The Wicklow Foxhounds

The hunt was formed by local farmers in the 1930s and continues to be mainly a farmers and family-friendly hunt. They hunt in South Wicklow and North Wexford over double banks, ditches and stone walls.

Chair: Doran O’Toole

Masters: Frank Redmond and Tom Kelly

Huntsman: Brendan Kavanagh

Whipper-in: Patrick Goland

Field-master: Brian Fortune

Honorary secretary: Siun Stafford

Honorary treasurer: Peter Somers

THE blanket weather warning for Storm Dennis and ‘yellow wind’ warnings with gusts of up to 100km/h bombarded the airwaves but as I found all during the winter, it is possible to avoid the full impact if you chose areas carefully. Cameraman Ken O’Mahony and I were set on doing some more filming of hunts as the short film clips already published have been viewed by tens of thousands of people and seem to be popular with people as far away as Australia, New Zealand and the USA. As the Wicklow Foxhounds are on Ken’s doorstep, he invited me down. Despite the weather, I got a text early in the morning that huntsman Brendan Kavanagh was going ahead and it was worth it as we got some great footage of decent double banks and dodgy drains. There was a great turnout at The Golden Anchor Bar, owned by another Kavanagh, this time Jack and his wife Eilish.

Leading the field was field-master Brian Fortune who was joined by Pauline Flynn, Conor Greagan, Niamh Cush, veterinary surgeon Diarmuid Ryan, who is also a horse producer supplying hunters to many packs in the UK, and hunting most days of the week around the country. Out of season he competes on his own horses but is also in demand preparing horses and ponies as well as riding for other owners. He has had many successes from loose jumping to riding classes in both the Irish Draught Performance Hunter class and the Connemara Performance Hunter class at shows nationwide but especially at the Dublin Horse Show. Ryan is also preparing horses for the Young Eventer classes this year at Dublin. Another member of the veterinary profession, Niamh Drea, was hunting. She provides a veterinary service to the Wicklow kennels and is a talented side saddle rider.

Followers

Doran O’Toole was out with his son Ravie who, although only 12, was riding an Irish Draught mare by Huntingfield Rebel, which just goes to show the unique temperament of the Irish Draught – carrying such a young person around the hunting field safely. Edwina O’Connor was out on her mother Noreen’s Connemara pony stallion Rebel Mick (by Kingstown Boy) and she also had a pure Irish Draught hunting, ridden by equine dentist Stephen Laird. They also stand two other Connemara stallions, Agharanny Minstrel and Hanna’s Only Dun.

Hunt kennel man Larry Kavanagh, who only hunts occasionally, was out, as were school teacher and hunt honorary secretary Peter Somers, Darragh Byrne, Tony McDonald, Ian Noctor, Conor Fanning (son of veterinary surgeon Austin), Kerry McDonald (riding a nice bay), Dirron Killoran, Molly Graham, and Mick Goland. Dairy farmer Sammy Wolmington arrived quite relaxed as usual in the afternoon, dispensing all types of confectionary to the followers before joining the field!

This is very much a farmers and family-orientated hunt, and always has a good following on the road. There was no shortage of refreshments and always something stronger in reserve from Stephen and Marie McDonald whose son Ryan and daughter Kerry were hunting. He stands the stallion West Star Sonny that has produced a number of champion foals including the Reserve All Ireland Champion Foal in 2019 and the Danish international showjumper Jasmines Holly. In fact as we left the car park, Stephen was watching his mare jumping in Denmark. His three children Ryan, Kerry and Casey, were planning a day’s hunting with Peter O’Meara of the Duhallow Foxhounds. Following also were Annette Kush, Niamh Braham and dairy farmer Mary Coad whose husband Kevin was busy with calving. Also following were Tom Berrigan, Seamus Killoran and Kathy Carton who was always in the right place with Caroline Mullen, a keen photographer. The huntsman’s brother John Kavanagh was keeping his brother up to date from the road on his walkie-talkie.

Hunting

There was a break in the weather as the huntsman took hounds to the back of Castletown GAA Club to Charlie Carthy’s and Gordon Hall’s but both were blank. However, they had better luck at the far end of Cosgrove’s in the Brook that runs all the way through a valley. There is always a fox there but never in the same place. Hounds had him up and running right towards the Castletown road but fortunately on this occasion, car followers got in his way and he turned back the route the huntsman wanted to go and ran the valley. He was a fine big, mature dark-coloured fox and he could really cover ground. The huntsman lead over a log on a single bank and there was an immediate drop with briars onto a lane that caught out Ravie O’Toole (12) and Conor Greagan, who went beagling as well. Stephen McDonald showed all his handling skills and remarkably caught both horses and the riders quickly remounted. Hounds were flying in great voice, running the length of the valley into Donal and Sean Shaughnessy’s and around the back of the farmyard where he was faced by the Ahare river which was in flood.

Wisely, he turned back by Pat Kinsella’s Caravan Park where they left him for another day. Joint-master Frank Redmond will need to get an estimate from the dry cleaners as he came to grief jumping out of Victor Murray’s Bog, and his red jacket was two-tone or more like three-tone at the end of the day.

They hacked up to Henry Hall’s and found in Kieran Condron’s and this customer ran right-handed and crossed into Lisa Shaughnessy’s and over Tom Berrigan’s, a former kennel man for the hunt, and to ground in former master Philip Ivanoff’s after a crisp 30-minute run.

The going was extremely heavy as the huntsman drew John Kinsella’s whose daughter Eilish is married to Jack Kavanagh, the owner of the Golden Anchor Bar. Another huge dark-coloured fox got ahead of the pack as hounds worked up the line. However, most followers were preoccupied with a serious ditch which was at least 10 feet plus deep which the riders only realised when they climbed the bank. There were a few expletives when followers saw what they were faced with.

One of the first casualties was the Irish National Stud farm manager Colin Barrett, who had a fantastic day with the Meath Foxhounds from Moyglare the previous day with John Henry hunting the bitch pack. Pete McGrath tried to jump across on foot and he landed in the bottom and cracked two ribs. Ryan McDonald followed suit, riding an Irish Draught (by Ballybrack Diamond) when his horse was spooked by a hound that appeared from nowhere and the horse took his eye off the landing. Both horse and rider trotted out fine the following morning.

This ditch was followed by a brook that claimed a few more. Molly Graham was taking no chances and I snapped her lying back in the saddle with her head almost touching the rump of her hunter. This fox ran left-handed by Joe Shaughnessy’s in a line for Clugga and on to Dudley Hall’s where he went to ground all the fitter for another day. As light was fading after 5pm, the huntsman blew for home.

Many of the followers headed for Kilpatrick beach to wash their horses. The waves were huge and nearly caught out a few riders.

However, Declan Woolhead and Wes O’Neill sheltered early from the weather and got an early sample of the most delicious Irish stew, courtesy of Jack and Eilish Kavanagh of the Golden Anchor Bar, that, as my mother used to say, ’You could trot a mouse on’!