IT’S all change for Ireland’s 10th President, Catherine Connolly, whose inauguration was held last Tuesday at Dublin Castle - a landmark building that, like her new Áras an Uachtaráin base, has its own storied equine links.
Her predecessors made their own mark on Irish equine life, most recently through Michael D Higgins’ presence at multiple events from Ballinasloe Horse Fair to Dublin Horse Show, Galway Races, Liscarroll point-to-point and the national ploughing championships.
His fondness for Bernese Mountain dogs has championed this breed from the Swiss Alps and was repaid by a posse of their owners gathering outside Áras an Uachtaráin on Monday night with their pets for a presidential send-off.
The 130 acres surrounding the presidential home have been grazed by Connemara ponies and Irish Draughts too. In 2021, a partnership with Kylemore Abbey was launched as part of a plan to increase the biodiversity of this part of Phoenix Park by having Connemara ponies spend four months a year in the Áras grounds.
Gray Lass (Lehid Canal Prince) and her Blakehill Ballylee Storm colt moved in that summer when then-President Higgins named the foal Peaceful Aimhirgin, after the Milesian warrior-poet Aimhirgin Gluingheal mac Mileadh.
This connection with the native pony breed followed on from President Erskine Childers’ keen interest in Connemaras. A herd was presented by him to the Irish State in 1974 and some of the ponies in the Connemara National Park in Letterfrack, where the Connemara Pony Heritage Centre was recently officially opened, are direct descendants of this group.
Another partnership that also began in 2021 saw Enniscoe House and the National Parks and Wildlife Service of Ireland (NPWS) join forces to create an Irish rare breed initiative. More descendants of Childers’ legacy joined Irish Moiled cattle and Cladoir sheep on the Enniscoe lands, near Crossmolina.
And, of course, there’s the Irish Draught cohort in An Garda Síochána’s Mounted Unit. Their NYPD equivalent operates from Mercedes House, a high-rise apartment building in New York’s Hells Kitchen district, with a Mercedes car showroom and the ‘Boys In Blue’ stables on the ground floor. Meanwhile, the Irish unit, run by Sgt. Brendan Duffy and now Sgt. Batt Moriarty, is based at stables in the Áras grounds and notch up their own fair number of official engagements too.
Michael D and Sabina Higgins at the official opening of Ballinasloe Horse Fair in 2018 \ Susan Finnerty
First ladies
Both the presidential home, plus two and four-legged members of the Mounted Unit appeared in the ‘Jerusalema’ viral hit during lockdown in 2021. The Swiss police force threw down the gauntlet with their video, which An Garda Siochána responded to with their own award-winning hit that racked up 5.5 million views on Facebook.
Their video included the pair of Galway greys, Aillen and Oscar, with Gardaí Richie Cullen and Peter King aboard, performing a full pass and rein back, with Arás An Uachtarán as the unmistakable backdrop.
Coincidentally, in the week of a new Galwegian president, both horses had Galway breeders: the late pair of Christy Grealish and Martin Donnellan. Aillen (Cappa Cochise - Direen Lady, by Welcome Diamond) was bred in Carnmore by Christy, while Martin, also a keen National Hunt breeder, bred Oscar, who was by his own Irish Draught stallion Carrickrock Close Shave and out of the Bonnie Prince dam Ballygill Beauty, in Ballinasloe.
The town’s annual fair and agricultural show was visited by Ireland’s first lady president Mary Robinson back in 1991. Like another west of Ireland president - Douglas Hyde - she came from a strong hunting background in north Mayo and her brother Adrian Bourke bred the London Olympics horse Ringwood Magister, competed by Californian event rider Tiana Coudray.
A ‘from one first lady to another’ invitation was sent by Valerie Thorington, former president of Ballinasloe Agricultural Show and when word spread that the presidential walkabout would include the Horse of the Fair lunging competition prize giving, some hasty plaiting and sprucing up took place for the special guest.
The late Willie McDonnell’s skewbald stallion The Traveller was that year’s winner and the Pallas Stud owner and three-year-old producer specialist duly received the winner’s cup from the first lady president of Ireland.
In his official opening speech at the 2018 Fair, Michael D Higgins spoke of the importance of animal welfare: “Ireland has continued to bring forward legislation on animal welfare and, in 2013, I was delighted to sign the new Animal Health and Welfare Act into law.
“Owning and caring for a horse brings a great source of enjoyment, but with that, comes great responsibility and commitment to ensure it has a suitable environment to live in.”
He described the fair as “the most democratic celebration of the horse,” or “Comhluadar na gCapall,” as he dipped into his beloved Gaeilge and emphasised the importance of the agricultural and equine industries to the national economy.
Michael D too went walkabout through the streets and Fair Green, accompanied by wife Sabina, bantering with stallholders, such as Bill Holmes and Peter Murdock, and posing for selfies with delighted Fairgoers. He was even offered a smart hunter by one punter, who suggested: “Sure she’d be company for the aul’ dogs and the Guards could borrow her if they were stuck for a horse!”
Another Horse of the Fair presidential presentation - this time to Danielle Cusack and Michael Egan for their three-year-old MD Sandyhill Candy Z - before the entourage left town with a Garda motorcycle escort.
Prime (Time) Position: Catherine Connolly’s calling card during this year’s Ballinasloe Horse Fair \ Susan Finnerty
Continuity
It was another motorcycle escort that swept into the Dublin Castle courtyard on Tuesday morning, when the 2 Brigade Cavalry Squadron provided the honours for the presidential cavalcade.
The earliest presidential inauguration ceremonies featured four-legged members of this since-renamed cavalry unit and, down through the years, there’s been the occasional suggestion that Ireland’s original cavalry unit should be brought back for ceremonial duties.
While the sight of a Blue Hussars guard of honour would undoubtedly add to the sense of occasion, Catherine Connolly is no ‘Marie Antoinette’ and her inauguration speech laid out her plans to promote topics such as climate action, diversity and promotion of the Irish language.
Undoubtedly too, there’ll be the traditional presentation of the Aga Khan Nations Cup at Dublin Horse Show, first carried out by Douglas Hyde. And, elsewhere on the equine front, carrying on her predecessors’ precedent of showcasing native Connemara and Irish Draught breeds would be a very welcome tradition to continue.
Did you know?
Dublin Castle once had an extensive range of stables. The Coach House Gallery is now the only remaining structure of that era. One find in the Irish Film Institute and Pathé archives is footage of the Lord Lieutenant, Lord Wimborne’s arrival at Dublin Castle in 1915. Horse-drawn carriages are escorted by cavalry units, including the Royal Lancer Cavalry and the Dublin Metropolitan Police Mounted Troop. The forerunners of our Garda Mounted Unit? The Blue Hussars, known officially as the Mounted Escort, was a ceremonial cavalry unit of the Irish Army. The unit comprised of 80 horses, primarily from the Artillery Corps which, by then, was the sole Irish Defence Forces wing that used horses in the wake of the cavalry era. Established in 1932, the Blue Hussars role included escorting the President of Ireland on state occasions. This Mounted Escort unit had a total of 80 horses, comprising of two main troops of 30, accompanied by an advance guard and flanking riders. Other duties included appearances at horse shows and gymkhanas, similar to the ongoing role of the Household Cavalry cross-channel and the Garda Mounted Unit. The Blue Hussars were on duty for a decade at presidential inaugurations (1938-1948) beginning with Douglas Hyde, Ireland’s first president who took office in 1938. Only one Irish president was brought by carriage to the inauguration ceremony at Dublin Castle in 1945. This was President Seán T O’Kelly, who travelled in a landau previously used by Queen Alexandra. This proved so popular with the Dublin crowds that a specially-commissioned carriage was made for presidential duties. The presidential carriage’s reign was short-lived however, when the carriage overturned at Dublin Horse Show after the horses shied at the large crowds. Then-Taoiseach Eamon de Valera demanded that the president travel only by car. Two years later, the entire Blue Hussars Mounted Escort was disbanded by the government and although its successor - 2 Cavalry Squadron - was a nod to the unit’s former role, horses were replaced by blue Honda motorbikes. One Government minister, Patrick McGilligan, canvassed for the change and spoke in the Seanad about this move, stating: “I feel no great shame in having helped to get rid of the cavalry escort. Senator Quirke and other senators may like to know that it was not any antagonism to horses that caused that escort to be dispensed with. I was in Government when the escort was first established. I found to my amazement and horror that some of the uniforms that the first cavalry escort were dressed in were still in existence. It was a question of uniforms having to be remade. It was a question whether it was wise in these days to start to bring out these “Blue Hussars” again, as they were called, or whether we would not become more modern and go in for the motorcyclist and his peculiar uniform. The change was made. I think it is a good change,” the Minister for Finance added about his decision. Douglas Hyde shared Catherine Connolly’s love of the Irish language. While on a lengthy state visit to North America, he sent postcards to his two young daughters, Nuala and Úna, including one of an ostrich carrying a man and a jovial, “Nach deas an capall é seo?” (Or “isn’t this a nice horse?”) message. Hyde, Ireland’s first president, began the tradition of presenting the Aga Khan Nations Cup to the winning team at Dublin Horse Show. Amongst the Dublin Horse Show photo archives are such gems as the Roscommon-born figurehead at the 1939 presentation to the winning French team, accompanied by RDS President Mr Justice W E Wylie. Another is of President de Valera in 1962 presenting the iconic cup to the Italian chef d’equipe. The Irish-bred grey The Rock and Piero D’Inzeo appear to be in the background of this particular photo. The late Tommy Wade made the first of two winning Nations Cup appearances on home turf the following year (1963). He and Dundrum were also on the victorious team in 1967. Thirty years later, the roles were reversed when another RDS archive photo shows President Robinson handing chef d’equipe Wade the Aga Khan Cup after Trevor Coyle (Cruising), Capt. John Ledingham (Kilbaha), Paul Darragh (Scandal) and Eddie Macken (FAN Schalkhaar) recorded another Irish team win. If Fáinne Geal an Lae, arranged by Col J M Doyle and played at Tuesday’s inauguration sounded familiar, perhaps it’s because the Army No 1 Band is part and parcel of the parades in the Dublin main arena. Founded just over a century ago (1923), the band has played at every presidential inauguration since Douglas Hyde’s ceremony. The Princess Royal was amongst the visitors on the opening day of this year’s Horse Show, having first paid a courtesy visit to President Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin that morning. He acknowledged her immense contribution to equestrian sports, learning and therapy services, saying: “It was a pleasure to renew my conversations with Her Royal Highness Princess Anne, The Princess Royal, and to recognise the significant contribution which she has made over so many years to the relationship between our two countries.” In 2014, during a historic state visit to the UK - Michael D Higgins was the first President of Ireland to do so - he was brought on a tour of Queen Elizabeth II’s racehorses at Park House Stables at Kingsclere. There was a horsey element to French President Emmanuel Macron’s UK state visit this summer, as the guests were brought on a procession through Windsor town and the castle’s Long Walk in a horse-drawn carriage. The French President was also reacquainted during his July visit with Fabuleu de Maucour, a 10-year-old grey gelding he had gifted to Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 to mark her Platinum Jubilee. Also nearby was a charabanc carriage from the Royal Mews, a present to Queen Victoria from King Louis-Philippe of France in 1844. Perhaps a Connemara pony for Princess Charlotte would be a similarly fitting gift? Macron, the youngest-ever French president, opted for an open-top military jeep for the customary parade through the streets of Paris after his inauguration in May, 2017. Escorted by 140 cavalry and 48 motorcyclists from the Republican Guard, he travelled along the Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe, where he rekindled the flame at the Unknown Soldier memorial. A symbolic act he repeated last Tuesday to mark Armistice Day, which coincided with Catherine Connolly’s inauguration. The Marcel Boussac-owned Coronation won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in 1949 and, amongst other appropriate racehorse name finds, are Douglas Hyde (IRE) and the New Zealand-bred Mary Robinson, by Lord Ballina. A couple of Misneachs and Bernese runners unearthed too - alas, no Tea Cosy/Tea Cosies as a nod to the popular Michael D Higgins creations by crochet fans - but several President-themed names on the SJI database. Mostly sired by Clinton, the Oldenburg son of Contender. Áras an Uachtaráin is set in Phoenix Park, the original name for David Broome’s Last Resort, bought back from Canada’s Torchy Miller. Amsterdam was the Hildenley gelding’s lucky hunting ground, having won the Grand Prix (1983) and two World Cup qualifier classes there in 1983/1984. Douglas Hyde took up resident at the official presidential home in 1938 and, joining the latest incumbents, are the Connolly’s cats: Cat One and Cat Two. The black brother-and-sister pair have succeeded Misneach, who has now moved to Galway city. Shadow, Síoda and Bród were the Higgins’ other popular Bernese Mountain dogs at Áras an Uachtaráin.