Don’t whizz past the big black ball on the M7. Instead, stop in Naas, a nice place to shop, eat and drink – and the hub of the Punchestown festival
NAAS IS KNOWN to many as a destination town for shopping, but it is also very much a sporting town, with the Punchestown festival, which runs from next Tuesday to Saturday, spilling over into every aspect of life. The hotels, bars and restaurants will be flat out, the boutiques will have kitted out many of the Ladies Day hopefuls, and the happy children will get a week off school. Traditionally, the townspeople walked out to the racecourse for the day, and whole families picnicked beside the track. But there is so much more to the town, and one of its key qualities is a fierce sense of community and independence.
This is reflected in the unusually high proportion of independent shops and boutiques. Occasion wear is very well catered for, with Scruples, Aria, Mademoiselle, Kloset, Nicola Ross, Evita and Kalu. Fabucci and Ascot accessories will sort any racegoer out for shoes, hats and bags. There’s a good bookshop, Barker Jones, though scores lament the passing of the Nás Na Ríogh bookshop, which was a bibliophile’s heaven. There’s also a great selection of interiors shops, notably the Blue Door, run by Eileen Kelly, full of Scandinavian delights; Source by Sinead Kelly, a one-stop interiors shop; House of James, great for kitchen appliances, pottery and glassware; and the Tuckmill Gallery, for paintings and lovers of Nicholas Mosse pottery.
One of the best-loved amenities is the canal – which has well-tended paths that stretch for miles, running from the heart of the town to the countryside. There are thriving sports clubs (GAA and rugby), a racecourse, a new swimming pool, top-class equestrian centres. Mondello Park and the K Club are nearby. The Moat Theatre hosts an ambitious selection of plays for a town its size, and is thriving after 50 years. There are two markets, the country market in the town hall on Fridays and the farmers’ market on Saturdays: both are well attended, and the range and quality of produce on offer is superb.
During the Punchestown festival, the bars, restaurants and hotels will be jammed; good places to eat include the Storehouse, Butt Mullins, Sola bistro, Asia de Bruin and Vie de Chateaux, to mention but a few. Hayden’s, Kavanagh’s, McCormack’s, Grace’s and Fletcher’s are all great pubs to share a few successes or otherwise after a days racing; the Osprey Hotel runs an after-racing club during the festival, and Lawler’s and the Naas Court are popular with racegoers as well.
There are many things that make Punchestown unique, not least the setting, curled in a bowl of mountains and hills, with uninterrupted vistas of nature’s beauty laid out like a feast. The festival in April draws the well-heeled and the ne’er-do-wells, a complete cross-section of Irish society, with business people, builders and bankers rubbing shoulders with rock stars, models, television personalities and the inevitable smattering of politicians thrown into the mix for good measure.
DICK O’SULLIVAN, Punchestown Racecourse
All the big owners, trainers and breeders from England and Ireland attend: over the five days there are 11 Grade 1 races, with star names and crowd-pullers such as Kauto Star, Punjabi, Master Minded, ready to make headlines. Ruby [Walsh] is here, on home turf, on hallowed ground; one of the double fences he will jump repeatedly is named after his grandfather. His record here is second to none, and to the punters he is nothing less than a conquering hero. More than most sports, National Hunt racing is tightly woven around families; generations of Walshs, Carberrys, Mullinses, Moores and Dreapers have trained for this, bred horses for this, and won here.
Everyone has their favourite race, whether it’s the two-mile chase, a riot of a race comparable to the 100-metre sprint, or the arduous four-and-a-half miler. There are hurdles and chases, bumpers and maidens, fences and ditches; conditions that require very special qualities. The horses must have courage and heart; to win, they have to hate to be beaten, and do anything to stay in front. It’s different for the jockeys too. Most of them will have had so many falls, few bones remain unbroken. The risks involved are huge, a degree of fearlessness is required to ride at 35 miles an hour among 30 other horses. Not many people can say they have an ambulance following them around all day at work.
The festival is the most important event in the National Hunt calendar. More than 100,000 people are expected to attend over the five days. There will be 1,000 catering staff drafted in to feed 30,000 people a day, of whom 5,000 will be corporate guests.
There is top-quality racing with an informal vibe; it’s fine to get dressed up one day, down the next. There are pavilions, restaurants, bars and marquees, a shopping village and a special day on Saturday for families. Ladies’ Day on Friday is one of the most popular days.
Overseeing everything is Dick O’Sullivan, a genial, affable, whip-smart Kerryman who, now in his 70s, has confronted the prospect of retirement several times over a long career; but the golf course holds no allure for him. An instinctively brilliant manager, his faith in the teams of people around him has seen him turn around the fortunes of troubled enterprises many times.
One of these was Punchestown, where O’Sullivan started eight years ago, and which he transformed from a racecourse with a doubtful future, to what it is now, the jewel in the crown of Irish National Hunt racing, a financial success. Ever the gentleman, however, he refuses to take credit. “I firmly believe that if you have people better than yourself, you’ll have a good life.”
When he took over, one of the first things he wanted to do was reverse the perceived loss of the local people. “Corporates had become very important, and the ordinary Joe Soap, who came with his coat on his back and a bicycle for 20 years, and the schools that closed, suddenly felt, ‘that’s not us, we’re not important any more’.” The community was brought back by his assiduous courting of local residents, parishes, town traders and sports clubs. “We need the locals, it adds to the craic. They must never feel like second-class citizens. Anyone can come to the races and enjoy the day without having to talk to some fella about maiden hurdles.”
The other priority for O’Sullivan is the track. “The most important thing in a racecourse isn’t your stands or your facilities, it’s your track. Horses worth half, three-quarters of a million won’t come here if the track’s not right.” A team of 40 people work all night and between races repairing the track and putting back the divots. No portion of the two tracks escapes the meticulous scrutiny needed to keep the conditions perfect.
Retirement seems a long way off when things are this exciting. Every year throws up new challenges, great horses, undreamt-of triumphs. “A guy with not a lot of money can end up with a top-class horse. It’s not hugely expensive to get involved. Moscow Flyer, bought for €17,000, won over €1 million in prize money. Everyone has a chance in National Hunt racing, you don’t have to spend a fortune to be successful; you just need a bit of luck.”
KATE O’DWYER AND LOUISE FLANAGAN Emporium Kalu
Missoni and Dolce Gabbana regularly grace the mannequins in the large picture windows, and the interior is a treasure trove of quirky, individual design that very much reflects the tastes and personalities of O’Dwyer and Flanagan, who first met many years ago through another stellar boutique, Diffusion in Clontarf, Dublin 3. Louise worked there, and Kate shopped there. Both passionately in love with fashion, it didn’t take them long to recognise they were kindred spirits, and to begin hatching plans for the creation of their own fashion oasis.
They wanted to open in Naas because they felt Dublin was well catered for, and there was a dearth of the kind of style they wanted to sell, in a good catchment area. “There are so many stylish women down here, who always went to Dublin to buy their clothes,” says Louise. “I’d just had a baby, and my husband came home and said, ‘I’ve found the shop in Naas for you.’ Absolutely the wrong time.” But they went to look at it and opened a few months later.
“Convincing the local people that this was the look and this was the way to go took a few seasons. Our customers became addicted to the look, addicted to the shop, and as they grew with confidence, so did we. We became more adventurous and branched out into more expensive and avant garde designers, and that’s why people came to us, because they knew it was different and unique.”
For racing, there are plenty of looks, ranging from the classic coat and dress ensemble to smart day dresses that can be pulled together with great shoes and accessories, and after that, there’s a limitless choice of style.
Their customer, says O’Dwyer, is a girly woman. “In every woman there’s a little girl still there, they’re women who get excited about their clothes. As for age, it could be anything from 20s to 70s.” Old-style Hollywood glamour is important. They love the classics, a finished look. But they can be as influenced by what they see on the street as what appears on the catwalk. “We’re quite inspired by real women,” says Flanagan. “A woman with confidence, with a bit of pizzazz, she just has something. Personality comes through all the time. There’s nothing more attractive than a confident woman.”
GILLIAN WALSH, wife of jockey Ruby Walsh
A cousin of Willie Mullins, and brought up in the Pony Club, Gillian Walsh ticked all the boxes required to be a top jockey’s wife. Completely unstarry and down to earth, racing and horses are more than her passion in life; they are her world.
“I’ve been going to Punchestown since I was a child, it was everything to me. The fashion end is slightly different to the Flat. Even though we’re coming into the summer, it is a National Hunt Festival, it’s a winter sport. You’re always thinking of the weather: you must have a coat and stylish but comfortable shoes, as conditions underfoot can be very bad. Underneath, you can go all out, wear a pretty dress, but you have to have the coat. I would never go racing in a little dress and stilettos. That’s not what anyone in racing would wear.”
She has sage advice for Ladies’ Day: “When someone is comfortable and confident, that’s very attractive. I can’t think of a worse place to be in an uncomfortable pair of shoes or a dress that you’re not happy with. There’s a lot of walking to be done, you’re standing around, holding a drink in one hand, hanging onto your hat, being blown around by the wind, you really need everything to be in place.” Her favourite boutique is Elaine Curtis in Carlow. “They know my style, they know I’m going racing, so they pull things together for me – you need something stylish and comfortable, which is not always easy to pull off, it can be a struggle.”
The couple are together for 10 years, and Gillian has seen Ruby “break every bone in his body”. She was in Cheltenham last November when Ruby lost his spleen. “That was horrific, straightaway I knew there was something wrong, but I actually thought he was holding a wrist, or a shoulder. Luckily there was a brilliant medical team at Cheltenham, and they diagnosed it; within half an hour they knew he had ruptured his spleen. When he fell, a horse coming behind him stood on him, it was just bad luck. He was operated on that evening, and he was back riding within four weeks.”
Her favourite day is the Wednesday, Guinness Gold Cup day. “I associate that race with the festival. It’s the big three-mile chase, and it’s always been a very lucky race for Ruby.” They’ll have a full house for the week. “Tony and Chanelle McCoy always stay with us, and we’ll have my sister Nicola, too. I’ll be with the other jockeys’ wives: there’s a good group of us, we meet up and have lunch and a few drinks.” Most nights during the festival, she and Ruby will go for dinner with friends in Fallon’s in Kilcullen.
Racing and horses are not her only passions. She confesses to a serious love of all things sparkling, so much that she and her sister, Nicola, recently set up an internet business, Diamond Lite, selling simulant diamond jewellery. They are launching the business at the festival next week.
“Nicki and I felt there was a big gap between the costume and luxury jewellery – there’s definitely room for something in the middle.” As well as the diamond simulants, the range includes cultured pearls. They have sold a good few engagement rings. “We get a lot of people who don’t want diamonds because of where they have come from. And we had one girl who bought her ring from us because she’s constantly losing jewellery, especially rings, and didn’t want to be worried about it. It’s a brilliant alternative, a conflict-free diamond.” The sisters will have a stand in the shopping village at Punchestown. See diamondlite.ie.
TOM FLETCHER owner of Fletchers pub
Mention Fletcher’s to anyone in Naas and you will hear about the time Ronnie Wood brought Mick Jagger in, tried to start up a session, and Tom Fletcher unceremoniously threw them out. You can imagine Ronnie loving it here, soaking up the atmosphere, having a few pints. For many years while he was living in nearby Clane, that’s what he did. It’s harder to imagine Jagger wanting to jam in such a quiet pub. But impossible to imagine is the softly spoken Tom Fletcher, a man of few words, being rude to anyone. “That story got legs, and walked,” is all he will say.
Huge whiskey casks line the walls behind the bar, a long, ancient wooden counter, that used to stretch as far as the stained glass windows, through which the afternoon light filters. Old mahogany tea bins are perched high on the wall, a reminder of when pubs were grocers, people shopped on account, and got everything on tick.
“My father was here since 1931. I was born upstairs. The family lived above the shop, fairly common in those days. We sold everything, all the dry goods. This was the grocery, and the women came in through that door, and never the other.” He sees everything utterly changed in recent years; he opens the doors at 4pm now. “Habits have changed, especially since the smoking ban.”
He attends Punchestown every year. “It means a lot to the town. I’d be interested in the horses, follow what was going on. It’s top class, it always was. During the festival, things are fairly lively. We open in the morning, and after the races, it gets busy again. Thursday and Friday are the busiest nights.” Fletcher’s is one of the few surviving family businesses in the town that has not fallen prey to time and commerce. “The population has changed an awful lot. All the green fields are gone, we used to be surrounded by them. There’s a great atmosphere in the town – the sense of community is still there, it hasn’t been lost.”
FRANK AMAND, Vie de Chateaux
When Frank Amand opened his restaurant two years ago, he never expected the meteoric success he has enjoyed. Although everything about the place proclaims relaxed effortless style, with bistro tables and benches, there is nothing remotely casual about his kitchen.
From Normandy, he has always been in the restaurant business. When he first came to Ireland, he spent more than a year working at Restaurant Patrick Gilbaud in Dublin. “I learned my job there.” He then worked with his brother, importing French food, and managed La Mere Zou on St Stephen’s Green for seven years. All this time he was living in Naas, and knew the town lacked something: “a bistro, with classical food. What I wanted to do here is what I would expect from a restaurant.”
Simplicity is everything to him. “I don’t want to be super quality and the next day, very low. It has to be consistent.” He puts his success down to the “originality of the food, the reasonable price, the choice on my wine list, and the seasonal menu”. The wine list is 95 per cent French, and fair prices coupled with excellent food have formed the bedrock of his success.
During Punchestown, the restaurant is packed, with bookings being made weeks in advance. “If it’s sunny outside, it will be very busy. We’re very happy to keep it small and to be busy, that makes the atmosphere, which is very important.” What is the secret to a good restaurant? “Good value, definitely, good food, a good welcome, the staff are very, very important. In the recession, people will be looking for places that are a little less expensive, and a little bit nicer. That’s a fact. The service, the smile, is so important. I don’t want anything fancy, just to be recognised for the simple things we do.”
The five-day Irish National Hunt Festival runs from Tuesday, April 28th to Saturday, May 2nd