AFTER 30 seasons as master of the Fingal Harriers, Brian Beggan announced his retirement last week.

Marking the occasion, the chairman of the Fingal Harriers, Helena Dawson, said: “Brian’s tenure as master will be recorded as one of the longest, greatest, wildest and most adventurous in Fingal Harriers history. He has been a stalwart of the club for over 40 years and possesses all the qualities required in a master.

“He has long-standing good rapport with landowners, is highly respected in the field, among the local community and beyond. One of a kind, he has led the field with style, panache, encouraging words and always fun to be shared. He is a kind soul with a wicked eye for mischief.

“Brian has steered the club through thick and thin and we are deeply grateful for his dedication to the hunt. Now with our house in order and at the close of a wonderful season, he bows out at the top. His intention is to continue hunting and, for the first time in the hunt’s history, we have invited him to remain on as an honorary life master. We wish him many more happy years, following hounds.”

Fingal Harriers master Brian Beggan crossing country \ Noel Mullins

A man for all seasons

Brian Beggan is certainly one of the most interesting and popular characters in the Irish hunting field today, and still as enthusiastic as ever. Brian, sometimes known as ‘BB’ and to others as ‘the silver fox’ for his grey mane, is known as a dapper dresser, but also well-known for his charm, generosity and pleasant company.

Hunting has always been fun to Brian and he goes into withdrawal in the off seasons, filling in the time visiting exotic places with his supportive wife, Dolores. He enjoys walking hounds, hunt chasing, swimming his hunters in the sea with his dog Ted. He is widely read, especially on the subject of American and European history.

Recently, we saw him as starter at the Antler Challenge, as it crosses his farm over an obstacle named Beggan’s Bush.

He and Dolores have been generous sponsors when they were in the fashion business, especially sponsoring the Irish Draught classes at the Dublin Horse Show and they were one of the original sponsors of the Best Dressed Ladies competition at both Galway and Sligo Races, which Brian and their friend Ann Doyle, former RTÉ news presenter, judged for many years.

Always the opportunist, I recall him adding a prize for the best hat on the day when Amber Dickel, who owned the 2004 Aintree Grand National winner Amberleigh House, made a surprise visit to Galway Races wearing a spectacular creation.

Brian Beggan and his wife Dolores with trainer Ado McGuinness at Naas Racecourse \ Noel Mullins

Background

Although Brian’s ancestors came from Wexford and Tipperary, he was born in the most unlikely horsey area - Baggot Street, Ballsbridge in Dublin 2, a short walk from the RDS and Iris Kellett’s farm.

His father, Jimmie, was a wine connoisseur, French speaker and a member of the Guild of Sommelier in the famous Jammet Restaurant in Nassau Street, which closed in 1967. It was owned by brothers, Michel and Louis Jammet, who also owned the Bristol Hotel in Paris, opposite the Palais de l’Élysée, and it was considered one of the finest French restaurants in Europe.

It was described as a culinary institution ‘attracting both the great and the downright interesting in international and Irish society’. All staff instructions and menus were solely in French, and the French flag was flown on the building on public holidays, Bastille Day and when the French rugby team were in town.

Brian obviously got his sense of humour from his mother Bridie, who knitted for a pastime. To mark the occasion of her leaving Jammet, she knitted a perfect image of a pint of Guinness, as a parting gift for the owners!

Brian gets his taste for fine dining from his parents and has sampled many of the best-known establishments around the world. A favourite for a long time was Les Frères Jacques, the Unicorn and the Shelbourne Hotel. Of late, he has developed a taste also for Asian food, particularly in Eatzen Restaurant in Ashbourne, owned by his friend Tim Tan, a keen racing follower and horse owner. He has known Tim since his days buying fabric in Hong Kong for his fashion business.

Business

After an early career in the Laboratory in Trinity College, Brian left the academic world and joined his wife Dolores, the founder and chief designer of their own fashion brand Libra Design, developing the brand into a thriving business, and a large employer in the industry.

Dolores’ original designs were much sought after and, with Brian as a natural marketeer and public relations person, they opened up markets not alone at home in Ireland, but in Europe and Eastern Europe. They were generous hosts of their customers, making many lasting friendships. They have since sold the business to new owners.

With over 30 years as joint master of the Fingal Harriers, Brian’s enthusiasm for hunting has never diminished and he is extremely popular with all the landowners, as is his wife Dolores, as she comes from a farming family in the area. But what is also important to him is the comradery and the number of friends that he has made during that time through hunting.

His farm is a haven for horses roaming peacefully around the fields; hunters, thoroughbreds, broodmares and youngstock. His retired horses have wonderful surroundings and continue to live out their years in comfort; he has a habit of not selling them, as he gets very attached to them.

I recall hunting with him in the UK with the Croome and West Warwickshire Hunt. The meet was at joint master Mrs Pat Allen’s country house on the banks of the River Avon. We hunted thoroughbred horses over their big hedge country and attended their hunt ball that evening and Brian was the toast of the party.

Brian has had a succession of hunters over the years and some that stand out are Miss Nancy, Nigger, Honky and Alfie, which were all usually Irish Draughts or Traditional Irish sport horses. Alfie is his main hunter at the moment and he is very reliable, with a great temperament.

His sister Mary has also been a stalwart of the Fingal Harriers, having served as honorary secretary for many years.

Racing connections

Brian has had horses in training with Ado McGuinness, the late Tommy O’Neill and Dermot McLoughlin. Horses like Ten Bears, Cousin Zeleznik, Mose Harpur, Fiesty Fish and, currently, Lady Iseult and Madam Zen. Brian’s racehorse Mose Harpur brought him, Dolores and his friends on one of the most exciting racing trips, when he entered him in the Velka Pardubice in the Czech Republic, which is considered the most challenging steeplechase in the world.

The horse was named after the character in the cowboy film The Searchers starring John Wayne and directed by John Ford. He ran twice in the Pardubice; in 2003 ridden by Steve Pateman and in 2004 by Jan Paradise and was full of running and never fell, but the jockeys unfortunately got unseated on both occasions. The horse went on to represent the Fingal Harriers in hunt chasing.

Brian likes the sun on his back after a long season of winter hunting and he and Dolores headed for sunny Barbados. During the trip, they still managed to get in a few days racing there with the Barbados Turf Club at Garrison Savannah outside Bridgetown. They were well looked after by Mrs Angela Simpson, a director of the racecourse, who welcomed and entertained them. One of the key race meetings in Barbados is The Coolmore Home of Champions Day.

Humour

For many years, hunt chasing occupied the summer months for Brian and he hosted a leg of the qualifiers on his farm in Killsallaghan near Ashbourne. The water feature would do justice to any international horse trials course and many competitors have had an involuntary bath in it.

Of course, Brian, always the practical joker, appeared after one qualifier complete with flippers, snorkel and goggles and dived into the water jump! His Pardubice steeplechaser Mose Harpur, who proved a handful out hunting, turned out to be a great addition to the hunt chase team.

Brian competed for a number of years in the hunt chase, but also acted as chef d’equipe or steward at the final during the Dublin Horse Show. As a participant, I recall an amusing incident a few years ago, when Brian was competing on the Fingal Harriers team on his favourite hunter at the time, the Irish Draught mare, Miss Nancy. As he approached the double bank in the Main Arena, Miss Nancy took a shine to the privet hedging decorating the bank. She stopped and stood still and happily grazed on the hedging. Brian, sitting relaxed like Don Quixote on his donkey, recognised the humorous side and sat quietly as the spectators applauded as he let the mare graze.

Another instance was while competing in Balmoral, when I was acting as chef d’equipe. We brought two signs for the parade, one with the name of the Fingal Harriers and another, which Brian gave me, was a direction sign for his birthday party that he had in his house the previous weekend, with large lettering of ‘Bay Watch Babes’ in bright pink.

Passing the stand in the Main Arena at Balmoral, I switched it to ‘Bay Watch Babes’, which raised a great cheer from the spectators in the stand. Minutes later, we were hauled in by the senior stewards in bowler hats, wanting to know what was the meaning of Bay Watch Babes. They did not appear to be aware of the popular programme at the time on TV, as obviously it was not regular viewing in the Balmoral senior steward’s household.

Memorable

Another memorable occasion was when the Co Clare Hunt ran a Huntathlon at Dromoland. It drew teams from all over the country and, to cap it off, the participants were invited to hunt on the final day. Each team had to perform a one-act play on the final night, which was hilarious. Having won the best turned out team on the day, they had then to roughen up their appearance as the Fingal Harriers theme was ‘Coming Home from the Hunt’.

Irene Lawlor was in the main character, with branches sticking out of her hat, joined by Brian, Peter Barnwall and Paul O’Rourke. We spent a wonderful evening also in horse trainer and veterinary surgeon John Hassett’s home, reciting the poetry of WB Yeats, Stanislaus Lynch and many other favourites of John and his wife Eileen.

One year, Brian made quite an impression at the Fingal Harriers Hunt Ball, sitting astride a Harley Davidson motorcycle, owned by Gene Ormiston of the popular band Say La V.

Another year, Brian was mounted on a life-size wooden horse to the music of the French singer Michael Sardou’s song Les Lacs du Connemara, waving a white napkin. It originated from a tradition at weddings in France that has taken off at Irish hunt balls, where they stand on chairs and wave white napkins.

Surprise

I recall when a friend of Brian’s was the Lord Mayor of Dublin and he decided to go for election to the Dáil. He asked Brian if he would take the role of director of his election. True to Brian’s nature, he had to introduce a bit of fun to the campaign and paired every canvasser off with a member of the Liffey Twirlers that used to appear often in Croke Park at the big games and were known to all the GAA brethren and, of course, his candidate got in.

On another occasion, we attended a lunch in Dublin’s Mansion House on some EU Treaty, as guests of the Lord Mayor, attended by senior EU ministers and Irish Government ministers. Brian was acting as Master of Ceremonies and decided to conduct a raffle for a worthy charitable cause.

Imagine the surprise on the faces of the Ministers, when Brian announced the first prize was a visitors hunt cap for two, with horses supplied, to hunt with the Fingal Harriers to a gob-smacked audience of the great and the good of Irish and European politics!

Brian has also been on the other end of being surprised by others on a number of occasions. One instance was when, after a hunt, a few of the lads left the pub and unloaded his hunter and stabled it nearby. When Brian got home, he was seen opening the back ramp and being surprised his hunter did not step back and scratching his head when he found the horsebox empty. He was shortly to receive a phone call to take him out of his confusion!

There is no doubt that, as long as Brian continues to hunt, the fun will go on and the stories will reach new heights. Now, as Brian opens another chapter in his life, I am sure the Fingal followers would like to thank him for all the wonderful sport and fun that he has provided and for his friendship and kindness over the years.

We wish him and Dolores every good health and happiness for many more seasons to come.