Billed as “A world apart but on your doorstep” the five day 2026 Punchestown Festival begins when the white flag is raised for The Kildare Hunt Club Cross Country Chase at 2.

The five-day Festival gets underway at Punchestown on Tuesday afternoon

The traditional pre-Punchestown Festival meeting at Naas Racecourse is held on Monday afternoon

This year's Festival at Punchestown runs from from Tuesday 28th April to Saturday 2nd May

One of Ireland's most iconic National Hunt champions celebrates his 30th birthday at the Irish National Stud & Gardens next week

There are three Kildare winners among those announced 

There's plenty still to be decided before the finale of the Irish jumps season at next week's Punchestown Festival

Trainer Gordon Elliott has had a superb season and leads Willie Mullins in the race to be Champion Trainer going into the Punchestown Festival 

Sunday proved to be a good day at the Curragh for Joseph O'Brien

There are two days of racing this week at Gowran Park

There is some big prize money on offer at the Curragh on Friday with a lot of big names taking their chance

The new flat season at Naas began last Sunday

Katie Young lived a dream when she led up a Cheltenham Festival winner rode by her boyfriend Mark Walsh

It was the first day of the new flat season at the Curragh

A 16th Festival victory for Kildare jockey Mark Walsh. 

Padraig Roche trained his second Cheltenham Festival winner earlier this week and sat with the Kildare Nationalist to look back on the win

It's Day 2 at the Cheltenham Festival 

Owners Brian Whelan and Jen Coyle are chasing the Cheltenham dream as they send Irish Panther into the Champion Chase along with trainers, Eddie and Patrick Harty

Kildare Town jockey Ricky Doyle has two rides at Cheltenham this week, most notably on the Martin Brassil trained Desertmore House in Wednesday's Cross Country Chase

Day 1 of the Cheltenham Festival has delivered a magnificent double win for Kildare.