IF you did not get to the Meath Foxhounds meet at ‘Scut’ Fagans’ Pub in Moynalvey, you missed one of the best hunts of the season. But more of that later!

The pub is a step back in time, had its own soap box race and was shortlisted as one of the ‘Top 18 Irish pubs one should visit before one goes to that great hunting field in the sky’. It is a small structure, probably there since Newgrange Passage Grave, with a galvanised roof. Safe to say, it is so tiny that if one is having a drink and even if you were standing at the back wall, you probably could still reach the counter! In the 1980s, the owner Patsy Fagan, was interviewed by RTE’s Frank Hall during the recession enquiring if, with the high price of drink, would pubs close? ‘Not at all,’ said Patsy, ‘money is not scarce around here in Moynalvey!’

It is always a rush to get to a Meath hunt as they are at the meet at 10.30am and mounted and moving off at 11am on the dot. The Henry brothers hunt hounds with John Jnr on the day hunting the bitch pack. On days they are not hunting hounds, they alternate as field-masters. When their father John Snr hunted hounds with whipper-in Aidan Galligan and Speedy O’Rourke, they were known in the hunting world as the ‘Dream Team’. Well, it looks as if his two sons could now be known as ‘Dream Team 2’, as they are outstanding at their jobs with Barry Finnegan, professional whipper-in, dairy farmer Johnny Clarke and farrier Brian Black, honorary whippers-in.

Before the 11am bell sounded for moving off, Jill Reville who whipped-in hunted hounds, and was a talented event rider, was collecting cap. Bill Dwan of Castlebridge Consignments, now the largest consignor of bloodstock in Europe in only just over a decade, has joined the mastership this season. Fellow joint-master Norman Williamson, the former National Hunt jockey who holds the unique record of only a select few who have won both the Champion Hurdle and the Cheltenham Gold Cup in the same year, was hunting with his wife Janet, who is honorary secretary of the Meaths, and their children, Josh and Carla, two fine riders whether it is hunting, showing or showjumping. Norman and Janet’s Oak Tree Farm is well-known for producing future champion racehorses. Others mounted were Sarah Blyth, Lisa Sheridan, Aishling Rooney, Martin Finnegan, Kate Madden, Oliver Callanan, Jonathon McNaughton, Caroline Coady, John Flood and Larry Maxwell, whom I remember when I hunted the Russellstown Beagles around his farm in Multyfarnham.

There was a debate as to whether Eoin Sharkey’s wife Olivia, also a keen hunt follower, knew he was out hunting as he had a sprained wrist, but I suppose the secret is out now anyway! Eoin and Olivia are frequently on TV promoting their Maperath Farm where they raise thousands of turkeys and geese for the Christmas trade. You can also sample them at Olivia’s Headford Arms Hotel in Kells. Niki Potterton was on a smashing Grange Bouncer hunter. His wife, Irish international eventer Sarah Ennis, was a member of the Irish victorious World Eventing Championships Silver Medal Team at Tryon, last year.

Former master of the Ward Union Staghounds Johnny Mangan, who was with his wife Madelaine and son John, recalled buying the famous hunter Motor Car from John Henry Snr who had hunted hounds off him. The horse was a legend, not only in the Meaths, but also the Ward Union and later, with Larry ‘Gusty’ McGuinness when he was master of the Fingal Harriers. I remember jumping a few ditches on Motor Car myself and he was a machine.

Seasoned followers like Billy Blyth, Joe O’Connor, Tommy Finnegan, Tommy Troy, Clem Galligan and the Kenna family never miss a meet. Orla Madden was on foot but her daughter Kate was hunting, and Rosemary McNaughton was out with her children Sophia Rose, Katya and Chloe.

GREAT FANFARE

Huntsman John Henry Jnr drew along the 18 acres of boundary woodland in Frank and Veronica Martin’s farm where Sarah McCann grazes a flock of sheep which Frank affectionately refers to as Bo Peep! Frank’s guinea fowl were safe as hounds focused on the woodland. Surprisingly, there was no fox at home. But when hounds crossed the road we knew why, as they found immediately in the rough ground beside Fagan’s car park where there was obviously richer pickings. The bitch pack opened to great fanfare and if you hadn’t tightened your girth by then, well, it was too late, as it was a rollercoaster day from then on. National Hunt jockey and Grand National winner, Robbie Power, who is whipper-in to the Ward Union, is always in the right place, remarking that the fox was only five yards ahead of the pack.

Hounds ran right-handed along the river through Drum’s farm, towards the GAA Pitch, at a cracking pace, and through Kiernan’s left-handed and over Duffy’s through Pat Lawless’ onto Julian Ryan’s Covert where they crossed the road into Peter and John Collins’s up through Patricia and Tommy Fagan’s, swinging left-handed again down to Peter Collins’s dairy farm into Jimmy Kiernan’s Plantation. It was time for the fox to make a quick decision and he decided not to dwell and ran straight through it and hounds marked him to ground in Leonard’s farm after a cracking run.

The followers were well strung out and Eamonn Meade had an argument with a branch of a tree but was none the worse of it. After a brief breather, a fox hopped up in the next plantation and the 17½ couple of the bitch pack were away again at lightning speed towards Teagasc Agricultural Farm, through Paddy Sullivan’s and on over David Hannon’s, Patsy McElroy’s, swinging left-handed through former Meath field-master’s son MJ O’Rourke’s farm and up through the renowned horseman Hugh Leonard’s farm, where this fox also decided to not tempt fate further and went to ground in Jonathon McNaughton’s who was out hunting on the day.

Culmullen covert was blank so the huntsman drew back to O’Malley’s Gorse where he found a brace and a half, one went to ground immediately so hounds settled on the second fox who left down through O’Malley’s, crossing into Forde’s then Corcoran’s and ran on through Leonardstown Stud before crossing the road into Tommy Spillane’s. There was a short check where the good Meath bitch, Pollen ’17, put the pack right. She was one of five litter sisters out on the day, as they ran hard over Horan’s Lane through Michael Faulkner’s and an out farm of Spillane’s up through Tommy Sheridan’s, Delaney’s, across into Niall O’Riordan’s, through Reilly’s and Burke’s and down through Hugh Leonard’s where hounds marked this fox in Longstaffs.

This was an unbelievable day’s foxhunting right from the top drawer. There is no doubt that if you learn from the best, you are more likely to be one of the best, and the Henry brothers have the best mentor in their father John Snr.