IT would be hard to find a more appropriate venue for a meet of the Laois Foxhounds than the Castle Arms, just off the square in the picturesque Laois town of Durrow. It has been the property of the Murphy family since the 1950s, when it was acquired by the returned Australian, Joe Murphy Snr.

The Laois hunt are above all a happy hunt, making one and all welcome and, so it was in the bar/restaurant of the Arms, with more than a few tables serving a hearty hunting breakfast, while the bar was three deep with hunt members, foot-followers and The Irish Field correspondents all catching up on hunting news and meeting old friends, many of whom we hadn’t seen since last season.