BANSHA House is engrained in the DNA of the Stonehall Harriers. It was the home of the founding master and huntsman Paddy McDonagh in 1913 before the foundation of the State, and the hounds are still kennelled on the farm.
Current joint-master Ivan McDonagh is the only surviving son of the founding master and he farms Bansha House. To add to the historical connection, his joint-master Michael O’Shaughnessy, who, at a youthful 92, is possibly the oldest and longest serving master in the world.
He succeeded his neighbour Paddy McDonagh as huntsman in the 1950s and carried the horn for several decades, right up to his 70s.
In appointing Liam Murphy as current huntsman, the Stonehalls were marking new ground as he was the first outsider to hunt hounds in the hunt’s history. Murphy comes from a medical family in north Co Dublin, his dad being a transplant surgeon in Beaumont.
However the world of medicine was not for Liam and he went on to hunt the Donegal harriers for a couple of seasons before coming south to hunt the Stonehalls.
He seems to have settled in well and has shown good sport in the last couple of seasons as huntsman. Just off the N62, Bansha House and farm oozes hunt history and is centred in an area where almost everyone hunts, be it mounted or on foot.
As we arrived, hospitality was being dispensed by Ivan’s daughter Liza who when not on hunt hospitality duty is a member of An Garda Siochana, based in Ennis.
Good weather helped and it was quite festive in the front lawn as foot followers mingled with the field. The neighbouring Co Limerick Foxhounds were well represented as Ivan, as well as being master of Stonehalls, is chairman of the neighbouring county pack.
Current Limerick master Lady Ana Johnson was there to offer support as was Limerick hunt vice chairman William Harty and his wife Mary who was on foot.
William is one of the famed Harty family who over the generations have produced Grand National winning jockeys, international event riders and much more. While William may not fill any of the above roles, he really enjoys his hunting and rarely misses a day with the Stonehall or the Limericks.
Though no longer a riding member, Lady Harrington, who for many years was a regular with the Stonehalls, also turned up. Her late husband Lord Harrington was an iconic figure in the hunting world and was Limerick master in the glory days.
Huntsman Liam Murphy had brought 14 and a half couple of home-breds from the kennels, which are located just across the road from the meet. While at first glance the pack looked all old English, on closer examination there is a smattering of West Country harriers with a dash of Welsh thrown in as a chaser.
During the summer, Murphy works as a contract milker, while his wife Lorraine breaks and brings on young horses. She had previously worked as head girl in Alain Storme’s show jumping yard.
TRADITION
Our field master for the day (and the season) was David Moran who was out with his two teenage daughters, Aishling and Denise. David jumps at Grand Prix level on his stallion Derg Showtime. He comes from a family steeped in show jumping as both his father, the late Michael Moran, and mother Jill were both professional show jumpers competing right up to Grand Prix level.
Also keeping up the family tradition was his brother Brian Moran and his daughter Robyn, another rising star in the show jumping world. Brian chose the world of steeplechasing and went on to win the Maryland Hunt Cup on Young Dubliner.
Show jumping is very much part of the culture of Stonehall, perhaps harking back to their stone wall country. In keeping with this was young Kian Dore who was out with his father, Karl.
This young jockey, at the tender age of 10, has clocked up more success in the show jumping ring already than many adults jumping all their lives. Jumping 12.2 ponies, he had just returned from an international event in Britain where he came back with a much sought after red rosette.
No opening meet would be complete without a photo call and the huntsman obliged with his hounds, hunt staff, and whippers-in Timmy Hanley and Brendan Magner, who both farm locally.
Brendan’s brother Barry hunts America’s premier pack Mr Stewards Cheshire Foxhounds in Pennsylvania. Assisting him and possibly working towards a career in hunt service were three young aspiring huntsmen, young Ciaran Bourke, Tadgh Hanley and Jack Brennan.
Formalities completed, the hounds moved off to the first draw in the winterage. But on the way, they had to jump a stone wall out of Ivan’s lawn which was not without incident. Later in the day, when horses were warmed up, this wall would hardly have been noticed but being the first fence of the first day made a difference.
OLD HANDS AND NOVICES
To the old hands it presented no problem. James Cregan and his wife Ann, on two novice horses, managed to get over it without incident. James is recovering from a serious break as a result of a jumping fall while Ann manages to fit in schooling young horses with her dual career as an agricultural adviser and young mother.
One of the last jumpers was Leonard Meskell from Ballysteen on a young horse who took a little persuading. With a little encouragement, this young star of the future jumped the wall successfully only to throw an almighty buck on landing, unceremoniously dumping its young jockey. Lesser riders might have given up but he was back in the plate as if nothing had happened and continued.
However, while all this was going on, hounds were drawing and didn’t have too long to wait before hounds spoke and a fine dog fox was hallo’ed away by Timmy Hanley.
He ran for Cregan’s gallop where he briefly went to ground only to run voluntarily on towards the Cuuraghchase road. Here, hounds were at fault but fifth season dog Striker (by Brosna Ton Ton) soon had him back on foot and, after some terrific wall jumping, he was marked to ground right beside Aubrey Bourke’s farm and was given best.
At this stage, so early in the season, horses had plenty done but it was decided to cross the road to draw John Finucaine’s dairy farm at Ballyengland. Just beside the main road lies a small bog and it yielded a fox almost immediately.
He took hounds at speed towards the estuary only to wheel back in a right-handed sweep to his point of departure in Ballyengland, where he found refuge in a welcoming shore under the main road.
It was a very satisfactory end to a good day and what was left of the very happy field hacked back to their boxes.
Factfile
Chairman: David Moran
Joint-masters: Michael O’Shaughnessy and Ivan McDonagh
Secretary: Jodie Moran: stonehallsidesaddlehunt@hotmail.com
Point-to-point secretary: John O’Shaughnessy
Huntsman: Liam Murphy
Whippers-in: Timothy Hanley Jnr, Brendan Magner, John Finucane, Antony Kenny.
Country hunted: Dry stone walls, fly fences.
Brief history: Founded in 1912. Meets: Friday & by-days at 12 noon