‘Some wanted to touch the grass for luck’: Walking Sunday returns to Punchestown ahead of festival

A tradition that dates back to the mid-1800s, Walking Sunday will return to Punchestown racecourse in Kildare this weekend.

The event attracts crowds of visitors taking the opportunity to walk around the racetrack before the five-day Irish National Hunt racing spectacle, which starts on Tuesday.

Not long after the start of the Punchestown Festival in 1854, Walking Sunday became part of the event for many racegoers.

It originated from the routine of owners and trainers, who would survey the course before the racing. As the interested parties surveyed the ground, their families would enjoy a picnic. These outdoor feasts would be the genesis of today’s Walking Sunday, which has evolved into a family event for locals and visitors.

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Despite the many changes in the almost 170-year history of Punchestown, the walk still remains a celebrated custom before the first white flag is raised.

This year’s walk will raise funds for the Kildare and West Wicklow Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (KWWSPCA).

John Kane of the KWWSPCA, originally from Dublin, recalls going to Walking Sunday as a child. He has talked to many who attend over the years and said their “reasons (for going) varied wildly from tradition to superstition, some wanted to touch the grass for good luck. It was a big thing and not just in Kildare”.

The circuit contains some of the most famous jumps in National Hunt racing. Visitors will be able to see the fences and hurdles where stars were made and Gold Cup glory was earned – chief among them being Ruby’s Double, the grass double bank named after jump-riding legend and local hero Ruby Walsh.

Former director of Punchestown Timmy Conway and his family never miss the walk. A Naas man, Mr Conway cannot recall his introductory trip around the course in the early 1940s as he made the circuit in a pram.

“Punchestown was the Mecca for us. It was Christmas, Easter and then Punchestown. The whole town (of Naas) would shut down,” Mr Conway says.

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“It was the highlight of the year and the walk was an enormous part of it. Especially when the festival was only two days, it was a huge part of Punchestown week.”

Walking Sunday started to host races of its own – of the two-legged variety. Organisers put on athletics events for the large congregations from Kildare and surrounding counties, the most well known of which is the cross-country race, the Millbrook Cup, which started in 1926.

Walking Sunday has evolved into a fundraising event for Kildare charities, and this year welcomes patrons and pets in aid of KWWSPCA for their first trip around the storied course since the pandemic.

The first group will set off around the 3.54km (2.2 mile) course at 2pm this Sunday, April 23rd. The Punchestown reception will serve at the starting and finishing point.

Opportunities to walk will conclude at 5pm and there will be free admission to the site and parking. There will also be a coffee van, food and live music afterwards. The KWWSPCA are inviting families as well as dog owners to come to this year’s walk.