The 'Discovery' team are faced with a challenge when they set out to explore the world of hare coursing.
'Discovery' went to the Irish Cup fixture held at Clounanna just outside Adare in county Limerick. Colm Conneely, of the Irish Independent, gives a description of coursing and says that people who go coursing are always on the hare's side and never like to see the hare killed.
It isn't just a question of two greyhounds chasing up an unfortunate hare up a field.
He provides an analogy with life in the business world where the smart little man must get away from the tycoon. The interview for 'Discovery' takes place outside the gates of the Dunraven Estate, as the production team been refused entry to the Clounanna meeting.
The three day Irish Cup meeting in Clounanna is the premier event of the Irish coursing calendar attracting visitor from around Ireland and abroad. Attendance numbers at the meeting are,
Akin to the most crowded moments of the Curragh, or Croke Park, or Lansdowne Road
The event represents something unique in Irish life which is why the Discovery team wanted to cover the event and explore the attitudes of the coursing enthusiasts. However, the production unit was banned from Clounanna on the instruction of the county Limerick coursing club and the cameras remained outside the entrance gates.
English man Ronnie Chandler describes coursing as a very good sport and says,
No good sportsman likes to see the hare being killed. They like good coursing.
Bookmakers travel the country attending various meetings. Terry Rogers, one of the country's leading bookmakers describes coursing as,
A dying sport.
The song used in the report is 'I Don't Wanna Play In Your Yard' sung by Peggy Lee.
'Discovery Goes Off Course' was broadcast on 7 March 1966.
