Stories of the Ireland Rally – Wednesday Wanderings – 20th May 2026

Our Wednesday wandering took the Figgy convoy to the Irish National Stud Farm and Japanese Gardens via part of the Gordon Bennett route. After the tour we had free time at the gardens or wherever we chose, before heading back to the hotel for the quiz and charity raffle. Read on for more of the story!

Wednesday morning saw us raring to get going to the Irish National Stud Farm and Japanese Gardens. Our route took us along part of the Gordon Bennett route. In 1903, the Gordon Bennett Cup race was held on a closed-circuit around Athy, County Kildare. It was widely celebrated as “the race that saved motor sport” as it showed that racing on closed roads was safer than dangerous open city-to-city events. We took the opportunity to line our Figgys up along the road and Dolly gave a speech about the route. We had a huge group photo by the memorial before heading on our way.

Located near Kildare town, there has been a stud farm on site since the early 1900s when the land was bought and developed by Colonel William Hall- Walker. He was keen to advance his social standing so he connected with the Japanese landscape artist, Tassa Eida. Eida went on to develop the Japanese Gardens which form a beautiful part of any visit to the stud farm. The design of the gardens is intended to symbolise the ‘Life of Man’ and are now renowned as one of the finest Japanese Gardens in Europe.

Much like our lovely Figaros, the gardens are a monument to the meeting of Eastern and Western cultures.

On arriving at the stud farm, much to the delight of their staff and other visitors, out Figgys parked up around the road leading up to the stables. We split into two groups for a tour of the stud farm, with some eye-opening insights into what it takes to breed successful racehorses all over the world. It was a revelation that, unlike other horse sports, a prospective sire racehorse needs to be transported rather than artificial means of conception being used. We also heard about “Tommy the Tickler” who helps to gauge the mare’s readiness. We’ll leave the details to your imagination!

A leisurely wander around the Japanese gardens followed for some, whilst others headed of further afield for a free afternoon. The gardens were created between 1906 and 1910, and members enjoyed seeing features including “the Cave of Birth,” “the Tunnel of Ignorance,” “the Path of Adventure,” and the much photographed red “Bridge of Life.”

We all returned to the hotel in time for dinner, the quiz and charity raffle. The quiz sheets on this rally were distributed with the rally packs and had the names of the rounds on top, allowing those who were competitively minded to do some research ahead of time. All agreed that it was a tough challenge on this rally, but it made the victory even sweeter for those who succeeded.

The Charity Raffle was a huge success, thanks to the members for their generosity in donating prizes and buying tickets. There were all sorts of prizes, from a hand painted picture by Dolly, a bottle of fuel additive, a book, some Figaro car mats, and all sorts of other things in between. As a result of our members’ thoughtful giving, we raised over €1,000 for Dolly’s nominated charity, Almas Worldwide. Almas Worldwide was established in 2003 to support children and families affected by AIDS and poverty. Named after a child called Almas who lost her parents when she was just a year old, the charity has sent money to 25 different countries for education, medicine, water projects, food, clothes, hygiene, housing, and vaccinations. Fr Brian Kavanagh attended during the evening and received the donation.