DESPITE the rain, the Tara Harriers hunting faithful assembled at Declan and Irma Fox’s Bar in Skryne, near the eighth century tower which was once the resting place of Saint Columcille (521-597 AD). Journalists and authors will be familiar with one of the earliest examples of plagiarism when Saint Columcille not alone copied the works of Saint Finian but also St Jerome’s translation of the Bible without permission. It was referred to Diarmaid MacCerbhiall, The High King of Ireland, who decreed the most famous early example of a copyright ruling, ‘To every cow its calf, and to every book its copy’ (author).

Skryne is a popular meet also of the Meath Foxhounds, the Ward Union Hunt and the Goldburn Beagles. Fox’s Bar is welcoming, friendly and family run, but you could also say it’s a shrine to equestrianism. Its walls are a gallery of photos and Andy Lynch’s red hunting jacket hangs on the wall. Andy whipped into the Ward Union for 30 seasons and was travelling head man for trainer Noel Meade. His son Michael is huntsman of the Goldburn Beagles.

There are signed photos by former champion jockey and near neighbour Paul Carberry taking on a fence way out on Morcelli and Davy Russell winning the Troytown on Royal County Star. And images of the Meath Hunt, the Ward Union and the Tara Harriers.

Declan and Irma’s bar is a gem with an open fire, the kind of a bar you could settle into for an afternoon or evening and I am sure many successes were celebrated and many good stories of hunting and racing shared there over the years. Declan was dispensing hot ports but he is also used to being the other side of the counter as he was a regular follower of the Ward Union.

Trainer Gordon Elliott passed down by the meet after giving a final blowout to three lots aimed at the Christmas Festival of Racing on Jessica Magnier’s gallops up the road. Jessica is a past master of the Tara Harriers, and her husband Colin was one of the most successful amateur jockeys in Ireland, riding Cheltenham winners like For Auction for Galwayman Danno Heaslip, and runner-up twice in the Aintree Grand National on Greasepaint. You can see many of Ireland’s who’s who in racing any day on her popular gallops.

Hunt changes

The Tara Harriers have undergone a structural change since I was last with them when the hounds were handed over to the present hunt committee by the owners, the Briscoe family who were left the pack by the last remaining member of the Tara family, John Preston in 1870. But they have blended the best of both as joint-masters Henry Smith (now in his 40th season and whose mother was Stella Briscoe) and Lorraine McDowell (in her 30th season whose father was former master and huntsman George Briscoe) continue as part of the mastership with Bryan Maher, John Moran and Eugene O’Reilly, the latter also serving as chairman.

And there is continuity also in the kennels as kennel huntsman Sabine Dowdall, now in her 22nd season, continues in her role. Her father Terry served the hunt for 36 seasons, both whipping-in and hunting hounds, and her grandfather Peter who was kennel huntsman for 35 seasons, a total of 93 seasons dedicated service by the Dowdall family.

Jimmy Coyle and Peter King, who had a recent new addition to his family, also continue as whippers-in. One is very much aware of the renewed energy and dynamism making them a strong management team that is now registered as a limited company. Even more remarkable is the fact that they have recorded a 100% increase in hunt membership!

Bective Stud

Joint-master John Moran manages his uncle Noel and his wife Valerie Moran’s Bective Stud that has developed as a leading horse breeding enterprise, and they have horses in training with Gordon Elliott. This reminded me of a cousin of mine, the author and short story writer Mary Lavin whose father Tom managed Bective when owned by the American Charles Sumner Bird, master of the Meath Foxhounds (1956-59). The Lavin family lived in Mary’s mother’s home in Athenry, Co Galway when they returned from the USA before buying Abbey Farm around Bective Abbey, while also managing Bective.

Mary was mentored by the writer Lord Dunsany (Randal Plunkett), and her first book, Tales from Bective Bridge was an immediate success followed by more novels and short stories. She was a pioneer for women’s writing and published in The New Yorker Magazine and The Atlantic Monthly. She was awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship twice and became the president of The Irish Academy of Letters. Later she was elected Saoi of Aosdana, the highest honour in Irish culture which is presented by the President of Ireland, and she also received an honorary doctorate from University College Dublin.

A street near Wilton Park in Ballsbridge is named Mary Lavin Place. I remember her in my youth when my mother used to meet her for coffee in Bewley’s Café in Grafton Street.

Joint-master John Moran leads the Tara Harriers followers around the headlands at their meet from Declan Fox's Bar, Skryne, Co Meath \ Noel Mullins

Followers

Early to the meet was Katie Hegarty, a niece of Sabine Dowdall, whose other niece Anna was unable to make it. Also hunting were Andrew Treacy, Ciara Duignan, Nessa McGuire, Fergus O’Reilly, Kevin Tully, Cepta Finnegan, Jimmy Coyle and Lisa McDowell, daughter of joint-master Lorraine whose other daughter Jackie is a veterinarian, practising in Canada. Steven Dillon does some filming each day and puts it up on Tic Toc and to date the clips have received over 620,000 views.

Ben and Michael McAteer, who are well known farriers in the area, were on gates. Also following were John and Lorraine McDowell and Vincent Flood. The hunt run a Tumblers Club with a €5 charge for each fall and more for masters!

Hunting

The area manager Larry Cunningham had the meet well planned together with kennel huntsman Sabine Dowdall as the pack and followers hacked from Declan Fox’s Bar to an open vista of the Gabhra Valley, which runs back all the way to the sacred Hill of Tara, the seat of the High Kings of Ireland.

The huntsman first drew around The Hill of the Rock but there was nobody at home. They continued down through a huge field of beans in Sutton’s Bottoms and drew the spinney covert at the straw bales which was also blank.

But they had better luck as they jumped into Mrs Carolin’s at the back of horse trainer Gavin Cromwell’s gallops, whose sons were hunting.

The pack screamed away on a run down through Sean and Pat White’s and on by the Barrowaddy, before swinging by O’Rourke’s Mushroom Farm. They then ran left-handed into Morley’s but lost him in the dense Jungle Wood near Peter and Marie McAuley’s, great supporters of the hunt. The Old Deer Farm was blank so they hacked up into Joe Gilmartin’s of Waterside and found again. This took them on a nice gallop all up the river bank in the Tara Skryne Valley, as he headed to Balrath Wood.

Here the hunt staff stopped them as they could take all night to get them out of the large wood. There was some big country along the way, water-logged drains and ditches which claimed many followers. Johnny Flanagan’s dairy farm was blank so they went on to Evan’s Farm and in no time, hounds were away again on through Michael Hoey’s and marked in the piggery where the huntsman blew for home.

After a smashing day, some followers needed to dry out on front of the big fire at Declan and Irma Fox’s Bar. There Declan and Irma served complimentary savouries. Fox’s Bar, an old style traditional bar, is an experience, and should be on everybody’s New Year’s resolution list.