BREED APART

Ex-Wolves ace swaps the football pitch for stables

- GARRY DOYLE

KEVIN DOYLE has his days mapped out for the next month.

He always worked that way, logically planning his life around fixtures on Tuesdays and Saturdays, before his working life took him on to different fields.

In his previous sporting life, he was a Premier League striker for Reading and Wolves along with winning 62 caps for the Republic of Ireland.

But these days, his office is the stable yard outside his home.

For five decades, this is where the Doyles of Adamstown Co. Wexford have run their business. His grandfather was a breeder, his father too.

“Did I think I would get into this when I was 25?” says Doyle, 40. “Probably not.”

But by 35 he had a different perspective as suddenly his future was no longer clear as the adrenaline rush he used to get from performing in front of thousands had been taken away.