LOCAL legends are found throughout Ireland and Paddy Quirke undoubtedly fits the bill. On one occasion at the nearby Horse And Jockey Hotel, taxi driver Patrick Hennessy was another to suggest a feature about the Ballymureen Stud owner. “You’ll have to do an article about Paddy Quirke sometime, a mighty horseman,” and so its back to Littleton to meet the man and his wife Kay.

The couple were originally from Toomevara and moved to Littleton after their marriage. “You would have to be into horses growing up where I lived,” says Paddy, naming local breeders such as Eamon Cormack, the Hodgins and Healy families.