REPORTS on hunting with “The Counties”, as the County Limerick Foxhounds are locally referred to, have been glowing with stories of one red letter day following hard on the heels of another. So it was with some sense of anticipation that we joined last Saturday’s meet at the mart yard Kilmallock.

I would know the yard better as a farmer bringing cattle to sale with tractors, trailers and cattle lorries but, on this occasion, horse boxes, hounds and foot followers were the order of the day. With the field mounted, hounds enlarged and the statutory photos taken it was time for huntsman Fergus Stokes to take his 17 and a half couple of old English Foxhounds to the first draw at the famed stud just a short hack at nearby Mount Coote, the home of the Lillingston family.

Lady Vivi Lillingston and her late husband Alan, are an outstanding hunting family. Alan was for many years field-master in the hunt’s halcyon days. So it was fitting that the family would be represented by the current generation Hugh and his even younger sister Lara. Young Hugh is making a name for himself in the hunting field and is one of that elite band to have swum the Camog recently from a meet at Bruff.

The huntsman Fergus Stokes was on a borrowed horse for the day as the hunt horses were badly in the need of a day off after some tiring and testing days hunting.

There were over 60 mounted including several USA visitors. From the Midland Hunt in Georgia came Mason Lambton Jnr with his two sons Whitney (14) and his younger brother Henry, all grandchildren of the famous foxhunter Ben Hardaway who only passed away recently, well into his 90s.

Regular Limerick visitor George Lionel-Smith from Devon was out with his son and daughter and got through the day with a clear round which is more than could be said of many others both local and visiting. The hunt has a new whipper-in this season but he is no novice to the game. He is Nathan O’Connor, originally from Glenbeigh in the Kingdom of Kerry, but moved to Mallow at the young age of 14. He has been acting as first whipper-in to Tom Dempsey with the Blazers for the last couple of seasons. Also out was last season’s whipper-in Jamie Byrne who gets out every day his duties in Islanmore Stud, Croom, allow.

All the regulars were on hand including honorary secretary Deirdre Hogan and field-master Kieran Cusack. Two of the three serving joint-masters were mounted. John Halley MRCVS, who is RVS to Fethard Veterinary Hospital and senior consult to Ballydoyle/Coolmore, was out on his good grey produced by Sean McAuliffe that has never been known to put a foot wrong. Also there was Lady Ana Johnson of Dunraven, who joined the mastership just three seasons ago with her cousin Emma Thompson who lives in London but was born and reared in Glenbevin, Croom. Her brother Sir Francis Brooke is one of the Queen’s representatives who run Royal Ascot.

First draw was of course Mount Coote Stud, now run by Luke and Tabs Lillingston. As well as running one of Ireland’s most successful studs, Luke is also an international bloodstock agent and it was the latter duty that had taken him to Australia. The Irish Field directory lists Mount Coote as standing on 500 acres – well every one of the 500 was hunted on the day with the resident fox taking hounds on several guided tours. The 17 and a half couple of spectacular Old English worked particularly well and the Limerick orchestra was in in the finest voice.

Hounds hunted into the Millennium plantation, now 18 years old, but still with plenty cover underneath and were at fault. It is at times like this that a good huntsman calls on his best hound. Sandhurst, a fourth season dog by Limerick Perkin out of Belvoir Saline, soon had our pilot back in the open. The link between Limerick and the Belvoir has remained strong since Lord Daersbury was master and current Belvoir huntsman John Holliday regularly has a day with the Limerick. Hounds and are regularly exchanged between Belvoir and Limerick, both loyal to the Old English type of hound, and Belvoir Saline was out of the first litter of Limerick Sambo. Eventually all good things come to an end and Reynard decided to run for the railway and was given best.

The Irish Field was doubly represented on the day, first season Field intern Orlaith Cuddihy was out on her trustworthy chesnut. She comes from Kildimo and having completed her BHS is now learning her journalistic trade at The Irish Field. Orlaith takes up the story: ‘‘The day kicked off in the very impressive stud grounds of Mount Coote, and it was there the first fox was drawn, one that we spotted darting with the hounds and huntsman Fergus close behind. The day then got going in terms of jumping, etc. once we moved across the road to Riversfield, although there were one or two nice banks in the stud – including a kind of triple bank that took us out of the stud into Quane’s farm.”

Riversfield is now owned by Tom Mowlam and was formerly the home of the late Dolores O’Riordan of The Cranberries. The Mowlams had previously lived in Carrigaline where young Alan still runs the Maryville Equestrian Centre. Having jumped into Quane’s and on to McMahon’s, they crossed back into Mount Coote where he was given best.

IN THE BLOOD

They drew on through McMahon’s very extensive dairy farm where the hounds are always made very welcome and on through Dominic and Nicolas Hayes’ farm before coming out on the Kilfinane road near the Cross of Black.

While hounds were drawing in this huge block of land without adjacent roads, the foot followers were kept in touch by Paul Woody in his famed white van. No one quite knows whether he has some mysterious means of communicating with the hounds or perhaps the fox but he always appears to be in the right place at the right time.

A short hack up the Ardpatrick road and drawing to the left towards Effin, a small village on the Limerick/Cork border), was Sean Sheehan’s farm. Sean was for many seasons the very successful and sporting amateur whip to the hunt and his farm held a fine dog fox which was hollowed away by our huntsman’s brother Shane from Tullylease.

Both brothers were brought up to the sound of hounds in kennels as the family kept a private pack hunted on foot. Venery is in their blood! Duhallow is their calling but they are now staunch Limerick supporters. Shane is now a proud green collar member of the hunt and a key member of the team. Their brother Damien can also be seen regularly supporting younger brother Fergus on the hunting field in Limerick.

They were in serious bank country rarely hunted with one more challenging bank than that which preceded it.

The ‘final five’, who hunted a different way only to being confronted by the that last dreaded bank, were Fergus Stokes, Nathan O’Connor, Jamie Byrnes, Joe Burke and Donnagh Buckley.

Even those who didn’t confront the monumental bank managed to continue by a less challenging route. This bank referred to which I am reliably told has something in common with the Great Wall of China in that they can both be seen from outer space! Hounds at this stage had swung right-handed and their next landmark crossed was the Effin railway bridge (no pun intended).

It was just another mile or so before our pilot found welcome refuge in an underground shore at Ashill Stud just outside Kilmallock.

It was indeed a happy if tired group that made the short hack back to the mart yard and welcoming boxes to take tired horses and exhilarated jockeys home to a welcome rest.

FACTFILE

Chairman: Ivan McDonagh

Joint-masters: John Halley MRCVS, Lady Ana Johnson, Emma Thompson

Secretary: Dee Hogan, Knockboluge, Holy Cross, Bruff, Co. Limerick. Tel: 086-8131788. Email: deirdrehogan2@gmail.com

Point-to-point secretaries: Ros Eason, Dee Hogan and A.M. Walsh, hunter trials secretary Sue Foley, Clonshire, Adare, Co. Limerick. Tel: 061-396770

Days hunted: Monday, Wednesday and Saturday

Huntsman: Fergus Stokes

Whipper-in: Nathan O’Connor

HISTORY

The County Limerick Foxhounds was founded in 1734 and the kennels, at Clonshire near Adare, were donated to the hunt by Lord Darsbury.