John Patrick "J. P." McManus (born 10 March 1951) is an Irish

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 businessman and racehorse owner.
Born in Limerick

Limerick

Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...

, McManus began his business career at his family's construction plant hire firm, and then became an on-course bookmaker at Limerick's greyhound track, the Market's Field, before moving into horse ownership and punting and laying horses on the advice of his associate Jimmy Hayes.