HUNTING in the county Clare is a special experience and no one has hunted more with the county pack than Pat Hannon of Ardsollus, just outside the village of Quin.

Born in 1940, Pat reckons he would have had his first day on his pony, Gillian-Jane, perhaps around 1948 when Jerry Burke hunted hounds, having taken over from Jimmo Quin. It is said that Jimmo was the first ‘native’ Clare man to hunt the county pack having taken over from Capt. Brady-Brown who was killed point-to-pointing at Clonmoney in 1937.

Pat’s hunting boots were only retired last season giving him a hunting career of a remarkable 74 seasons. In his career, he has hunted with no less than 10 huntsmen of the county pack.

In the intervening decades, he has been master and chairman on numerous occasions but even when not officially in office, his hand has never been far from the tiller, seeing the pack through stormy waters. He has been field-master for over 40 seasons and only latterly shared that responsibility with Jamesey Arthur.

We enjoyed afternoon tea with Pat and Loreto looking out over their ancestral acres with the woods of Dromoland Castle forming the backdrop. Also there on the day was daughter Sarah-Jane who works in IT. His son Patrick farms at home as well as running a very successful construction business. They run a dairy herd, milked by two robotic milkers. Another son Laurance runs an auctioneering business nearby while Julie-Ann, married to Johnny Prendeville, lives in Meath and hunts with the Ward Union. The family all hunted and show jumped at a high level with several grandchildren now following the same path.

Pat Hannon with his daughter Sarah-Jane leading the Charity Ride at Duckmore Beach, Doonbeg, Co Clare \ Catherine Power

Generations

The Hannons first came to Ardsollus around 1850 and the intervening generations have farmed, produced nuns and parish priests along the way but above all, have hunted, point-to-pointed and bred horses. Pat remembers farming what is now Shannon Airport where the family had an out farm until it was turned into an airport. It was in Rineanna (now Shannon Airport) that the family bred Shannon Lass, the 1902 winner of the Grand National (10/1), ridden by David Read.

As we sat and enjoyed the welcome sunshine, we took a trip down memory lane. Pat recalled one of his earliest days from a new year’s day meet at Dromoland on a pony whose brakes wouldn’t pass the MOT, he shot past the master on numerous occasions only to eventually unship his young jockey over a drop fence and make for home across country, swimming the Rine river before getting back to his stable!

Moving up the ranks, Pat’s next pony was Roisin Dubh who, having won the championship at Cork Show, was sold for £175 (10 times what she had cost) but the young jockey’s disappointment was lessened somewhat when he was allowed ride his former pony in the RDS. Secondary school followed in nearby St Flannan’s, Ennis, but hunting of course remained his favourite subject.

Can he remember special days? Several, but having given it some thought, the day that stood out most for Pat was from their most distant meet - Ballyvaughan, between the Atlantic and the Burren.

Jim Costello was hunting hounds and the pack divided and the huntsman opted to stay with his favourite hound while Pat led his own group in what turned out to be the hunt of the season. He was riding a grey horse of Donal Slattery’s (of aviation fame) and this horse could really fly. Having started the hunt with a group of 25, such was the pace and the jumping when they marked their fox to ground, that there were less than a handful still intact.

Pat Hannon at home in Ardsollus Farm with his wife Loreto and Sarah-Jane \ Catherine Power

Dashing across the country

Another very special horse was a chesnut thoroughbred by Erins Hope which he bought as a foal but, due to injury, failed to sell. It was a fortuitous injury because he hunted him for 10 fantastic seasons.

Pat recalls a day from Fanore on the Wild Atlantic when challenged by his daughter Julie-Anne, then a teenager, to a race across the only flat big field in north Clare while hounds were drawing. Halfway across they realised the field was divided by a high tensile electric fence but it was too late to stop. Rather than take a pull, they kicked on and the thoroughbred and Julie-Anne’s cob made nothing of it to loud applause from the field, none of whom attempted it.

Hunt chasing didn’t start in Clare but it was the men of Clare who took it to a new level. Pat rode in the very first hunt chase in the RDS which was the brainchild of Thady Ryan of Scarteen back in 1985. It was an instant success and chases were held all over the country during the summer months.

The Clare hunt decided to take it to a new level with the event running over a full weekend with such diverse elements as a talent contest, a donkey derby, horn blowing, a tug of war, and so much more in which each team had to participate.

The base was the Clare Inn, just a stone’s throw from Ardsollus with the teams billeted in the hotel.

Based on a points system which only the organisers understood, a winner was eventually declared, and the weekend was topped off with a day’s hunting over the biggest and best Clare had on offer. It was first run on Dromoland estate but for the last three or four years of its existence, Ardsollus farm was the venue with their house becoming an all day long coffee shop.

Enthusiasm for life

From my own experience coming from a bank country, I never ceased to be amazed at the way Pat would lead a small group of thrusters across the biggest walls. Horses and jockeys in this elite group seemed to engage a form of autopilot and it didn’t matter whether the walls were 3ft 5’’ or 5ft 3’’, they got jumped in the very same relaxed manner on a loose rein.

Along the way Pat became involved with Clare Marts and has been vice chairman since 1980, a role he takes very seriously. His involvement gives him unique connection with the farmers and landowners and if there is a problem with stock or fences, Pat is the man to sort it out as he knows each and every landowner in the county and all belonging to him.

The years have been very kind to Pat which he and Loreto have lived to the full. Pat’s retirement from the saddle has in no way dimmed his enthusiasm for life and especially for hunting in his beloved Co Clare.