In the round of the year I am lucky to travel the length and breadth of this great island of ours, covering race meetings. I’m also lucky to travel to England for the big festivals like Cheltenham, Aintree and Royal Ascot, and I cover overseas trips to America for the Breeders Cups and Hong Kong for Happy Valley and Sha Tin. It sure is a lot of driving, but I love it.

Luckily I photograph these beautiful animals and brave jockeys for a living, supplying images to the racing bible, The Irish Field, and many more. But out of all the journeys, the one I really love is to the Island Racetrack on the banks of the river Feale here in Listowel.

Listowel is a traditional market town and its people are proud of the festival...they care about it

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I am born and reared in the town, so the harvest festival has been the centre of my racing universe since I can remember. This year it celebrates its 158th year racing – so, if you haven’t been to the lovely Listowel, I am going to tell you a few reasons why you should come for at least one day.

Down through the decades, the meeting has grown from a single day’s racing to its now seven-day format. I think a huge part of this is down to the local community. Listowel is a traditional market town and its people are proud of the festival. They get behind it because they care about it. Our fore fathers and fore mothers raised this great festival and nurtured it, turning it into the second biggest racing festival on this island.

It’s ingrained in our DNA. The responsibility is passed down from generation to generation. Talk about it, tell people when we are on holiday to visit our lovely town, welcome strangers when you meet them in the street or one of the many great pubs in the town. Every Listowel person is an ambassador for the festival. You don’t get paid, but you don’t expect to. You do it because you are born part of it and that makes you want to help in whatever small way you can, to make sure it succeeds.

The town prides itself on its appearance for the week. Shops and business premises give their buildings a fresh lick of paint. The tidy town committee have the place spotless with fresh flowers everywhere. Pride in the town – everyone has it. It’s like people coming to visit your house – you want it looking well.

Culture

But let me step back from the racing aspect a minute. If your better half isn’t really into the horses, you can let them know that the town itself still has lots to offer if they prefer to just walk about the parish. We have a gorgeous river walk along the banks of the Feale. You start out in the centre of the town from the square. This will take you around to the Bridge Road side of town, up through the side of the town park to the beautiful Garden Of Europe.

Here you can enjoy 12 mini gardens, which are filled with over 3,000 trees and plants. The garden also has a bust of the poet Schiller, and Ireland’s only Holocaust memorial. The garden is also a winner of the Tidy Towns National Landscapes Award. A part of the town park is Listowel Pitch and Putt Club, a beautiful course which can be played all day. If you prefer golf, you can play the nine-hole parkland course that runs along the Feale.

For the more cultured among us, you are truly spoilt for choice. The town is steeped in literary icons, namely John B Keane, Bryan McMahon, George Fitzmaurice, Brendan Kennelly and Maurice Walsh. All of their great work can be seen in the Seanchai Literary and Cultural Centre in the square. It is here that you will grab a feel for the humour and drama behind the north Kerry area that shaped many the story for these great writers.

Beside the centre is Listowel Castle where you can get a guided tour of this 15th century monument which overlooks the square and the Feale. In the evening time, you have to pay a visit to St John’s Theatre, also situated in the square. A former Church Of Ireland building, it was renovated back in 1990 to become one of the country’s favourite venues.

It holds around 80 plays and 20 exhibitions annually and pre-booking would be advised. The town has plenty of top class restaurants and pubs to enjoy. Most of the pubs will have music during race week and you are sure to bump in to an array of characters, from a famous jockey to a Hollywood actor.

In the mornings you can make the 14km trip to Ballybunion beach for a swim or walk to clear the head, or, if you feel like it, take a seaweed bath to freshen up for another great day’s racing.

We race from Sunday 11 September to Saturday 17 September. Our flagship day is Guinness Kerry National day on Wednesday and our ever-growing Ladies’ Day takes place on Friday. Both of these days will see crowds of up to 30,000.

Hopefully we will be blessed with a bit of decent weather and, remember, before leaving the Kingdom, tell your host that you will be bringing a few more friends next year!