History

In 1730, a pack was kept by the Sherborne family in Loughcrew and, in 1797, the Ballymacad Hunt was formed by a Dean and two local squires, with the pack kennelled in Loughcrew by William Naper. There were two well-known lady masters, who rode side-saddle, Lady Christobel Ampthill and Neenie Cameron.

The team

Chairman: Ken Farrelly

Masters: Gary O’Neill, Michael Bevan, Brendan Cosgrove and Martin Farrelly

Whippers-in: Bobby Kellett and Maurice Quinn

Field Masters: Ken Farrelly and Glenn Farrell Walker

Honorary secretary: Rachel Gilsenan

Honorary treasurer: Eileen Farrelly

Kennelman and countryman: Gary Kelly

ALTHOUGH the sun shone brightly at the Ballymacad Foxhounds meet at Oldcastle, it was tempered by a dark shadow, as former master Thosh Kellett was not there. Thosh, a master for 27 seasons, sadly passed away since the last hunting season.

A man of many talents, he never rode to hounds, but was there to support the hunt on the ground, talking to landowners and following hounds. His memory lives on, as his son Bobby continues to whip in, which he has done for 31 seasons and his nephew, John Ryan, and grandson, Eimhin, were hunting. Joint master Gary O’Neill, who served in the mastership with Thosh, asked the followers to remember Thosh during the day, as a man who gave so much to the hunt.

Personally, he was kind enough to allow me to travel with him when I visited the hunt. He was great company, a mine of knowledge and knew every landowner, placing huge importance in stopping and thanking them for the privilege of crossing their land.

Family history

The masters - Gary O’Neill, Michael Bevan, Martin Farrelly and Brendan Cosgrove - were all on horseback. Huntsman Kevin Donohoe is in his 26th season hunting hounds, a tenure that his uncles, grandfather and father have served for the last 100 years.

He is the ultimate professional, a noted hound breeder and consistent winner on the flags, a horse producer of made hunters and eventers through his business Donohoe Sport Horses, and a serious man to follow across country.

The hunt led the Parade of Champions at the Dublin Horse Show this year, which marked Kevin’s 25th season as huntsman of the Ballymacads. Kevin, hunt staff and masters put on a fine display to the delight of the audience in the Main Arena.

The whippers-in, Bobby Kellett and Maurice Quinn, even though they are seen as amateurs both having day jobs, are as professional as the best in the hunting world. They are very involved in the farming community and Bobby had already been into his office and Maurice had been around the farms that they were hunting to turn off the electric fences, and they do it all voluntarily.

Huntsman Kevin Donohoe coming home at the end of the day with the Ballymacad Foxhounds at Oldcastle \ Noel Mullins

The Ballys have two strong field masters in Ken Farrelly and the newly-appointed Glenn Farrell Walker, who is a noted horse producer and told me he sent two horses to Holland and one to the USA the previous week. Kennelman and countryman Gary Kelly is enjoying his new role with the Ballymacads, having whipped-in with the Laois Foxhounds and hunted the Kilkenny Foxhounds.

Rachel Gilsenan, the honorary secretary, and the team are always ahead with new ideas, with a recently announced guest membership open to paid up members of Irish hunt clubs. For a payment of €250, a guest can hunt five times during the season, which should prove popular. Other initiatives are hunting clinics, ladies hunting day, autumn treks, non-jumping days and children’s meets.

The Ballys have a bright future, as there are so many young followers, like Tatianna and Claudia Rose Ormiston. Tatianna won the Ladies’ Antler Challenge and was just headed for the overall winner. Also hunting were Aoibhinn Donohoe, Ellie Rose Cromwell, who had her best day’s hunting riding whipper-in Maurice Quinn’s hunter Buddy, Eimhin Kellett, Grainne Owens, Katie Brady, Charline and Lilly Murray, Sarah Browne, Cian Clarke and Gael and Kelda Jauvert. Kelda is a well-known producer of show jumpers and eventers.

Others following were Kate Hyland, a top lady across country, Ryan Quinn, Grace Lumley who hunts with the Bedale, Mary Jane Roberts, Susan O’Neill, Liz Brogan, Stephen McKenna, Cian Clarke and Fiona Dillon.

At the meet were Richard Bevan and Kitty Kinsella-Bevan, who is a Main Arena steward at the Dublin Horse Show, Sinead Hyland, Miriam Cunning - who had an international event horse with Sarah Ennis and has one at the moment with Nicholas Butler. Following also were Paul Finn, Nobby Halpin, Donal Gilsenan, Martin Smith, Brendan Tully whose late father Tommy was a regular, Barry and Nellie Maye, Aolin Halpin and Mark Casserly, who hunted the Killultagh and the Kilkenny Foxhounds.

Resilient

John Bonham, who was my guide, comes from a real hunting family, having hunted with the Ballys all his life - as had his father. His wife Amanda hunted with the Meath Foxhounds and their son Richard is master and huntsman of the Lakeland Foot Beagles.

At Oldcastle, the bright sunlight and high temperature was not ideal for scent, and recently there has been sudden grass growth, so cattle are still out. In these conditions, you need a resilient and professional huntsman and low scenting hounds. Doghound Trenchant (by Ballymaad Peddler) was ideal for the task, as they found in Cruxty Bog.

It was just sheer hunting magic, as he tracked this fox, who was in no hurry as he knew scent was poor. Through the clumps of ferns and open strips of grass he never lifted his head, speaking, then going quiet, then speaking again when some of the bitches chimed in and then picked it up again, as they pushed this fox across country through Vincie Black’s, keeping up the same pattern until crossing the laneway to the far road, where they marked him to ground. A classic piece of hound work.

The Red Bog was next in John Cadden’s farm, who was a former chairman of the hunt. Hounds found again and, after hunting in covert, he was marked to ground, but they found a traveller who had come from the quarry and pushed him on in a circle and marked him in a stone pile in Des Hands.

There were some fine displays over stone walls by field master Glenn Farrell Walker and Tatianna and Claudia Rose Ormiston, whose father Gene’s band Say La V is the go-to band for hunt balls in the area. He is known for riding his hunter into the ballroom, while singing on horseback. The huntsman’s daughter Aoibhinn has ponies named Cuddles and Lucky, but Lucky is a small cob and, if he can’t jump an obstacle, he just climbs it like a cat!

The draw at Newcastle had hounds working up a line on a fox that had left a long time ago, but this pack only need a hint of scent and they will work it out by pure determination. It proved a tricky line, so the huntsman moved on. Meanwhile, Mark Owens, whose daughter Grainne was hunting, and photographer Mark Wiseman, whose work appears in The Irish Field, provided us with a welcome cup of tea and a scone.

At Jackie Furze’s, hounds had another on the run in a wide loop through Charles McMahon’s and James Lynch’s, but with so many cattle still out in this area, the huntsman blew for home after the pack marked him to ground at the back of McMahon’s after a busy day.

Some 48 hours later at the meet at Cross Keys, they had a large contingent out, including children well able to cross country. The first draw at Covey’s Rocks produced a real display of hound work with a run of 25 minutes, where the pack had to be accurate on a twisting fox over a number of farms, including Niall Keogan’s and the quarry that had deep ditches and banks to test the followers.

At the next draw in Graddon’s Forestry, music was in the air with a forestry hunt. There is a derelict house near Nugentstown covered in ivy and there was another customer there, but not for long as hounds were on song before crossing back through Heaslip’s for a nice run and some testing jumping before calling it a day.

They finished just in time before a big shower came down, but joint master Gary O’Neill was gone home, as he was supporting Leinster Rugby, who were playing in the Landsdowne Road. I find it difficult to call it by its modern name (Aviva Stadium), as I was a member of Wanderers RFC in the 1960s and 70s and regularly played there. Those were the days!

If you want to hunt with the Ballys, look up their new offer for members of other hunts - you won’t regret it.