SHELBOURNE TO MARK 20 YEARS SINCE TSUNAMI APPEAL NIGHT
Ian Fortune
It’s hard to believe that it is just over twenty years since the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami that claimed the lives of over a quarter of a million people across fourteen countries.
As we arose from our slumber in the early hours of St. Stephens Day in 2004, we began to hear of the devastation experienced in south eastern Asia.
The Irish government and the Irish public were quick into action quickly raising funds for the aid appeal. Of course, that also included the Irish greyhound industry. Subsequent Hall of Fame recipient Chandre Monerawela was understandably horrified by what he saw in his native Sri Lanka and quickly became the driving force behind the Irish greyhound racing efforts to raise funds for the tsunami appeal.
Chandre established the Irish Sri Lanka Trust Fund, which would go on to raise vast sums of money for the appeal, much of which came from Irish greyhound racing.
Along with the backing of the Irish Greyhound Board, led by chairman Paschal Taggart, and a chosen committee, Irish greyhound racing kicked into gear to raise much needed funds for the aforementioned Irish Sri Lanka Trust Fund.
There were huge fundraising efforts throughout Ireland with every track running fundraisers but the highlight was at Shelbourne Park on January 27th, 2005, incredibly just over a month after the tsunami struck.
On the night each of the ten sponsored races were named after cities and provinces in Sri Lanka. The sponsorship alone accounted for over €205,000. The feature race on the card was the Royal County €100,000 to Sri Lanka 550. As the name suggests, every cent of the €100,000 would go to the appeal.
There was a huge raffle on the night, while all sponsorship, gate receipts, most of the taking from the restaurant also went to support the victims of the tsunami. Across the tracks of Ireland, over €400,000 was raised, while Shelbourne Park accounted for the majority of that figure.
For the record, the feature race on the Shelbourne Park card was won by the hugely talented Yeah Man, who quite fittingly was owned by Cathal McCarthy, a great friend of Chandre Monerawela, and one of the more generous donors and driving forces behind the appeal.
Twenty years on, it still serves as the evidence of what Irish greyhound racing can achieve. The event was a remarkable demonstration of the greyhound racing community's solidarity and compassion and the evidence of their efforts are still visible today.
The “Shelbourne Park Village” still stands in Sri Lanka, consisting of thirty-two homes, while over a thousand boats were also purchased, partly from funds raised on that faithful night in early 2025, as well as the Buy A Boat campaign.
To mark the twenty-year anniversary of the event and the incredible fundraising efforts, Saturday’s card at Shelbourne Park will feature a €1,000 to the winner Open 525. Sadly, the man who made it all possible, Chandre Monerawela won’t be at Shelbourne Park as he now resides at home in Sri Lanka, but he will be watching on.