LIAM McAlinden, former huntsman of the Sligo Harriers and the East Galway Foxhounds, the latter for 16 seasons, sadly passed away after a long illness which he bore with bravery. At his Requiem Mass in his local Church in Kilnadeema near Loughrea in County Galway, his family, relations and many friends gathered for the Mass celebrated by Monsignor Cathal Geraghty. On his coffin was the number five Gaelic jersey of his club An Spideal in Connemara, one of his great loves in sport apart from hunting a pack of hounds.

Liam was first of all a family man and extremely devoted to his wife Dorothy and so proud of his son Daniel and daughter Rachel. He was always an extremely popular man, kind and sensitive, with a great way with the hunt followers, especially children, whom he continuously encouraged, which made such a difference in honing their riding skills in the hunting field. Many went on to claim national and international honours, such as European gold medals and World Championship silver medals in both show jumping and eventing.

Liam, who was born in Armagh but grew up in Galway, was a perfectionist, and he analysed each hunting day to see what could be improved and which hounds were most effective. He spent a lot of time fine tuning his hound breeding programme, so that he had the most suitable type of hound for the East Galway country. At the end of each hunting day, he would phone his huntsmen friends, James Lowry in Westmeath, Kevin Donohoe of the Ballymacads and Peter Cahill of the Kildares, to compare notes on scent and what runs they got. It can be challenging country in East Galway to cross on horseback, as while it has its share of limestone walls and hedges, it also has its quota of wire - so you need a sensible Traditional Irish Horse or Connemara Pony that will do much of the thinking for you to enjoy yourself. Liam knew how to produce them, as he had a natural understanding of horses and never rushed them in their education.

Background in Hounds

Hunting and hound breeding had always been Liam McAlinden’s passion, from his early days when walking out the Galway Blazers hounds with Tom and Michael Dempsey, and helping in the Blazer’s kennels which provided a welcome break from the family business in Galway. He also benefited from hunting with Lady Anne Hemphill, when she was field master of the Blazers. But his ultimate ambition was to hunt a pack of hounds, so he went on and hunted the County Sligo Harriers with his wife Dorothy Leahy whipping in to him, and helping with the horses and the kennels - even though they had to forsake developing their farm in East Galway in the interim, just to get his career started as a huntsman.

The Call from the East Galways

In 2006, Liam answered the call from the East Galway Foxhounds to hunt hounds. The job also allowed Liam and Dorothy to combine hunting with raising their family and developing their farm a few miles away in Aille Cross, where they produced cattle, sheep and horses. Whipping in to Liam in his first season were Miley Cash and Jimmy Colohan, and later Alan Briscoe, Ann Hanniffy and Neville Horsman, but Dorothy was constantly by his side. Masters at the time were the well-known Irish Draught Horse breeder Chantal Deon, Vincent Shields who was also joint master of the Galway Blazers and the Roscommon Harriers, Brian Siggins and Michael Brassil, with Cyril Larkin and Cathal Gibbons as field masters. Liam’s hunting mentor was the late Tom Fahy, an extensive farmer in the area, who was hunt chairman for nearly 40 seasons. There was no better team to represent the East Galways in organising hunt country than Liam and Tom. They were welcome in farmers’ houses, and shared many a pot of tea on their travels, where they were equally adept at talking about farming as hunting. Tom and his family were also known for their community work, and travelled with the Clonfert Dioceses Group on their pilgrimage to Lourdes in the Pyrenees each year to assist the patients from all over the parish.

Teamwork

It could be said that the East Galways got four for the price of one, as Liam had such support from his wife Dorothy and their children Daniel, now a successful Grand Prix and puissance show jumper, and Rachel, also a talented show jumper. They were always there to help with Autumn hunting, in the kennels, to bring horses on, and turn hounds to him on a hunting day. I remember a meet near Portumna, when Dorothy was still out in the dark with Liam picking up a couple of young hounds that got detached from the main pack during the day. Crucial to Liam’s success over the years was the support he got from the ground crew of Johnny, Shane, Colm and Paddy O’Donnell.

I had the pleasure of hunting with him in both Sligo and East Galway, and Autumn hunting on foot in the bogs and woods around Laurencetown and Eyrecourt with a welcome Irish breakfast, usually in The Bird of Paradise Cafe afterwards! But one of my best memories was from MacDonagh’s Pub, when hounds produced a succession of runs from morning right into evening darkness with non-stop hunting, which had Liam beaming from ear to ear, when no words were necessary!

New Kennels

Liam took over the original kennels in Red Mount Hill and produced a wonderful pack of mainly Old English hounds, with many of the foundation hounds sourced not alone in Ireland, but also on his travels to the UK. It was a landmark moment when the pack was moved to a green field site in 2014, where joint master Joe Cavanagh built a new state of the art kennels with many modern facilities. It is one of the most impressive kennels in the country, and this gave Liam an opportunity to host a puppy show, which attracted a large attendance from all over the country. He also had his seasoned hounds on display, ably assisted by his right-hand man, Hubie Cunniffe, as well as Neville Horsman, Alan Briscoe, Liam’s wife Dorothy, son Daniel and Godfrey Gibbons. But for much of Liam’s tenure as huntsman, Neil Larkin, Thomas Fahy and Cathal Gibbons were field masters, and they formed a lasting friendship and often joked that they would retire at the same time.

Gaelic Hurling

Liam’s other passion was hurling, playing and winning many trophies in his youth with his local club, An Spideal in Connemara, something he has passed on to his children Daniel, who grew up playing hurling, and Rachel, camogie for the local Kilnadema/Leitrim Club. Both are also accomplished show jumpers, producing many young horses at home, with Daniel jumping at Grand Prix level and campaigning his string in Spain and Portugal and also jumping in the puissance in the Main Arena of the Dublin Horse Show. A standout moment that Liam was so proud of was when Daniel, as a 24-year-old, came fourth in the famous Hickstead Derby with only the first part of the Devil’s Dyke down, coming that close to winning, and Rachel on the jumping circuit and competing at the Dublin Horse Show.

Daniel spoke eloquently about his father and mother, saying how well matched they were, and how lucky he and his sister Rachel were to grow up with such loving parents.

After the Requiem Mass at St Dymphna’s Church in Kilnadeema, Liam, who left this world far too early, was laid to rest in the grounds of the church, where his father-in-law and former Blazers field master, Willie Leahy, is also laid to rest.

Men like Liam only pass once through this world.

May his kind and gentle soul Rest in Peace.

-NM