A BALLYMACAD Foxhounds follower mentioned to me once that their hunt motto is, ‘A day you are not hunting, is a day wasted’ and to make that a reality, they have a huntsman in Kevin Donohue who is at the top of his game.
The Ballymacad Foxhounds were founded 223 years ago. They hunt a relatively unspoiled hunt country, mostly devoid of motorways or high-intensity development.
However, it is not a country without its challenges, as it contains every type of obstacle that one can imagine – banks, ditches, wire, drains, hedges and stout double stonewalls – and one needs a horse, and indeed a rider with a brain that can meet them quickly and move on.
Horses and hounds: Ballymacad Foxhounds huntsman Kevin Donohue with whippers-in Maurice Quinn and Bobby Kellett and some of their hounds \ Noel Mullins
Historic area
It is also one of the most historic areas in Ireland, situated in north Co Meath, although they hunt into south Co Cavan as well.
The long drumlins of Loughcrew, where the hounds were kennelled in 1826, runs along the road towards the kennels with well-placed pockets of furze – always a nice dry spot for foxes and other wildlife.
On top of Loughcrew is the 4,000-year-old cairn, the site of the Spring Solstice. Take the road into Oldcastle and you cross Sliabh na Calcaith, and from there you can see Kells, the site of the 10th century High Cross, with images of men on chariots and also on horses with hounds stag hunting.
Look further and you see the Hill of Tara, the seat of the High Kings of Ireland and Newgrange. So a visitor can take in a hunt with the Ballymacads, and have a spell of ancient sightseeing as well!
Dedicated to hound breeding: Huntsman of the Ballymacad Foxhounds, Kevin Donohue, with his National Foxhound Show Unentered Bitch Champion Ballymacad Mantra with masters Jim Stevenson, Thosh Kellett and whipper-in Maurice Quinn \ Noel Mullins
Huntsman Kevin Donohue
Kevin Donohue is in his 23rd season hunting the pack, following in the footsteps of his father Barry, as well as his uncles and granduncles, Larry, who took over as huntsman in 1910, followed by Paddy in 1930, and then Peter in 1937 for 35 seasons.
Kevin’s father Barry took on hunting the pack in 1976 for 26 seasons. So it was difficult for Kevin to avoid it, not that he wanted to as he is one of the most respected huntsmen in Ireland, a natural horseman with a passion for hunting, hounds and hound breeding.
With 110 years of dedicated service by the Donohue family to the Ballymacad Foxhounds, it must be some kind of record, as it is a very demanding job with no set hours – you have to be available seven days a week.
The 18th century Ballymacad huntsman Brian McCormack, known as Brian Bawn, died while hunting in 1751, and is buried standing up as he wanted a full view of the Ballymacad country. Charlie Bowles, who hunted the pack for 50 seasons, asked to be buried near the kennels so that hounds could regularly run over his grave. So Ballymacad huntsmen would appear to be dedicated even into eternity!
The Master’s view
Master Thosh Kellett, who has been in office since 1993, commented: “Kevin Donohue loves his hunting and does not waste time at meets, moving off at the dot of 11am. He is very placid and hard to get rattled. He is a horseman second to none, and nobody can cross country like him. He has a passion for breeding top-class hounds. We have had many exchanges of opinion during his 22 seasons hunting hounds, but never had a cross word.
“Through the knackery, he is in constant touch with every corner of every parish in the hunt country, and farmers really respect him. He puts an enormous amount of work into managing the hunt country, not just in winter but every season of the year with his whippers-in, Bobby Kellett and Maurice Quinn. He knows every farmer and their families, and if a farm changes hands, he knows exactly who has bought it and arranges to meet the new owners.
“Kevin and Bobby would attend more farming family events, whether they be happy or sad occasions than any politician, as they know and respect the families so well. If you go to a hound show in England with him, people are constantly greeting him as he so well-known through selling hunters and drafting hounds over the years.”
Kevin and Bobby know each since childhood when Thosh and Kevin’s father Barry would load up their ponies and collect as many neighbours ponies in the area and take them show jumping on a Friday night in Cavan. Then on Saturday, they would all be out hunting so there was great camaraderie. They spent more time riding ponies than studying their school books, but it did them no harm.
When Kevin’s father got injured hunting, whipper-in Kit Gilsenan, who spent his life with the Ballymacads took over, and Kevin and Bobby helped out. Kit helped with their hunting education and taught them how to blow the correct calls on the hunting horn, and over the years, Bobby had no problem stepping in hunting hounds whenever Kevin got injured.
On a recent occasion, kennel huntsman Alan Keogan hunted the pack. Thosh continued by saying: “Kevin has a great way with young followers and at the Children’s Meet, he will show them around the barn and talk about preparing the horses, and then he takes them to the kennels and introduces them to the hounds that will be hunting that day. Many of them will visit the kennels during the summer with their parents to walk hounds out, and others will keep some young hounds to get them used to socialising and being around people. The hunt treks and non-jumping days have been a great success with the younger children getting to know everybody, which augers well for the future of the hunt. Above all, the whole team are all best friends, and enjoy great craic and have many laughs, but above all they enjoy their hunting.”
The Ballymacad team
Besides the joint-masters Tosh Kellett, Jim Stevenson and Gary O’Neill, Kevin’s team features honorary whippers-in Bobby Kellett, who is in office for 27 seasons, as well as Maurice Quinn and Barry Reynolds, a former jockey when attached to Noel Meade’s stable. The kennel huntsman is triple Mounted Games European Champion Alan Keogan.
The strong riding field-masters are Ken Farrelly and Paul Keogan. I have to give a special mention to honorary secretary Rachel Gilsenan, who occupies an office which is often the unsung heroes in hunting. I have personally witnessed the excellent and informative newsletters issued during the Covid-19 pandemic, stressing to members the importance of paying their subscriptions and of tight management of hunt finances starting in the kennels, clearly and concisely.
This work includes the use of texting on the protocols for riding on hound exercise days and non-jumping days and the passcodes for each meet for contactless payments. Another key team member is Nobby Halpin who does a great job tidying up at the meets when the followers move off.
Hunt bursary
Kevin has played his part in coaching young people who want to pursue a career in hunt service under the Irish Masters of Foxhounds Bursary Fund. And they could not have come to a better place to learn how to do things properly.
Huntsmen to benefit include Chris Francis (formerly huntsman of the Kildares and now the Roscommon Harriers), Tommy Moran, Eoghan McCabe, Aaron Farrell, Keith Broderick of the Galway Blazers. They don’t just learn about kennel management, welfare of horses and hounds and the skills in whipping-in and hunting a pack, but they ride many novice horses which builds their riding skills and how to place horses at obstacles crossing country.
Kevin Donohue, huntsman with the Ballymacads, and honorary whipper-in Bobby Kellett, autumn hunting in Mount Nugent in seasons past \ Noel Mullins
Good neighbours
The Ballymacads play their part in the wider welfare of their community, running charitable events for good causes such as for somebody struck with an untimely illness or a school that is in need of funds for a project. In normal times, they hold two point-to-points and a hunter trials and were also the first hunt to have a hunter performance show, raffle a hunter, run a simulated game shoot, and pioneer hunt treks and non-jumping days.
Hound bloodlines
Kevin hunts a bitch pack on Saturdays and a mixed pack during the week, and is successful showing hounds on the flags and producing successive winners at the Hunting Association of Northern Ireland and the National Foxhound Show in Stradbally.
He is in a network of huntsmen that phone each other the evening after hunting to check how they got on that day, discussing weather conditions, how scent was, runs and which bloodlines worked best.
In his kennels, he has many of the best bloodlines in hound breeding in order to produce the most suitable hound for his hunt country, including East Galway, Louth, North Down, Mendip Farmers, College Valley, Duhallow, Kildare, North Tipperary, Quorn, South Shropshire, Cotswold Vale Farmers, Beaufort, and Cottesmore. Many of his hunting hounds now are home-bred.
The Ballymacads were one of the first hunt to run a Hunter Performance Show and Kevin has ridden over the Punchestown Banks in the Huntsman’s Race and also competed in the Kildare Hunter Performance Show which is over a typical track that includes many natural fences as well as man-made.
Horse sales
Kevin, just like his father Barry, is the ‘go-to’ man if you want a suitable hunter or a horse that will make an eventer. His Donohue Sport Horses always has a wide selection of horses to choose from, and they all will have hunted as part of their basic education.
However, it is the variety of obstacle in the Ballymacad hunt country that makes horses. He has supplied hunt horses to many of the British hunts like the Ledbury, Cotswold Vale, North Cotswold, Beaufort, and others to Holland, Canada, and the USA for hunt staff and followers. He also knows from dealing with them over the years, the type of horse that suits their country. When I was over reporting on the Pytchely Hunt, south of London last year, both the huntsman and the whipper-ins’ horses came from Kevin’s stable.
Recently, he has developed his schooling facilities with a new American Barn, a horse-walker and a cross-country course that has every type of obstacle that a horse is likely to experience. Former jockey Barry Reynolds, who spent time in trainer Noel Meade’s stables, joined Kevin whipping-in and working with the young horses.
Kevin Donohue is now in his 23rd season hunting the Ballymacad Foxhounds, continuing the tradition that his family members, his uncles and father have done for over 100 years. He is a true professional and is a joy to observe in the environment that he stands out in, and one of the true practitioners of the sport in Ireland.