Like many foxhunters, I have always wanted to give it a go in the legendary hunting country of Ireland.

I have family roots from my grandmother, Kate Curling, who came to America with the Abbey Theatre in 1925 and left a contract at MGM to marry my grandfather. They became actively involved with the Rose Tree Hunt, just west of Philadelphia, Pa.

My late mother, Sheila Wall, returned to Ireland in 1955 to attend Trinity College for a year. The almost weekly correspondence between her and her father is full of local detail and foxhunts. I also have a cousin who is a sporting artist and foxhunter in Cashel, Co. Tipperary.

So, 50 years later, I arrived in Ireland during New Year’s week, for two balls and four hunts arranged with the guidance of an Irish friend and his American fianc