a steward for the IHRB, it was the worst he had witnessed.

Asked to give his recollection of the incident, Sweeney said: “I heard very loud shouting so I went out to the public weigh room and Mr Hanlon was roaring at Mr Moloney about the ground.” 

“Look at you sitting like a smug p**ck, smirking up at me. F*ck off back to England. F**king useless, you wouldn't run a brothel,” he claimed Hanlon said.

Shark Hanlon's fine was increased tenfoldCredit: Patrick McCann

Following the outburst, the raceday stewards held an inquiry into the episode, during which all parties accepted that Hanlon apologised for his actions before the €250 fine was imposed.

Sweeney, continuing his evidence, reported Hanlon to have said after the result of the raceday inquiry: “I will gladly pay a monkey to say that. I’ve been waiting to get that off my chest.” 

Assistant clerk of the scales on the day, Michael Doyle, then gave evidence that the conduct was “aggressive, abusive, and demeaning” and took place in full view of the jockeys' room, the canteen and the press room. In his opinion, the interaction between the parties had continued for “at least two minutes".

In a submission, Doyle said Hanlon compared the racing surface to a duck pond and accused Moloney of watering the track, while the clerk replied that he had not watered.

At the outset of proceedings, Hanlon’s legal representative, Patrick Kennedy, said his client accepted his conduct was an overreaction and abusive and that barring certain elements, he agreed he had said what was reported by Mr Sweeney.

However, Kennedy argued that there was a "triggering factor" behind the conduct, which did not excuse it but did explain it. 

Giving evidence, Hanlon noted that his conduct was wrong and he “wouldn’t wish it on anybody”, but “it was a red rag to a bull" when he asked Moloney whether watering had been carried out and he was told it had not been. He accused Moloney of “blatant lies”.

In his evidence, Moloney said that the incident was “humiliating and demeaning” and that the abuse was “horrific”. On the day, Moloney said that Hanlon asked him why the back straight had been watered, and that he responded: “We didn’t, we only did selective watering.”

Handing down the decision of the three-member referral committee, Lady Chief Justice Siobhan Keegan imposed an increased fine of €2,500 on Hanlon. She noted that even if he had a legitimate issue, it didn’t excuse his conduct and warned him that a repeat of the offence would result in a suspension of his licence. 

When the hearing had concluded, Hanlon approached Moloney and apologised for his conduct. He said it was unlikely he would appeal against the decision. 

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