THE Grallagh Harriers are now in their 18th season and their recent meet at Kilnadeema near the south shores of Loughrea Lake brought back memories of my growing up in a town that has contributed so much to equestrianism in Ireland and further afield.
Looking down from the meet over the lake to the west you see Corry Park, a 15-acre park on the lake shore in memory of Colonel Dan Corry, who grew up 100 yards from the lake and who hunted and rode in point-to-points before spending his career in the Irish Army Equitation School. He was on a winning Aga Khan team on seven occasions, including the famous four in-a-row 1935-38, a feat that has never been repeated since by an Irish team.
Corry won 14 Nations Cups, 55 international competitions and the Grand Prix in Dublin. His nephew, also Dan, owned racehorses like West Bridge and Caheronaun - named after local place names - that won races in Fairyhouse, Limerick and Clonmel.
Paddy Griffin, inland north of the lake, produced the horse Mattie Brown, who was on the winning British Nations Cup team that won the Aga Khan Cup in Dublin in 1970, and went on to win the Hickstead Derby twice for Harvey Smith.
Lorraine Burke, joint-master of the Grallagh Harriers, jumps a typical Galway wall at the Loughrea meet \ Noel Mullins
Local horse people
Other horsemen that grew up nearby include Kevin Moloney, who campaigned Chantal Deon’s horses, Michael Dempsey, master and huntsman of the Galway Blazers, and Vincent Shiels, who was master of the Galway Blazers, East Galway and the Roscommon Harriers.
Michael Burke, who founded Chanelle Pharma has been a racehorse owner since veterinary college, a generous sponsor and even had an entry - Summer is Tomorrow - in the Kentucky Derby. On the west side of the lake is Herb Stanley’s home, whose horses - Derrymoyle won nine races, Captain’s Joy had 10 wins and Merry Gale, trained by Jim Dreaper won 10 blacktype races and 18 in all.
Beside Herb’s house was Stanny Hynes, who owned show jumpers like Ard Ri and Gortnamona, campaigned by Paul Darragh at The Dublin Horse Show. The legend that is Willie Leahy, field master of the Blazers, sold literally thousands of hunters, show jumpers and Connemara Ponies all over the world.
His neighbour, Joseph Hardiman, is the master and huntsman of the Whiskey Road Hounds in South Carolina, and Daniel McAlinden rides for Greg Broderick and campaigns in Spain and Portugal, while his parents, Dorothy and Liam, and his uncles, William and Declan Leahy, produce Connemara Ponies and sport horses.
Brought up on the Lake Shore also was Ivan Dowling, who went on to hunt Mr Stewart’s Cheshire Hounds in Pennsylvania and trained winners over fences like Where’s the Beef, who won The New Jersey Hunt Cup, ridden by Waterford man Mark Beecher. Ivan also became US Amateur Champion Timber Jockey and the Voss Amateur Flat Race Series, riding horses like Where’s the Beef, Organisateur and Fort Henry, and rode in the famous Maryland Hunt Cup.
And that is just a short sample, but just to add one more, the senior master and huntsman of the Grallagh Harriers, David Burke, had a career in show jumping, but the hunting field took preference.
His father Frank, also a successful show jumping rider, produced a number of successful show jumpers like Imperial King, who was sold to Italy and went to the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, and Clonlee Temple that Olympic rider John Whitaker campaigned.
Knowledge
The Grallagh Harriers have a great line-up of masters, with John Cantillon, Kevin Hough, Lorraine Burke and Gary Higgins. The senior master David Burke is one of the most knowledgeable people on hounds and hound breeding and is in demand during the summer judging hounds.
He whipped-in to the Percy Foxhounds in Northumberland and spent five years whipping-in to the Galway Blazers. He was fortunate to have great mentors, two of the most respected masters and hound breeders in Martin Letts of the College Valley and Trevor Adams of the Buccleuch Foxhounds.
His hounds are one of the finest packs in the country, and he breeds for the Galway hunt country a hound that is a smaller Old English type, lighter in bone and not too thick in the shoulder that has speed, athleticism and voice. Recently, he has used Belvoir Lakeland and his son Bouncer that have produced brilliant pups, and Duhallow Albany proved to be successful as well.
He has also had success using a bitch called Worry that he got from his fellow master, John Cantillon’s father Noel’s foot-pack, The Waterfall Harriers, that he put to Duhallow Albany that entered this season. The Grallagh Puppy Show is always a must-visit on the hound show calendar, as David’s mother, Bernie and his sisters, Lorraine and Sinead, are so welcoming and put on a palatial spread of refreshments for the followers and visitors.
Last year, it was judged by Oliver Ryan-Purcell, the master and huntsman of the Ormond Foxhounds, and Jane Hall, who is associated with The Staffordshire Mooreland, hunted by Elaine Barker. Jane is also a frequent judge at the Dublin Horse Show, and the Horse of the Year Show and also judges hounds at The Festival of Hunting.
Each season, the Grallagh have opened up new country and enjoy great support from the farming community - especially sheep farmers, whose livelihood can be seriously affected by rogue foxes.
A picture
John Cantillon was field master on the day and word has spread on the fun the Grallagh are having, as they were catering for an increasing number of visitors and, on the day, Georgina Drewett from the Cheshire Forest and Hannah Henshall from the Mendip Farmers were out with horses provided by Tom McNamara, who was also hunting.
The master of the Donegal Harriers, Mark Mulrine, and whipper-in, Mark McGlinchey, were hunting, as well as Michael Casey, Brian Ryan, Shane Reidy, Sheila Reilly whose father Peter Kelly’s land they would hunt over later, and also Grainne Davoren, and Gabriel Freeney,
Hounds looked a picture moving off to the first draw along the hedgerows in Sean Murphy’s, which was blank, but followers like the fact that the hunt seldom go near a road and consequently they are moving on all day, jumping across stone walls.
As they crossed into James Walsh’s, hounds had a brace moving that split, with one getting away sharply over Declan Leahy’s farm - son of legendary Blazers field master, Willie Leahy. This fox crossed the hill at the back of the farm, but went to ground in the rocks. The second fox was viewed heading for the extensive forestry behind Knock Ash, so there was no point in pursuing him as they would be there for the day.
They hacked in along Anthony Kelly’s avenue – Anthony’s daughter Sheila was hunting - with the huntsman drawing down past the main house and the boundary with Terence Crow’s, which was blank. But they had better luck at the back of TJ Sheils’ house, where the pack suddenly screamed away at speed, with magnificent hound music, in a line for the edge of the lake, where this customer turned right-handed all the way back towards Sheils’ and turned again in the direction of Boggy Park, where they crossed the Woodford Road and circled yet again back over the road and to ground, where they left him.
The huntsman tried TJ Sheils’ hedgerows adjoining Anthony Kelly’s again, but there was nobody at home, so they continued down towards the lake and hounds had another fox up and running, this time running over Anthony’s brother Peter’s farm that his nephew Tony farms. This fox had a plan and that was to head back in a line for Boggy Park, but diverted and found a nice clump of rocks instead, which is always a safe haven, where he was left as the huntsman blew for home in fading light.
The visitors and followers enjoyed following this smashing pack hunting around the magnificent scenery skirting Loughrea Lake, an area that has produced so many talented horsemen and women and successful horse producers.
History
The Grallagh Harriers were formed as a private pack in 2007 and became a mounted pack in 2009, the first registered harrier pack in Co Galway. They hunt over limestone country that is a latticework of stone walls. Visitors are welcome by arrangement and hirelings are available.
The team
Masters: David Burke (Senior Master), Lorraine Burke, Kevin Hough, John Cantillon and Gary Higgins
Huntsman: David Burke MH
Whipper-in: Frankie Burke
Road whippers-in: Sinead Burke and Olive Dempsey
Kennel huntsman: Mark Cunniffe
Countrymen: John Lohan and Michael Higgins