CO LIMERICK FOXHOUNDS
Chairman: John Harty
Joint-masters: John Halley MRCVS, Lady Ana Johnson, Emma Thompson
Secretary: Dee Hogan, Knockboluge, Holy Cross, Bruff, Co. Limerick. Tel: 086-8131788. Email: deirdrehogan2@gmail.com
Point-to-point secretaries: Ros Easom, Dee Hogan and A.M. Walsh
Hunter trials secretary: Sue Foley
Days hunted: Monday, Wednesday and Saturday
Huntsman: Fergus Stokes.
Whipper-in: Nathan O’Connor.
Country: Most of the western half of Co Limerick, Mondays and Saturdays are bank country with Wednesday being wall country around Askeaton.
HISTORY
As a county pack, they were first formed by Mr Croker of Ballinagarde near Limerick in 1820. Jack Gubbins of Bruree took the hounds around 1880 before he retired to concentrate on racing. He went on to breed and own two Derby winners, Galteemore and Ardpatrick, who won in 1897 and 1902 respectively. The hunt’s golden era could be said to coincide with the mastership of Lord Daresbury who took over just after the War. He had previously hunted the Belvoir in Leicestershire and was followed on by Lord Harrington with Hugh Robards as huntsman.
ATHLACCA, doesn’t the very name incur images of the cross-country ride, famed and feared in equal measure the world over for its monumental banks and chasm like trenches? While the famed Athlacca Ride is looked on by many as the Pardubice of the bank world, but for those who actually hunt with the Co Limerick Foxhounds from that very meet, the ride has to be looked on as bank jumping for slow learners!
Visitors – many called but only the very few were chosen. This unenviable task fell to Deirdre Hogan, the long standing and indefatigable secretary of the Co Limerick Foxhounds out on her treasured hunter Rocky.
It was a well chosen and even better mounted field of 50 plus that made the short hack behind Fergus Stokes and whipper-in Nathan O’Connor and hounds on the dot of 11am up the Bruff road. Their first challenge was fording the Morning Star river. Rumour had it that Frankie Dettori had failed to make the cut as he couldn’t find a horse up to his weight! He had been in Adare for the wedding of Tim Gredley and Rachel Wyse in the JP-owned Adare Manor. For all that the groom, the dashing Tim Gredley, was out and not found wanting. The bride, well known to Sky viewers as Rachel Wyse, although a distinguished horsewoman, had chosen to remain on foot. The Gredleys race at a high level having won the Gold Cup at Ascot with the homebred Big Orange in 2017. We met Louis Murphy of Dunraven un-boxing for his daughter Emily who was hunting her foot-perfect bay cob. Emily is in Ag Science in UCD and is specialising in food technology.
While hounds were drawing, Rachel recalled riding in a charity race in Cheltenham Festival on the JP-owned and John Joe O’Neill-trained Silent Jo. She described it as the most exhausting but also the most exciting experience of her life! She spoke glowingly of Adare Manor describing it as the best hotel she was ever in!
The three joint-masters were on hand, the two girls, Lady Anna Johnston and her cousin Emma Thompson, on two greys to die for. Their third joint-master John Halley from Fethard Veterinary was also on a grey produced by the McAuliffes from Broadford. His guests on the day were no less distinguished, Charlie Appleby, who trained last year’s Derby winner, Masar, for Godolphin. Charlie Appleby is married to Limerick-born Aishling O’Neill from Pallaskenry who was also out with him and all on Halley horses. They have four children and as well as Newmarket where he trains, they also own the Old Rectory which is within the walls of Fethard. John’s driver, the inimitable Sean Kelly, had a busy morning transporting six hunters from Fethard for the Halley entourage. A couple of dry days had lowered water levels by a metre or so but it only made the drop down look even more precipitous.
It made a stunning sight (from the safety of dry land), to see Fergus Stokes fording with his 15 and a half couple of beautifully matched Old English gallantly swimming after him. Drama aplenty started as field-master Kieran Cusack was gingerly making the descent when Paul Carbery, on an animal with unique markings, shot down beside our field-master using a rugby-style hand-off to make space. The Halley family were further represented by David MRCVS who is in the practice with his dad and Jack who runs the iconic Hayes’ Hotel Thurles, the very birthplace of the GAA on November 1st, 1884, which coincided with opening meet of the Tipps in Fethard on the day. However, history or a blacktype pedigree doesn’t keep you in the plate and young Jack joined the Limerick sub-aqua club during his crossing of the Morning Star. Having a brother in the field proved invaluable and David caught his horse and returned it to a rather soggy jockey. It wasn’t the only drama as young Jake Walsh aged 14 (son of area manager Anne Marie) on his good cob got entangled with a water pipe. Despite being only a four-year-old, he stood stock still until helpers disentangled him and he was able to continue.
Before the last of the riders had crossed, hounds had already found in the nearby covert and the Limerick Orchestra had the volume turned up full. However the concert was brief as at least one of the occupants was halloaed away by Jamie Byrne, former whipper-in and now in Islanmore Stud, Croom, owned and run by Sue and Kian Foley.
Reynard was marked to ground after only a half dozen fields and left. Hounds pressed on across the Glenbevan road and drew down Jimmy Moloney’s passage which runs around the back of Brennan’s point-to-point field. Lady Melissa Brooke, the former master of the Limerick, was out in the car. Joint-master Emma Thompson is her daughter and her son, Sir Francis Brooke, is one of the Queen’s representatives who run Royal Ascot.
The area they entered is known as Glenmah, roughly four miles square without any intervening roads and is favoured with some of the biggest and most challenging banks to be found. There is a Limerick hunting saying, “what happens in Glenmah stays in Glenmah.”
HOT PURSUIT
Well some information did emerge. As hounds were approaching the hunt covert, a hot pursuit began with second season dog hound Sailor by Macroom Toaster leading the pack. The Morning Star formed the Western boundary as hounds ran. Drama there was aplenty, the two Pauls, Paul Carbery and international showjumper Paul Kennedy from Cartown on a home-bred special, Paul Kennedy was home before joining a jumping yard in Belgium. Well over the same hedge which was enhanced with a couple of strings of wire, the two distinguished jockeys were grounded and had to take up foot-beagling for a couple of fields! Hounds ran on through John Buckley’s new farm near Banouge. The family were well represented by Emma Buckley and her two juniors, Ben (12) and Harry (10).
Before moving on to the draw at Castle Ivers, hunt staff changed horses. Castle Ivers is steeped in history, the house having been built by one Richard Ivers from Co Clare around 1860. The current owners are Richard and Mary O’Regan who both come from a family steeped in hunting, racing and breeding. Richard is the chairman of the horse committee of Limerick Show.
As well as history, it has a very special bank leading into Joseph Mulcahy’s plantation. The Mulcahys are a great hunting family and his brother Jimmy (the swimmer) hunted for many years with the ‘Tans. This bank is what Brian McMahon, organiser in chief of the Athlacca Ride, describes as a “Grandfather “of a bank. His son Peter was keeping up the family tradition and going like smoke all day!
As the field were making heavy weather of the regular jumping spot, Paul Carbery, undaunted by his early adventures, picked a particularly monumental spot which had never been jumped before. Neither man nor horse were found wanting and they disappeared through the top growing thicket and were gone. Shortly after, hounds again found and ran by Boherard Cross over the Bruff/Croom road and finished in Peter Moloney’s outside farm in Crean where he was marked to ground.
Little was left but to make the hack back to Athlacca. Hitching a lift on the tailgate of a jeep were John Gleeson and Mathew Lloyd as their horses were led back. The day was completed with wash-off in the Morning Star and retire to Ryan’s pub where the day was relived.