YOU can’t miss the sign at Fergie McGuire’s, the owner of Fergie’s Bar in Kilmessan, as in large letters it proudly announces the bar as, ‘The Home of Hurling and Camogie’. In this heartland of Gaelic Football his pub has a gallery of outstanding achievements in this small village. It reminded me of being brought up hurling in East Galway where, like Kilmessan, we had no Gaelic Football. The local Kilmessan hurling team have won 29 titles, but their finest hour was when they won the Intermediate Hurling Championship, remarkably beating the Kilkenny club Éire Óg in 2008. Fergie is a keen cyclist and with double Rás Tailteann (distance 767km and 14 climbs) winner Philip Cassidy they have raised over €70,000 for Suicide Prevention by cycling the length of Portugal (500km). On the morning of the hunt, Joan was dispensing all types of sustenance to the followers young and not so young.

On a sad note, the passing of Judith MacMahon, wife of the late Lt Col Ronnie MacMahon and daughters Emily and Clare in nearly Lambertstown will be a huge loss to equestrian activity in the area (see tribute page 98).