IT is our fifth opening meet this season and one that has to be always savoured. Duhallow have a special magic with their fabulous pack of Old English foxhounds, so lovingly bred and nurtured by the late Ger Withers, their much lamented huntsman.

Added to all that, their opening meet was at Kilbrin, which could be looked on as the spiritual home of hunting and steeplechasing. Wasn’t it Kilbrin that produced Capt Becher, the gallant Captain, who on falling into a then anonymous brook in the first running of the Grand National, immortalised the fence as Becher’s Brook?

Duhallow staged the first steeplechase ever run and in its turn, went on to produce Vincent O’Brien, the great racehorse trainer, along with such iconic jockeys as Jonjo O’Neill and so many more equestrian super stars who were all honed and tested in pursuit of the ‘Dashing Duhallow’. The bar is raised very high but no one in Duhallow would want it lowered a notch.

Time may have moved on but the magic remains. Duhallow have seen a torrid patch, what with losing their most iconic huntsman in Ger Withers, only then to have then been embroiled in Covid and insurance-related woes. However with a stout heart and firm resolve, the sporting spirit of Duhallow was not to be quenched.

It all came to fruition last Saturday in the small north cork village of Kilbrin. There was a new team up front with Jamie Byrne as huntsman and young Joe Coyle from the Ward Union as whipper-in.

I had hunted with young Jamie when he was first whipper-in to Fergus Stokes in Co Limerick where I enjoyed many memorable days, particularly a special day from Bruree, recorded in the hunting pages of The Irish Field. While I didn’t know young Joe Coyle, he comes with a blacktype pedigree being the son of Pat Coyle, only recently retired as huntsman of the famed Ward Union and present on the day to offer moral support.

There was a festive atmosphere in Kilbrin with all the joint-masters present, though sadly with two of them on foot - senior master Kate Jarvey and the debutante Liz Ahern, both steeped in the lore of Duhallow. Kate, who regularly appears in the pages of The Irish Field as one of the leading breeders and owners in the eventing world is, above all, a dyed in the wool foxhunter. With the late Ger Withers, she nurtured and promoted all things Duhallow especially their beloved pack of hounds.

New roles

The latest addition to the mastership is Liz Ahern who was holding off for her first “proper” day until the following week in Kanturk which turned out to be a cracker. Liz works for one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in their animal health division. Another addition to the front bench is a new treasurer to replace Catherine O’Flynn who had decided to stand down after giving sterling service. Her replacement is young Fiona O’Meara, a daughter of hunt secretary David, and a nutritionist by profession.

Needless to say, long term chairman Pat Fleming from nearby Liscarrol was holding a watching brief with grandson Diarmuid, still in national school, but keeping up the family tradition on his good pony. Also on foot was Mary Stedesfort and, although she has retired from riding to hounds, has sportingly made her hunter available to the hunt staff for the season.

The rest of the joint-masters were all there and well mounted as you would need to be in Duhallow. Pat Hayes from Two Pot House, who is also joint-master of the Iveagh in Co Down where he acts as field-master, was out with his daughter Patricia. Peter O’Meara, from a family steeped in hunting, was out with his son young Rory. When not hunting, Peter is a partner in Savills property auctioneers and completing those mounted was Matt Nagle from Buttevant, steeped in the Cork legal profession and the leading authority on the mysteries of the new hunt insurance.

Well connected, he is a direct descendant of the family of the venerable Nano Nagle from nearby Kilavullen, the founder of the Mercy Order, and is said by many to bear her a close familial resemblance.

Challenge

For a young huntsman such as Jamie to inherit such a fabulous pack of hounds could be looked on as akin to winning the Lotto but the challenge was and remains to hunt them to the high standard set by his late predecessor. Judging by their opening meet and the meets that immediately followed, the new team have risen to the challenge magnificently.

It was a well mounted field just shy of 50 that accompanied hunt staff to the first draw in Tim O’Connell’s farm by the graveyard. The O’Connell family were represented on the day by their daughter Rachel, a recently qualified teacher who revelled in galloping over the ancestral acres. The opening meet is normally a fairly relaxed affair as hounds and the field find their feet but on this occasion they found and spoke almost immediately in the small copse behind the graveyard.

It was the ever reliable Lawyer (by Waterford Ladder) who first rose his stern and, with the pack rallying to his cry, Reynard was afoot while many jockeys were still back on the road, tightening girths and making final entreaties to the Almighty for a safe return.

All of the above had to be cut short as hounds flew and gave the field a guided tour of the rolling acres of Castlecor, Tim’s very extensive farm which is run on organic lines. Up front were the hunt staff assisted by Kevin O’Meara (brother of Peter, a solicitor by profession), Mick Healy from Ballyclough and Finbar O’Mahony.

Field in pursuit

Hounds were really on song with the field well stretched out as they crossed the road to John and Eithne O’Flynn’s before running on to Clifford’s and continuing by Damien and Jane Foley’s gallops. The Foleys do a lot of the pre-training for Martinstown and the J.P. racing empire. They ran almost to the kennels before swinging back in a big left-handed circle towards Garrison.

As they crossed one of the minor roads jumping into some forestry, young Hannah Goold got separated from her pony in its misty depths but, quick as a flash, this gallant young rider was back on board and carried on as if nothing had happened. The family were out in force with dad Denis, who runs a very big dairy farm, along with young Jack (12) and younger brother Christy.

Enthusiastic followers

The hunt probably had upwards of 20 young sportsmen mounted and generally out-performing their seniors. There were the Kielys, sons of the field-master Peter and David, veterans of the hunting field at 14 and 16. Not forgetting the Palmers, with their dad Alan who is a farrier, out with young Aaron and Katie going like veterans. Likewise the Gearys, Frankie, Tom and Eddy with dad Mike, fulfilling the rank of travelling head lad on this occasion.

They hunted into large tracts of forestry where our pilot was marked to ground. This afforded a welcome check for horse and jockeys so early in the season.

Hounds went on to have two more red letter days in succession, first at Kanturk, only to be followed by a smashing day at Castlemager. The Duhallow are back!

Factfile

Duhallow Hunt

Chairman - Pat Fleming

Joint-Masters - Kate Jarvey, Matt Nagle, Peter O’Meara, Pat Hayes, Liz Ahern

Joint-secretaries - Colonel Pat Coleman and David O’Meara

Point-to-point secretary - Bets Coleman

Field-master Roger Kiely

Huntsman - Jamie Byrne

Whipper-in - Joe Coyle

Country hunted: North Cork, 30 miles north to south and 50 miles east to west (from the Atlantic to Fermoy)

History

The hunt dates from 1745 and founded by the Becher family, it has hunted continuously to this date. Along with its neighbouring Muskerry, it is the oldest hunt in Ireland.

Meets: Mon., Wed. & Sat., 11am.