LUCK was on my side at the Tormey’s Bar meet of the Westmeath Foxhounds in Bunbrosna as they had two cracking days recently at Castletown Geoghegan and Ballymore. One farmer regularly counts dozens of foxes at night when he is checking his ewes. There is no shortage of foxes in this part of the country with rich pickings for them but sheep farmers understandably want numbers controlled as their livelihood depends on minimising losses.

One is struck by the great relationship this hunt has with the farming community, with many farmers following on quads and by car. The hunt do a public service collecting animal carcasses through their knackery service, thereby keeping the environment clean and green. The club also supports the local towns and village communities in looking their best for the annual Tidy Towns Competition.

Westmeath is a sportsman’s paradise, with coarse fishing on lakes and rivers, rough shooting on the wetlands and of course, all kinds of equestrian sports including a racecourse, equestrian centre, four mounted hunting packs and a new foot pack. It is ideal country for producing hunters as it has every type of obstacle. There is a natural connection between hunting and racing with successful owner Michael O’Leary’s Gigginstown House Stud nearby, whose stable stars include dual Grand National winner Tiger Roll. Michael’s sister-in-law Wendy is a former hunt master.

Winners galore

Another former master, Dot Love of Charlestown Racing Stables who, with Ciaran Murphy, has produced many point-to-point and track winners, including Irish Grand National winner Liberty Counsel. Trevor Badger’s Bridge House Stud services both the racing and sport horse industry, with stallions such as Capella Sansevero, Caricello, Let The Lion Roar and My Dream Boat. It has a literary influence also as Lilliput on Lough Ennell was the inspiration for Jonathon Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels.

The joint-masters are Ann Derwin and her son Jim. The latter was away, shipping hunters and showjumpers to the UK, Holland and Scandinavia. The young Derwins were not out – European Champion Kate was show jumping in Geneva. The new masters are Faye Flynn, a granddaughter of the late John Smith, master and huntsman for over 30 seasons. Faye lives in Florida where she is a keen eventing rider. Hunting is in the Smith blood as Ger hunted the Kilmoganny, Eamonn whipped into the Blazers and hunted the Dungarvan and North Galway while Pat hunted the Westmeath Harriers. Their brother Martin and his son John Jnr never miss a meet. Helen Moorehead is the other new joint-master. Her father-in-law Joe was a well-known horseman and field-master of the Westmeath, and a senior steward and committee member of the RDS and the Dublin Horse Show.

Hunting also was entertainment entrepreneur Paddy Dunning who owns Grouse Lodge Residential Recording Studios. Michael Jackson and his children Paris, Prince and Michael Jnr once spent three months recording there. Other household names that cut recordings in Paddy’s studio are R.E.M., Snow Patrol, Shirley Bassey, Paolo Nuttini, Simple Minds, Rihanna, Waterboys and will.i.am. Paddy also owns the Button Factory and Wax Museum in Temple Bar. Trevor Badger tells of being over in Paddy’s, inseminating a mare one day. He asked a gentleman, walking around the yard, to help him. He turned out to be no other than Michael Stipe, the lead singer of R.E.M., on a break from recording!

On horseback were former master Dot Love on a past Stadbally winner and she was joined by Gary Reilly, Cabrini Flynn, Trevor Badger, on a home-bred by Baltimore out of a Classic Vision mare, Dessie Green, Jill Mangan, Derek O’Hara, Niall Horan, Ciaran Flynn and son David. Also hunting were Isabel Rogowski from Kiel in Germany, Louise Bierens de Haan on Mark Fagan’s eventer by Trevor Badger’s stallion Let The Lion Roar, who sired the winner of the Dublin Horse Show young horse class, Dr David and Marion Mortell, Yvonne Gunning, and sheep farmer and industry commentator John Fagan of Garathstown House who regularly features on RTE’s Ear to the Ground and the Farming Independent.

Following by car were Martin Smith and his son John, who has less time for hunting as he spends most of his time in Charlestown Racing Stables. Former point-to-point jockey Darragh Lambe was also following but has now switched codes to playing rugby for Mullingar. Local farmer Joe Dolan, a cousin of the famous Mullingar singer, was also following. He whipped-in to Denis Purdon when he hunted hounds from 1950 to 1963. Farmers out included Eunan Bannon on whose land they would hunt over later, Larry Lyons and Philip Murray. On quads were Kevin McGuire, Mark Riggs, Joseph Keogh and Christy King, a dairy farmer from Delvin.

Wildlife aplenty

Huntsman Mark Ollard, who previously hunted the Scarteen, Island and the North Tipperary, was riding Ciaran Murphy’s thoroughbred My War, who was on his toes, keen to get going. Hounds were not long in Farragh on the borders of Lough Iron, the farm of the late Cecil and Carol Ross, when the pack struck on a fox near the freshwater marshes. He ran back left-handed but turned again and ran for an hour through Sean Naughton’s of Raheen in the direction of Ballinalack where the pack were stopped near the main road where the River Inney divides Westmeath and Longford.

Snipe seemed to dart from everywhere, and ravens and buzzards were hunting for their supper over a flock of sheep, while at the same time, the whooper swans were making plenty of noise near the lake. Surprisingly, pine martens are still protected despite having wiped out the rabbit population in many places which many species depend on for food.

There was a long hack up from Philip Murray’s to Eunan Bannon’s sheep farm on the second highest point, Frewin Hill. Eunan breeds Belclare sheep which I was interested in as my grandfather, TB Higgins, was a co-founder of the Galway Sheep Society in 1923. Developed in North Galway by Dr JP Hanrahan, they are a cross between Finnish Landrace, Galway Sheep, Lleyn Sheep and the final cross was Texel to boost lamb numbers and a better finish that commands a premium.

The Rock Field has the giant’s thumb mark in a large stone, and dry furze runs along the side of the hill looking down on Lough Owel, a spring-fed limestone lake. Simon Probin, who hunted the Tipperary for 10 seasons, now works for Richard Bourns at Lisbeg, and Niall Horan from Killimor, were content to sit on their hunters on the hill, as a brace were on the move. One ran over to Brendan Molloy’s watched by farmers Eunan Bannon and Owen Connell. Then he headed downhill, running right-handed before turning, when he nearly ran into another fox coming from Nangle’s stubble. He ran towards the shoreline by Enda Bannon’s and up by sheep in a corral, owned by Brian Coroon, but they lost him near the lake.

The huntsman crossed the road and drew Monroe Bog beside Larry Lyons, whose son-in-law Niall Mahon and his daughter Ciara hunt the Westmeath Harriers. The couple have a daughter named Ebie. The covert was blank which was not the case as the huntsman drew the Elephant Grass in Michael Dolan’s. Hounds were on song again running toward the Walshestown to Bunbrosna road but he turned and broke, however Kieran and David Dolan got hounds on. I have seen many foxes this season but this was a really fine fox, fully mature, well fed, dark in colour, but he surprised me at the pace he left the covert. He just glided over the field covering an enormous distance with every stride.

It was getting duskish as he ran back towards the find from Clarke’s Cross so the huntsman blew for home after a smashing day and back to Tormey’s Bar.