THE meet lawn meet of the County Louth Foxhounds was at Beaulieu House, one of Ireland’s earliest country houses with a Dutch influence, overlooking the Boyne Estuary near Drogheda.

The original house dates to 1660 and the current house to 1715, designed by John Curle. It is a favourite venue for weddings, corporate and social occasions, with magnificent gardens.

Cara Konig Brock, the present owner is an enthusiastic horsewoman but was on a quad for the day, and the yard was busy in the morning. Cara’s mother Gabriel de Freitas (née Waddington), a 10th generation of the family was a successful racing driver in Europe and North and South America.

But there are strong equestrian connections as her grandfather Nesbit Waddington was the stud manager for His Highness, The Aga Khan III. That association goes back a previous generation to Charlie Waddington who was formerly principal of Mayo College in Ajmra, India who taught many of the Aga Khan’s family. They had a series of Irish teachers - Mr Gallagher, Mr Kenny and Mr Lawrence in Bombay. Charlie continued as tutor to Prince Aly Khan, the current Aga Khan IV’s father when he moved to Britain.

The Prince later married the Hollywood actress Rita Hayworth. It is believed that when the Irish Army Team was formed in 1926 with a view to competing with other army teams in Europe, particularly the Swiss team, the instigators of the Nations Cup at the Dublin Horse Show that Mr Kenny suggested to His Highness Aga Khan III the idea of putting up a cup, known since as the Aga Khan Trophy.

When a country wins it on three successive occasions, the family replace it with an exact replica. The Irish Field editor Leo Powell’s editorial last week mentioned a new film titled The Centenary of The Aga Khan Studs in Ireland, a very informative documentary. When I lived in Paris in the 1980s, I needed to get directions to Saint-Cloud racecourse and I enquired from a gentleman standing at a street corner at a nearby village who had his back turned to me.

Imagine my surprise when he turned around and it was the Aga Khan IV. He enquired where I was from and we talked briefly about Ireland, then he pointed out the way and told me he was waiting for his car!

Road bowling

The road along the Boyne Estuary is well known for road bowling, a sport that traces its origins to the 17th century and was popular also at fairs and markets. It is played with a small cannon ball, weighing 28 ounces and 7 inches in diameter. A road shower advises the thrower on the best line, and the landing point of the ball is marked by chalk or a grass sod for the next throw.

The largest event was in Wheeling, West Virginia with 737 competitors hosted by The Ancient Order of Hibernians in 2016. One of the best known was All Ireland champion Mick Barry while the Bishop of Cork & Ross is said to have competed in his cassock!

Masters and hunt staff

The masters Gerry Boylan and Joe Callan were hunting, but Kieran Ryan, Eamonn McGinn and Edmond Mahony were otherwise engaged. It is also worth noting that some of the younger members won the Senior Boys Tetrathlon Team Event in 2021.

Huntsman Lloyd Parr is a real professional having gained valuable experience as countryman with the Louths, then hunting the Farney Harriers before a few seasons whipping-in to Ryan Carvill, huntsman of the South Tyrone Foxhounds. It is a top kennel which helped him broaden his ambitious as Ryan is one of the most respected huntsman in these islands.

Lloyd is a superb breeder of hounds that can act either on the hunting field or on the flags, and his pack of traditional Old English hounds can trace their lineage back further than most people. Their owner Sarah Angel, together with the huntsman, have done a great service to the Old English breed as they avoided the temptation to dilute their pack with Modern outcrosses as has happened to some Old English packs in the UK. Apparently at Peterborough Hound Show, some Old English hounds are getting to look more like Modern hounds while retaining their Old English markings. Despite that, Lloyd Jr was placed in the Young Handlers Class at the show.

Whipping-in were Oisin Duffy, farrier Cathal Tuite and the huntsman’s brother, Tommy Parr, who was riding a smashing three-quarter bred eventing type out of a Cruising mare by an Old Vic sire.

Followers

We missed the lovely smile of Louise Boylan who sadly passed away since last season, such a huge loss. Marnie Crearer is a prolific producer of hunters and eventers that go to satisfied clients here and abroad. She survived a day with the Meath Foxhounds at Sally Gardens the previous day, mounted on a four-year-old out of her thoroughbred mare by Goldoran by the Connemara pony stallion Glenayre Mystical Bobby.

On the day she was furthering the education of another youngster by Road to Happiness out of a Powerswood Gladiator, both home-bred. She had to sit tight on a number of occasions but she is used to hunting different youngsters.

Others hunting were horse trainer John Larkin, Aidan Hand, Helena Williams and her daughter Marina. Helena’s sister Olivia was hunting with her son Arthur Moffett as well as Mai Little, and Emily Deegan, an instructor at Dympna’s Riding Centre in Rolestown, Swords. It is AIRE-approved and a BHS exam training centre which specialises in livery, show jumping, and cross-country schooling. The centre hosts regular shows and offer qualified riding tuition for all levels.

Also following were Noel Norris, John McKinney, Pip Simmons (originally from Canada), Brian Meegan, Donna Corcoran, Christy Murphy and his wife Mary, John Neilon and Andy Cromwell, a cousin of trainer Gavin. Johnny Leyland, once a regular follower as was his mother Joanna, was out as well as two photographers Declan Conyham and former press photographer Sinead Sarsfield.

Hunting

The first draw was the wood across the road from Beaulieu and Parr with 20½ couple of beautifully fit Old English hounds, many of them winners at The National Hound Show in Stradbally. They found almost immediately in the laurels in the Long Wood. They were away in fine voice with Tackle (placed in Peterborough) with first season Lister, Richmond, and Liner leading the pack.

They did a tour of the wood until they reached the Drogheda to Terminfeckin Road where their quarry made a u-turn back and they marked him near the find. The huntsman next drew beside the river which is usually a sure spot, but there was nobody at home.

The followers had some good jumping action out of the wood onto the road. One of the most spectacular leaps was displayed by the talented Louth Pony Club rider Mai Little whose mother Elaine was a regular follower. They crossed the road to the Decoy Covert where there is a solar farm being installed, but the fox population don’t seemed to be disturbed by all the machinery and workmen. Here Tackle had another customer on the move, running left-handed in a circle eventually losing him on sown ground.

Moving on down towards Baltray near the famous championship golf links that I had the pleasure of playing many times during the summer, hounds found again on Dominick Hartigan’s farm where horses were wintering. It is a series of small thick coverts and they usually keep running from one covert to another. We were treated to some magnificent music as they rattled through the covers.

The huntsman crossed the lane by a stream in the brambles in Sean Drew’s. Hounds were on song again up the valley working as a unit, left-handed leaving Drew’s and going to ground back in Hartigan’s. After a busy day’s hunting, the debrief took place at the appropriately named 19th Bar beside Baltray Golf Links which provided sustenance for the followers before they returned home.

History

The Louth Hunt dates from 1817. In the hunting maps, the hunt country consists of County Louth and the Fingal country, all the way to O’Connell Street in Dublin.

Factfile

Louth Hunt

Chairman - Sandra Cummiskey

Masters - Edmond Mahony, Gerry Boylan, Joe Callan, Kieran Ryan and Eamonn McGinn

Huntsman - Lloyd Parr

Whippers-in - Townley Angel, Christopher Rodgers, Oisin Duffy and Tommy Parr.

Joint Honorary Secretaries - Una Gunne and Aileen Gallagher

Honorary Treasurer - Mary McLoughlin