Where have all the horses gone? The changing landscape of the Curragh

It's sad, but all too true, that the Curragh is not what it used to be. There was a time, Ted Walsh will tell you, when Ireland's famous plains were once covered with horses. Gone are those days.

One morning recently, when we were blissfully unaware of the coronavirus crisis that lay ahead, Walsh made an observation as we shared a ride back from The Bushes, one of the many great grass gallops the Curragh has to offer.

"Myself and Frank Berry were counting it up one day," he said from behind the wheel of his Toyota Landcruiser, "there must be 600 empty stables on the Curragh.