You know what they say about buses: you wait for one for an hour and then three come along at the same time. Well it’s a bit like that when it comes to me and greyhound racing. Until a month ago, I’d only been at a dog track once in my life. I was county secretary of Limerick IFA at the time and we ran a race night for the Samaritans. It was a wonderful way of raising money and we were able to hand over a cheque of about €43,000 (£34,000) after all costs were paid. That must have been 20 years ago now.

Then about a month ago I went along to Shelbourne Park to support the greyhound Razldazl NewsTalk. Sadly he didn’t do very well but he more than made up for it last weekend by winning the Grand National at Harold’s Cross. On the night we had expert guidance from a young woman by the name of Sarah Kinsella. I followed her betting advice to a tee and came out well ahead.

So last Friday night, instead of a dinner dance, Limerick IFA held their annual social at the Limerick Greyhound Stadium. It was certainly different. There are so many races you hardly get time to eat. Sadly without expert advice I was left with nothing but air in my purse. Sean fared only marginally better but nonetheless it was a great night.

On Saturday night we headed to the Kingdom for the Listowel Food Fair awards. It was a real treat of a night and full credit to the Listowel Arms for serving up a truly memorable meal. Each course included elements from the award-winning food businesses. It was nice to see our neighbours, Jim and Marie O’Brien from Ballyhahill, receive an award for their cheese. It’s a new venture for this dairying family and I can only wish them the best of luck with it.

The gold medal winner was a dandelion flower preserve made by Sharon and Gordon Greene from Shinrone in Co Offaly. They run Wild Irish Foragers & Preserves and we featured them only a few weeks ago as part of the Good Food Ireland food summit. They have a 50-acre farm with no less than 20 miles of hedgerow. To make the dandelion preserve, they actually pluck the petals from the dandelions, making sure that no green material gets in the mix. For that alone they deserved the award.

Former Kerry Group CEO Denis Brosnan received a lifetime achievement award for his pivotal role in the development and expansion of Kerry Group into a global giant, which today employs over 20,000 people. In his speech he said recognising that the constituent parts of milk had a value and could be used as an ingredient in many foods was key to Kerry’s success. He said he always envisaged the emergence of an artisan food sector across the country.

Next year the Listowel Food Fair celebrates its 21st anniversary and will change date to the end of June.

Do read Katherine O’Leary on page 18. I’d like to know what you think her experience says of our health service.

Finally, the latest edition of our Irish Country Magazine hits the shops this week. Sharon Corr is on the cover and the fashion is just fabulous. There’s a 15% off reader offer for the Christmas Collection at Carraig Donn plus a chance to win a holiday to Spain worth €1,300.