“D’you see that fine mare over there. Wouldn’t you know she was special from the way she stands out,” nudged the man with a funny hat, pointing his stick in the direction of a grand grey in the middle of the field.

THE curtain came down on another basketball extravaganza in Castleisland last night, their 42nd consecutive blitz, at a packed Castleisland Community Centre.

Animal rights activists from around the world were in Dublin tonight to encourage Irish people to change their lifestyles and end cruelty to animals.