ATHENRY is traditionally known as the cream of the Galway Blazers hunting country, but a new motorway from Gort to Tuam has unfortunately slightly tarnished that reputation, and affecting other meets such as Cartymore and Ardrahan. However, Craughwell is still the spiritual home of the Blazers with the kennels, almost in the village since 1891, known to thousands of hunt followers all around the world. The Blazers have three meets from Craughwell which supports the three main pubs, Cheevers, Cawleys and the venue of a recent meet at Rafterys known as the Blazers Bar. Three generations of the sporting Raftery family have owned the pub, Tommy Raftery, his son Donal and now two grandchildren Gerry and Rachel. Tommy was a keen rough shooter and always had a supply of pheasant and wild duck on the table. His shooting pals were Martin Brown and Gill Morrissey who was also the terrier-man of the Galway Blazers.

This year marks the 90th birthday of the senior master Michael Dempsey, who was a legendary huntsman of the Blazers before breaking his neck in a hunting accident in 1998. Prior to taking on the Blazers in 1978, he hunted the Bermingham & North Galway and the East Galway Foxounds.

In his prime, he was one of the finest horseman, hound men, and reader of the line of a fox that has graced the hunting field anywhere in the world. One memorable hunt was when Dempsey was hunting hounds from Craughwell in the 1980s. Finding a game fox near the meet, he ran a twisty line with hounds marking to ground at Kilcornan Wood near Clarenbridge after one hour and 50 minutes where they left the fox for another day. Dempsey also won a point-to-point on his hunter Superman at the farmyard in Athenry.

Field-master Willie Leahy was unusually absent as he had to add an extra week to his Connemara trail for a party of 28 visitors - of which one couple from Switzerland were back again for the 26th consecutive year - but Kevin Dempsey was on hand to take the field.

The Blazers have an able group of members that certainly can cross-country such as Amory McMahon, Maeve Carthy, Tillman Anhold, Maria McNamara, Liam Clancy and his daughter Ella, Grace Maxwell Murphy who was riding side saddle, and Hallie Tilly. The latter started hunting with Mr Stewart’s Cheshire Hounds in Pennsylvania who are coincidently hunted by a former follower of the Blazers, Ivan Dowling, whose mother Geraldine and sister Orla were following by car. Tilly also hunted with the Los Altos, Santa Fe West Hills and the Santa Ynez Valley Hounds, a wild boar pack in California before settling in Ireland.

Another able man across country is Martin Moran who farms in nearby Ballymana, a great supporter of the hunt who was hunting an up-to-weight grey hunter. Orla Redmond and her daughter Saoirse were following by car as were Peter and Lorraine Duggan keeping an eye on their son James who was crossing country with a beaming smile on his face.

Anthony Costello, who whipped in to the Blazers last season, was hunting with his children Ella and Millie, and closely observed from the road by their mother Kathleen. Their late grandfather Jimmy hunted the Sligo Harriers and the County Clare Hounds and Anthony whipped into him as a teenager. Another grandson Ian Moloney was also hunting and has been honing his riding skills during the summer with joint master Michael McDonagh and his family, producing hunters.

McDonagh’s son Paddy was delivering hunters that he sold to Britain while his sister Kate and brother Tim were making two more destined for Britain in a few weeks’ time.

It was just a short hack from the village before the music began with the bitch pack on song in Pakie Whelan’s. The area was not autumn hunted because of stock still on the land due to fine weather and the late surge of growth of grass. In fact farmers were still cutting silage as hunting was in full flow.

FAT FOXES

There were at least two brace of foxes in the covert and it was hard to believe how they could go to ground, some were so fat, obviously they summered well in the area! But after hunting tight up and down the covert in Whelans and Kellys, one and a half brace did manage to go to ground while one kept hounds busy before they marked him also.

Crossing the Grennagh Road, the huntsman drew a small garden in Shanbally and hounds were away again skirting Rashan Turlough which is a natural underground karst system where groundwater is held but it floods in winter making it a favourite location for wild duck. There is 800 acres of commonage with a sign at the entrance gate warning, ‘no bulls, no rams and no stallions’! In the meantime hounds were twisting and turning on a good fox who later gave them the slip in a pile of rocks.

The last draw was in Tom McNamara’s of Shanbally whose business is producing made hunters marketed through his web site horsesinireland.com. McNamara, who was hunting a smashing 17.1hh coloured horse that he bought at Ballinasloe Fair, had a party of German and Dutch visitors out. Bernard and Kerstin Maah-Bocking, Diejmar Schultz, Christian Rontgen, Clauda Strommenger, Nichola Damm, from the Rheinish-Westfallscher Hunt in Germany, and the Jachtvereniging Soestdijk Hunt in Holland, all trying out hunters. They were staying at Craig Country Guest House which is the home of the Blazers huntsman Tom Dempsey and his wife Mairead who have a reputation for warm hospitality and good local food. While hounds tried hard in Scalp Covert, the weather was too mild so they retired early.

It was a busy day for hounds, and a leisurely day for followers, but then the season is only starting. However the way hounds hunted augers well for the months ahead.

Click here to read about the County Clare Foxhounds’ opening meet

FACTFILE

Chairwoman: Janet Coveney

Masters: Michael Dempsey, Vincent Shields, Liam Clancy, Michael McDonagh, David McCarthy and Dr Rose Dempsey

Huntsman: Thomas Dempsey

Whippers-in: Nathan O’Connor

Field-masters: Willie Leahy, Kevin Dempsey and Johnny Geoghegan

HISTORY

The Co Galway Hunt, better known as the Galway Blazers dates from 1839, having succeeded the Castleboy Hunt Club founded in 1803. It got its name as a result of festivities after a joint meet with the Ormond Foxhounds when fire broke out at Dooley’s Hotel in Birr. It is known the world over for its small enclosures and limestone walls with jumping 30-40 walls to the mile. Blazing was another name for duelling, which some of the Blazers followers were renowned for in their day.

Noel Mullins