'The Gold Cup - a reverse forecast would be nice, wouldn't it?'

Jessica Harrington is showing the sloth sitting at her kitchen table at her Moone base in County Kildare how to lift dumbbells, and the sequence of squats that have left her limbs aching a little. She’s giving out stink about her personal trainer who pushes her through the pain barrier three, sometimes four, nights a week.

Nothing terribly unusual about any of that – gym bunnies are multiplying like rabbits – but this particularly bunny turned 71 last month. She should, by right, be lifting bingo books not dumbbells. Wednesday night should be bridge night, not boxing. Holidays should be spent sunbathing in Marbella not skiing in the south of France.
Harrington has entered her eighth decade, but get up to give her your seat on a bus and you’ll get some guff in return. She’d stand for longer than any of us.

Jessica Harrington: 'Mum’s amazing. She has more energy than I have,' says daughter KateCredit: Patrick McCann

“Mum’s amazing. She has more energy than I have. I wish I had her energy,” says daughter Kate, who joins the conflab in the kitchen along with older sister Emma.