COACHFORD is a picturesque village on the banks of the Lee, not too far from Macroom in West Cork. As a result of the building of the Iniscarra dam by the ESB, the river has now become a lake which has swallowed up many houses, bridges and old roads some of which can be seen still peeping their heads just above water as if in protest.

The area is full of hunting history with Rye Court nearby, ancestral home of the Tonson-Rye family and the present home of the family’s last representative, Rosaline Tonson-Rye. The hunt was founded and formed at Rye Court around 1742. This makes it the oldest fox hunt in Ireland, an honour it shares with its neighbouring Duhallow. The wife of the founder, Elisabeth Rye, chose the pale blue of their collar which to this day adorns their livery.