GER Withers has now been hunting the famed Duhallow Hounds for 14 seasons, but he was far from a novice on his first day as he had spent the previous nine seasons as first whip to huntsman Michael Buckley.

Buckley, who was generally looked on as a hard taskmaster but a brilliant huntsman, had shown tremendous sport for several seasons so the bar was set very high when Ger took over. Duhallow was not his first pack as he had grown up with the nearby Liscarrol Harriers who hunted on foot.