The Salmon Pool Bar (Co.Kilkenny)

A 27 February 2026 report in the pro-hunting Irish Field stated that the Kilkenny Foxhounds’ new huntsman is “Jamie Walsh, who has been hunting in England for the last 10 years” and who was “brought up in nearby Thomastown, where his family farm and run that well-known hostelry, The Salmon Leap” (a mistake for The Salmon Pool). Walsh was Huntsman at the notorious Albrighton and Woodland Hunt and joined the Kilkenny Hounds in 2025. The hunt report outlined that during the hunt, the pack of hounds “found [a fox] and hunted on to Sugarstown, before crossing the Dublin road”. Kilkenny Foxhounds hunt has its kennels at Mount Juliet Estate in Thomastown, and during the hunting season, it terrorises foxes on Tuesdays and Saturdays. The Salmon Pool Facebook page states “Publicans Martin And Ger Walsh”: Martin is mentioned in a previous Irish Field report (14 Jan 2022) which also refers to the pub as the Salmon Leap pub. “With many of the masters living outside the hunt country, most of the horses are kept in livery with Noel Walsh and their turnout is a credit to both Noel and the Kilkenny Hunt. Noel was out on the day on a nice four-year-old grey he is bringing on. His brother Martin runs the Salmon Leap pub in Thomastown and hosts the KH point-to-point on his farm.”