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E-mailThere was no sign of recession at the Galway races last week with bookies taking in over €100m in bets. But though betting was slightly up on last year, bookmakers claimed they had only a "mixed week".
"We were ever so slightly ahead by the end of the week, but there was a massive €100m spent altogether which was up a little bit on last year. It was a rollercoaster ride of a week," said bookmaker Paddy Power.
According to Power, there was a bad start for the punters on the first day, but luck gradually improved over the course of the week.
"Monday was great for us, and then Tuesday was tough, and it went on a little bit like this for the rest of the week. People are still betting despite the recession, but they are betting in smaller amounts. But everyone had a bit of good luck, and then we even got the good weather."
Footfall was also up on last year, with figures showing that over 44,000 attended the popular Ladies Day, a marked rise on last year's figure of 42,000.
Festival organisers were confident the event would defy the recession once again, with racecourse manager John Moloney saying ticket sales were on a par with last year.
Irish rugby internationals Ronan O'Gara and Tommy Bowe helped to launch the races last Monday, paving the way for over 51 races. The festival is thought to be worth at least €60m to the local economy in Galway.
There is still a marked decrease on the all-time high experienced two years ago where attendance figures were up in the region of 175,000.
This year, the festival was attended by a number of well-known personalities including Rosanna Davison, Chris de Burgh, Grainne Seoige and a number of former taoisigh.
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Ireland has had a long history of alcoholism which was socially accepted to such a degree that it became part of our culture and even gave rise to a stereotype of the drunken Irish. Then we had the heroin problem silently taking hold of our youth, it's tentacles reaching into every provincial town in the country. But the biggest and most pervasive addiction which will ruin the lives of tens of thousands of Irish citizens is gambling. In many studies this addiction is seen to be the most deep rooted of all and yet what is the response of society? Celebrate the fact that 100 million euros is handed over to bookmakers in a single week in one small town in the west as if it was a great event, a great cultural spectacle. Where is the concern about gambling in this society? There's none. All media outlets are benefitting from advertising this chronic addiction as if it was the latest health remedy. We can bury our heads in the sand for a while but this gambling craze will create more problems in Ireland than alcohol ever did. The media don't care as long as the revenue from advertising continues to pour in.