Taoiseach Enda Kenny has brushed off claims he fell asleep during a jobs announcement by a world-leading pharmaceutical firm.

The Punchestown National Hunt Festival — Irish horse racing’s equivalent of the Cheltenham Festival — generated nearly €60m for the local economy last year, according to a study by NUI Maynooth.

ANOTHER remarkable year for Irish National Hunt Racing was celebrated at the annual National Hunt Awards dinner which was held in Adare, Co Limerick, on Sunday night.

The fourth day of the Punchestown National Hunt Festival is due to get underway at the Co Kildare racecourse later today.