FOR a young lad from a hunting family, born and reared in Two Mile House, Co Kildare, a hunting career with the Ward Union Staghounds seemed just as natural as for a bank manager’s son to join the bank.

Pat Coyle’s uncle by marriage, Eamonn Dunphy, was the much revered huntsman of the Ward Union but age and falls had taken their toll on him and he was coming to the end of his tether.

So when the job of yard man in the Ward kennels fell vacant, a 17-year-old Pat Coyle applied and was accepted. He didn’t go in to his new post red raw.

“Maureen and Paddy Powell (the great uncle of The Irish Field editor Leo Powell) from Kilcullen were keen hunting people, with Paddy hunting the Naas Harriers in the 1970s. I helped out with Paddy in the kennels as much as possible and this experience stood to me when I applied for the role of yard man with the Ward Union in 1977,” recalled Pat Coyle.

He soon adjusted to life with the Ward Union and while the plan was that he would have a long apprenticeship, circumstances changed when Dunphy was forced into premature retirement and a very young Pat had to don the pink coat and hunt, then as now, one of the most famous packs in these islands.

He was fortunate to have inherited four outstanding masters: Raymond Keogh cattle dealer extraordinaire, Fred Duffy who farmed near Swords, Denis Coakey who ran a huge agri-supply business, and Roy Craigie of Premier Dairies whose family had been steeped in the Wards for generations. With all four supporting the young huntsman - still not 20 - Pat Coyle showed great sport almost from the word go.

How different was the country back in the day when you started?

“Firstly, we had very few motorways. Golf courses were very rare in the area, housing and developments were few and far between and general farmland was far less intensively cultivated. Also today, more and more farms are very dependent on wire fencing which makes hunting much trickier for hounds and horses,” he said.

Extraordinary service: Huntsman of the Ward Union, Pat Coyle with hounds from a meet at The Hatchet Inn \ Catherine Power

Flat out

For those who have not been privileged to hunt with the Wards, it is quite a different experience to foxhunting. For starters the Wards do not meet until 12.30pm or even later as, once the stag was enlarged, it’s action from the word go. Fields of 60 or 70 plus were not uncommon and with a large proportion made up of National Hunt jockeys, the action was always flat to the mat from the very outset. The country, by and large, is very flat with large enclosures mostly divided by large trenches, not unlike small canals, which take a bit of jumping.

Coyle took to it like a duck to water and with the support of his wife, Deirdre (Battersby) from Garristown in the heart of the Ward country, there was no looking back. An all-round sportsman, Pat Coyle also acted as trainer for Meath Minors and coached the Meath Juniors in 2010/11.

His longevity as huntsman is matched only by his tenacity in the role, having missed only nine hunting days in his 43 seasons. His youngest son Joe, following in the family tradition, is learning his trade with the Duhallow as first whipper-in.

Pat recalls masters and chairmen under whom he served. “To be honest, I have to say that I had a wonderful relationship with all our masters and chairmen over the years but there were two standout people who did tremendous work during the difficult period of the Green Party. Oliver Russell and Christy Reynolds were undoubtedly our ‘go to men’ during this period and they put in incredible work to ensure the club’s survival.”

Pat Coyle, huntsman of the Ward Union Staghounds, with Gerry Reynolds, Stephen O’Connor, and whipper-in Peter Reynolds \ Catherine Power

The current mastership of Stephen O’Connor, Seamus Fitzpatrick, Gerry Reynolds, and David Baker are faced with the well nigh impossible task of replacing Pat Coyle who has become such an icon of the Ward Union.

While masters came and went, Oliver Russell was chairman for most of Pat’s reign as huntsman.

“Pat Coyle has been huntsman for the Ward Union Staghounds since 1980, and I was a riding member of the hunt over the 42 years and held officer positions on the committee of management for 20 years. Pat’s role played a crucial part in the success of the club,” Russell said.

“On a hunting day, he chose the deer to be enlarged or sought out an outlier. He hunted hounds with dash and drive being the first horseman across the country, first to jump at a ditch or obstacle no matter how formidable, and first up to collect the hounds if the deer was at bay ensuring that he would be returned unscathed to the deerpark, and the day wasn’t over until the hounds were returned to the kennels and the comfort of their lodges.”

Robbie Power, whipper-in, and Pat Coyle, huntsman of the Ward Union Staghounds, collecting hounds from a lawn meet at Oliver Russell's \ Catherine Power

Unique deer herd

Another Ward Union stalwart who would have happy memories of Pat Coyle is Hugh Leonard, who would rarely have missed a day himself for over 70 seasons.

Pat’s face shows the battle scars from many encounters with the hedges of Meath and Co Dublin, but he still crosses the country as if there was no tomorrow. He has always been well mounted and he particularly recalls his faithful mount, Jacko, who carried him for 12 seasons and never let him down when the going got tough.

The Wards would have upwards of 100 Irish Red Deer in the park and are one of only three recognised such herds in Ireland. Due to the fact that they are enclosed, these deer provided a unique gene pool while many of the wild herds have cross-bred with sika and other non-native species. They are managed with as little human intervention as possible to maintain their wild state. There were always special deer kept for the big occasion but ‘The Pillo’ was exceptional, so called, as just like a homing pigeon, he always finished near The Pillo Hotel in Ashbourne.

Big days out

The Wards have been noted not so much for long days as for long hunts. Pat recalls a day from Kilcock where hounds finished in Dunshaughlin. Only this season, hunting under the new protocol, hounds hunted from Stamullen to Oldtown.

This author was fortunate to have been there for a real Ward Union red-letter day. Four intrepid Scarteen jockeys with Val O’Connell, now of the Turf Club (IHRB), as our pathfinder on one of his famed former point-to-pointers, made the trip on a Tuesday at the end of the season to a meet at Tattersalls, Ratoath. There were the usual refreshments on offer but if truth be told, such were the state of nerves and anticipation I don’t think any of the visitors partook.

The stag (and he must have been a good one) was enlarged just a few fields from the sales complex and away we went. Tayto Park and Grange research station flashed by but, other than that, the country was totally unknown to me. We hadn’t gone too far when the huntsman’s horse became semi-submerged in one of the Meath trenches but with a replacement being sportingly surrendered, hunting continued apace.

There were several breaks when the scent was lost giving horses and jockeys a welcome breather only to resume where the stag eventually went to bay near Summerhill in a disused cattle building.

As the hunt was coming to an end, field-master Sean Byrne and Pat Coyle sportingly invited the visitors up-front and it was one of our number, Jimmy Mulcahy, the dashing veterinary surgeon from Tipperary using skills developed in his practice, ‘took’ the stag and held him until the deer cart arrived to pick him up and return him unscathed to his companions in the deer park. In a lifetime of hunting, it was one of the best and certainly the longest hunt I have ever taken part in.

What hunt in the world could boast of having Keith Donoghue, rider of Tiger Roll, and two current Grand National-winning jockeys among their panel of amateur whippers-in? Making up the trio are Robbie ‘Puppy’ Power who won the great race in 2007 on the Gordon Elliott-trained Silver Birch (33/1) and the peerless Paul Carbery who won in 1999 on the family-trained Bobbyjo (10/1). Paul in particular has remained a regular, rarely missing a day with the Wards.

Supportive team

Pat always had a great support team with amateur whipper-in and lifetime friend Kieran Ryan always at his side, and he had this to say.

“In the hunting field, Pat was second to none, he had the most amazing relationship with his beloved hounds, the ability to quickly read situations as they arose, provide followers with a great day’s sport but more importantly, build a very solid rapport and respect among the farmers and landowners whose land we were so privileged to cross. Pat has led the Wards through a myriad of changes during his career - changes in the law, farming practices, and urban sprawl,” said Ryan.

Kieran also went on to pay tribute to Pat, the family man. “Over the years I’ve known Pat, his ability to communicate with and encourage the younger generation be it hunting, football or indeed any aspect of their lives, has been second to none, he has loved being involved and helping within his local community.

“My respect for Pat has grown immensely over our friendship, it goes without saying as an accomplished huntsman but primarily as a personal friend and to Deirdre and his children, a proud father, husband, and family man.”

The thrill of the chase

But hunting is all about hounds and I asked Pat had he a favourite hound?

“Every hound I had always gave everything and knew their role but yes, there were some key hounds over the years. A bitch called Bugle; a Dumfriesshire dog called Donovan who was brilliant at hunting rivers. In more recent times, Talbot, Major, and Raglan were particularly good with the latter two being required to hunt the deer on their own due to the circumstances.

“One of the best days this season was when Raglan had to start on his own as we had an outlier in the Stamullen area and after some hard work, he got him out of the block and we had a great day ending up at Springhill near Oldtown.”

In a reflective mood, Pat recalled those that made it all possible. “Where do I start, there are too many and no doubt I will leave someone out but first up is my best friend and righthand man Kieran Ryan who has been by my side as whipper-in since 1983/4.

“The Campbell family, Darren (current professional whipper-in), Graham and their late father Jim who were great yardmen over the years. All the whips and masters who created great memories, on and off the hunting field over the years. The hunt members, committee members and all hunt supporters, ‘thank you’. Finally and most importantly, a massive thanks must go to our farmers and landowners as without their continued support we wouldn’t be here today.”

Finally, if you had your life to live all over again, would you still choose a career in hunting?

“Without a doubt. Apart from my family, hunting has given me the best days of my life.”