ON her only visit, the late Queen never managed to visit Limerick, but the Queen’s County Hunt certainly did last Friday for a visiting meet with the Stonehall Harriers in west Limerick. While the Stonehalls have been hunting for little more than 100 seasons or so, the origin of the Queen’s County, now known as The Laois Foxhounds, is lost in the mists of time.

Like all great sporting events, such as the Limerick hurlers winning the Liam McCarthy Cup on an annual basis, the sporting men (and women) of Laois make the trip south to jump the walls of west Limerick in January every year. The Stonehalls, who normally meet on a Saturday, move their meet to Fridays to facilitate their visitors, who hunt at home on Saturdays.