'It's part of our culture' - St Stephen's Day Hunt attracts large crowds despite recent attempt to ban the sport

""My father hunted before me, my grandfather hunted - my grandmother, my great-grandfather," he says, calling it an inheritance shared by many of those gathered. "It's important that it wasn't banned because we're horse people. Ireland is a nation of horse people. "We're known for it throughout the world. Maybe Mongolia and the Native Americans have as much of a name for being horse people as the Irish do. And that's why it's important to support it."

""We're known for it throughout the world. Maybe Mongolia and the Native Americans have as much of a name for being horse people as the Irish do. And that's why it's important to support it. It's part of what it means to be Irish. And that's why it's so important that we got the support that we did from our TDs and we're very grateful [for] that. And we're incredibly grateful for the support of these people who are here today.""

Hundreds of spectators line the street as the Meath Hunt procession moves into surrounding countryside. The hunt will draw a couple of coverts to search for foxes on nearby land with farmers' permission. A bill aimed at banning hunts was recently defeated after the three largest Dáil parties refused to back it, though some spectators expect another attempt. Meath Hunt chair Pat Dillon frames hunting as a multi-generational inheritance and emphasizes its role in Irish equestrian culture. Huntsman Kenny Henry and the Henry family have directed hounds for 65 years, with Barry Finnegan as whip and masters Niall O'Regan and Cathal Cassidy leading the hunt.

Read at Irish Independent