THE small village of Fedamore was the venue for our local pack, The Limerick Harriers, last Saturday. Sticklers for time, they were ready to move off just as the clocks struck 11am and huntsman Paudge Behan moved off with 14 and a half couple. Hounds are kennelled alongside the Fedamore Harriers, a foot pack, and Brian O’Leary acts as kennel huntsman for both as well as being Sunday huntsman to the Fedamore.

This arrangement seems to work very well and is perhaps an example for many other neighbouring packs around the country. I was interested to note that a representative couple of hounds were wearing tracking collars which could be monitored from the road.

New whipper-in appointed just this season is young Myles Harney from Kilmallock and he is as keen as mustard. He was well mounted on a horse produced by Dessie and Danielle Lenihan from Rourke’s Cross. They run a top hunting yard and produce a team of smashing hunters every year. Dessie is also one of the whips as is Gerry Murphy.

Of the joint-masters, only one was mounted – Sean O’Donovan was out with his daughter Megan on her good pony. Sean, who comes from a family steeped in the harriers, farms near Kilpeacon as well as being involved in the feed industry with Crecora Mills. Joint-master Michael Mullane was missing due to a family bereavement and all the others were out but on foot. Pat Bermingham had volunteered for fencing duty which he shared with Garry McCarty but Garry’s daughter Ida, who is farming, was hunting and going well.

Making up the team was John McNamara (‘Small John’) who was recovering from a bad back and had decided to hunt from his jeep for the day. His son Christopher has stepped down from his role as whipper-in but was out on his foot-perfect third-season coloured mount. As well as farming, Christopher works as an engineer in the alternative energy industry.

Cap collected and a few brief preliminaries exchanged, hounds moved just a short distance where the first fence was a good stiff masonry wall off the road, never a good start, particularly for a nervous jockey or a green horse. Hunt staff made little of it (as you might expect) but after that, it got a little interesting.

Big banks

Visiting for the day from the Avondhu was John Hannon, on a new coloured horse he got from Billy Flood in Co Kildare. This horse came with a glowing reputation which proved well-deserved as he soared in over it. The young entry well-schooled from showjumping and pony-clubbing during the summer made little of it, particularly Jerry Murphy’s two teenage girls Lorna and Caoimhe. Jerry and his wife Rebecca were both out and she is the current hard-working DC of Limerick Pony Club. Jerry works in medical devices and spends a lot of time out of the country. Parent and child team Mike Clohessy and young daughter Kate popped in over it. Mike works with Dairygold and runs a dairy herd at home with one of the most up-to-dates robotic milking systems.

Making a welcome return to the hunting field was Cathal Griffin, only recently qualified, and he has just taken up a role with Vistakon. Local farmer Jim Foster, who farms near Fedamore, was out with his sister Tricia who works as a paediatric nurse in CUH.

Hounds drew on and just a couple of hedges from the road, hounds opened and a fine dog fox was afoot in an area known as Gortcarrol, noted for its big banks and cavernous drains which are capable of swallowing horse and man and leaving scarcely a ripple. Happily no such fate awaited our intrepid band as they hit off into this huge block of country.

With hounds flying, they hunted parallel to the Limerick road and would probably have crossed but for Reynard being headed by traffic. He set his mask for Skule Bog and Carnane before swinging left-handed to find a welcoming shore near Bateman’s house. This farm holds a certain place in farming history as it was there the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) was formed back in the 1950s.

Giving him best, hounds then went on to draw Andy and Geraldine Clohessy’s covert at Monvoor, one of the best known and most prolific coverts to be found. Their son Barry, well known in his day on the hunt chase circuit, now trains very successfully at Fedamore Stables, Ocala, Florida.

Your correspondents struck it lucky as we were well refreshed with numerous cups of tea and freshly baked scones before hounds arrived to draw the famous covert.

Lived up to expectations

True to its reputation, it didn’t disappoint and held as many as three brace within its welcoming bounds. With music which would put the National Symphony Orchestra to shame, hounds hunted for ages in covert.

It is at times like this that a huntsman depends on a good steady hound to settle on the hunted fox and by example help the pack to concentrate on one. Such example was shown by Malcolm, a fourth season hound drafted from the Warwickshire, who did the trick. Our pilot was spotted slipping away by young Mark O’Regan who lives nearby. He was on his good chesnut on which he had acted as pathfinder for the Athlacca ride. The chesnut was a rescue horse young Mark found a couple of seasons ago and from a very unpromising start, he has matured into a super performer.

Hounds struck off over a smashing bit of country towards Carnane, going well throughout were father and son team John and Owen Collins from Clarina. John is a leading dairy farmer. Neither was young Vivienne Hannon found wanting. Her mum Audrey hunted for many years. The Hannon family own and manage the spectacular Lisnalty purebred herd of Holstein Friesians.

Hounds took the field on a smashing guided tour over some great country before returning home in the covert where the fox found a welcoming shore.

Given best, hounds hacked on to the Doon covert, owned by leading veterinary surgeon Pauric McNamara and his wife Mary. Pauric’s brother Conor regularly hunts with both the harriers and nearby County Limerick Foxhounds when he is home from the UK where he practises as a sporting doctor. For all that, the covert proved blank and they hacked on to draw Larry Conway’s plantation which didn’t suffered a similar dearth of fox.

Hounds spoke almost immediately and some marvellous woodland hunting ensued but such was the hospitality, our pilot proved more than reluctant to leave. With shadows lengthening and the evening well pressing on, our huntsman eventually gathered his hounds and blew for home.

It was a most enjoyable day for all both on foot and amounted and a good pipe-opener for the season ahead.