John Magnier arrived at the High Court last week wearing his trademark John Deere cap and Bluetooth earpiece, not the typical attire expected for a multi-billionaire.
He left school (Glenstal Abbey) aged 15 to take over the family estate in Fermoy, Co Cork following the death of his father Thomas. He went on to create a bloodstock empire that now reaches every corner of the globe through the sires Sadler’s Wells, Danehill, Montjeu and Galileo to name but a few, and marked Ireland as the world leader for thoroughbred racehorses.
He famously invested in soccer club Manchester United, became one of the world’s most active art collectors, and invested in UK nursing home group Barchester Healthcare, with Dermot Desmond and JP McManus. He has, by his own account 70,000 or 80,000 employees in his Irish and UK businesses.
He’s planning to build a brand new town with 20,000 houses in Hampshire with property developer Michael O’Flynn, on a 4,000ac estate he purchased in 2017.
And yet, listening to his Coolmore farm manager Joe Holohan last week, it would appear the bloodstock supremo would rather be at home in the fields.
“He loves farming, he’s a farmer at heart, complete farmer, and every time he’s at home he’s out farming. He gives me a call and he says to me, ‘Whenever you’re going, I’ll go with you,’ whatever is going on on the farm, he’d want to be there, yeah. So machinery, all that, he loves all that kind of gear, yeah,” Mr Holohan told the court.
That love of machinery, referred to by some as ‘heavy metal disease’ was elaborated on by Mr Holohan.
“If there’s harvesting going on he’d want to -- he’d watch the combine going up and down,” Holohan said in court.
“I probably shouldn’t say this but he’d probably watch them all day going up and down, but he’d do his paperwork -- he’d have his paperwork with him and he’d be watching combines and asking, ‘What’s that combine doing? And what’s this doing and what’s that doing?’”. He’s very much into it.”
On 22 August 2023, the evening Holohan dined with the Magniers and Thomson-Moores, there had been a machinery demonstration for Coolmore without the boss being present.
“There was a bale collector being demonstrated on one of our farms…I was glad he wasn’t there for that, because often times these demonstrations can cause more hassle than they are...” he trailed off.
Coolmore Farm's combines in action harvesting at Bengurragh House, Cahir, Co Tipperary. \ TJ Carroll
John Magnier arrived at the High Court last week wearing his trademark John Deere cap and Bluetooth earpiece, not the typical attire expected for a multi-billionaire.
He left school (Glenstal Abbey) aged 15 to take over the family estate in Fermoy, Co Cork following the death of his father Thomas. He went on to create a bloodstock empire that now reaches every corner of the globe through the sires Sadler’s Wells, Danehill, Montjeu and Galileo to name but a few, and marked Ireland as the world leader for thoroughbred racehorses.
He famously invested in soccer club Manchester United, became one of the world’s most active art collectors, and invested in UK nursing home group Barchester Healthcare, with Dermot Desmond and JP McManus. He has, by his own account 70,000 or 80,000 employees in his Irish and UK businesses.
He’s planning to build a brand new town with 20,000 houses in Hampshire with property developer Michael O’Flynn, on a 4,000ac estate he purchased in 2017.
And yet, listening to his Coolmore farm manager Joe Holohan last week, it would appear the bloodstock supremo would rather be at home in the fields.
“He loves farming, he’s a farmer at heart, complete farmer, and every time he’s at home he’s out farming. He gives me a call and he says to me, ‘Whenever you’re going, I’ll go with you,’ whatever is going on on the farm, he’d want to be there, yeah. So machinery, all that, he loves all that kind of gear, yeah,” Mr Holohan told the court.
That love of machinery, referred to by some as ‘heavy metal disease’ was elaborated on by Mr Holohan.
“If there’s harvesting going on he’d want to -- he’d watch the combine going up and down,” Holohan said in court.
“I probably shouldn’t say this but he’d probably watch them all day going up and down, but he’d do his paperwork -- he’d have his paperwork with him and he’d be watching combines and asking, ‘What’s that combine doing? And what’s this doing and what’s that doing?’”. He’s very much into it.”
On 22 August 2023, the evening Holohan dined with the Magniers and Thomson-Moores, there had been a machinery demonstration for Coolmore without the boss being present.
“There was a bale collector being demonstrated on one of our farms…I was glad he wasn’t there for that, because often times these demonstrations can cause more hassle than they are...” he trailed off.
Coolmore Farm's combines in action harvesting at Bengurragh House, Cahir, Co Tipperary. \ TJ Carroll
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