PUNCHESTOWN is not far away and the Naas Local History Group did its bit to add to the atmosphere, with a talk last Tuesday evening in the Town House Hotel entitled “Ladies Day at Punchestown through the years”.

The guest speaker was Dr Emma Lyons, who illustrated not just the changing fashions, but also the changing social contexts to which Punchestown has adapted over the decades, while never losing its aura of excitement and colour on and off the track.

Dr Lyons, who hails from Baltinglass, is an established scholar with a particular interest in the rich palette of equine sports in counties Wicklow and Kildare.