GER Withers has now been hunting the famed Duhallow Hounds for 14 seasons, but he was far from a novice on his first day as he had spent the previous nine seasons as first whip to huntsman Michael Buckley.

Buckley, who was generally looked on as a hard taskmaster but a brilliant huntsman, had shown tremendous sport for several seasons so the bar was set very high when Ger took over. Duhallow was not his first pack as he had grown up with the nearby Liscarrol Harriers who hunted on foot.

I have watched Ger as his skill and confidence grew since he took over and I probably had my first day with him about 10 seasons ago from their opening meet at Kilbrin when I first joined The Irish Field as a hunting scribe. I have not missed a season since and we always looked on our trip to Duhallow as the red letter day for the season.

Not just for the hunting but for the warm welcome we have always received and the happy atmosphere which is the trademark of the hunt. The road side hunt teas for visiting scribes and others provided by Eleanor and Pat Fleming with back up from Maurice and Rosemary O’Connor are the stuff of legend.

Hunting has to be a team effort and Team Duhallow are as good as it gets, starting with long time hunt chairman Pat Coleman with a stellar line-up of masters, led by Kate Jarvey who now lives in Monymusk Stud in Kanturk. She is backed up by Matt Nagle from Buttevant, Peter O’Meara and Pat Hayes, both from Mallow. Col. Pat Coleman and David O’Meara have filled the role of hunt secretaries for many seasons. Catherine O’Flynn very ably looks after hunt finances.

Behind every good man – as the saying goes – there is a good woman and Ger certainly has the support of Maria (Tarrant), who was a keen Duhallow follower ever before meeting Ger.

He takes up the running: “To be honest, your woman is everything in this game – if you pick the wrong one you’re done, the time and commitment that goes into it is very hard on your family and takes an awful lot of understanding and there is times you would feel bad over being away so much.

“The job carries a lot of demands and pressure and an understanding wife and family means so much.”

Pictured in 2019 (l-r) were the Duhallow's Kate Jarvey MFH, Peter O’Meara MFH, Ger Withers (huntsman), Maurice Coleman, Arthur Comyn and Lt. Col. Pat Coleman \ Catherine Power

Top-class hunting

To attend a Duhallow meet for the first time, the visitor is struck by business-like air of all concerned. Anything less than a well-schooled fit horse and a determined jockey will be of little use, especially in their bigger jumping days around Churchtown or Liscarroll.

Hunting three days a week, they are a hard-riding field and expect nothing less from their huntsman than top-class hunting. His whippers-in are amateur only in name and are more professional than most.

To see Withers at the meet before take off, he appears so relaxed as he unboxes. Born and bred near Liscarroll, Ger knows every blade of grass in the barony of Duhallow, who owns it, and more importantly, how warm a welcome the hunt can expect. He has a word with as many as possible before mounting as the bond between huntsman and hounds becomes obvious.

Every hound seems to follow him with their eyes, each hoping to be picked out and made a fuss of. He will usually spend 10 or 15 minutes on foot with the pack as he appears to have a private chat with each.

His pack of all Old English just stand out and many a seasoned judge reckons they are the best of their kind in these islands.

However, there have to be some outstanding hounds, and he describes his favourites. “Trooper ‘07 would have to stand out for me; his breeding tracks back to Limerick Carton. He was an absolute genius and was actually so good that there was times I doubted he was right but he always proved me wrong. Tracer, who is now near retirement and is a son of Trooper’s, would be every bit as good but just doesn’t have Trooper’s character, and Sergeant, also near retirement, is another exceptional hound.”

Great horses

A huntsman above all needs to be properly mounted and Ger has had some crackers. “My best horse would have to be Davy who has been officially retired this year, I hunted hounds off him for 12 seasons, he was a legend of a horse. And of course, the one and only Ruler who is still going strong.”

In a former piece for this title, Ger describes Ruler, saying: “Then there was the chesnut white-faced Ruler, by Home Rule. He was bred by Alex Ott. A horse of unlimited ability, he had been produced and schooled by Patrick Coleman.When the Colemans had him, they would tack him up well before hunting and give him an hour in the horse walker before leaving.” This reduced but didn’t eliminate the risk of being bucked off and he has often dropped me even before leaving the meet!

Two long time Duhallow followers, Pat Coleman and Matt Nagle take up the story. Coleman said: “Ger is an accomplished horseman to cross the country but is very easy on a horse and some of his horses are in their late teens and still going well. Ger likes for his hounds to account for all their foxes and visitors are often amazed at how they mark a fox to ground – they can be heard in the next parish.”

Nagle added: “Being a great huntsman requires a very wide range of skills. Many huntsmen have some of them but only a few, like Ger, have all of them.

“There is a world of a difference between going first and second. Ger, willingly, goes first over the most terrifying banks and flies, including occasionally indulging a taste for gates, and putting it up to the rest of us to stay with him.

“Other characteristics distinguish him as well. His willingness to keep trying no matter how late in the day or how atrocious the weather, his ability to stay cheerful and calm when others are panicking, his obvious affection for his hounds and theirs for him but above all, his irresistible smile and charm which is absolutely priceless for relations with landowners.”

I remember having a day with Ger from a meet at Liscarroll. It was around Christmas - the world and his wife were out. As a special treat, I was allowed bring my daughter Joan as my wingman (everyone needs a wingman in Duhallow) on the coloured Magic who never put a foot wrong. Hounds hunted non-stop all day and the banks of Duhallow came fast and furious. At least one girl was stretchered off but hounds just kept hunting.

Exhilarated and back having a restorative drink, the Duhallow regulars described it little better than an average day’s hunting. Some years later, Joan still speaks in hushed tones of the thrills and terrors of the day.

Ger Withers pays a tribute to Duhallow and his happy times there saying: “Duhallow Hunt Club is a wonderful club and I’ve been very privileged and fortunate to be with them for so long.”

The final word must go to senior joint-master Kate Jarvey. “There is a level of communication between Ger and his hounds that is joyous to witness.

“It is certainly true that the quiet huntsman casts the widest net and Ger has a quiet authority with his hounds that drives them to work collectively.

“In this way, a rare and wonderful harmony of hunting is successfully achieved.”