P.J. O’DONNELL came from a family steeped in all that is best in country and farming life. He was born in Dromin in 1937 to a family of sporting farmers. Once farming duties were taken care of, it was hunting for the winter, point-to-pointing in the spring, with the better point-to-pointers running under the rules at the local tracks during the summer.

But what set the family apart was their prevailing interest in politics.