No fairies here.
Fair play to Connie Doyle and The Armoured Car. None of your garrison games here, proper fucking Cork tradition, out hunting with the dogs, and then back for a feed of Beamish, tripe and drisheen, and a cows head for the pack.
It is said that if you
take a stroll on any
piece of open land
on the Northside of
Cork City in the
early morning or
evening you will
see someone walking
a hound. This
area supports a proud harrier tradition which appears to have
originated as a response of the poorer people to the more
"glamourous" mounted hunts associated with the landed
gentry from the 17th. Century onwards. The dogs are used
for chasing foxes and hares in winter and for summer draghunts.
E n g l i s h b r e e d s
(particularly from
Cumbria) are increasingly
used in the drag
because they are faster:
"English dogs and Irish
dogs...there's no comparison.
English dogs
just run away from
t h e m , y o u
know." (Michael John
Buckley, Clogheen
Harrier Club). But the
reputation of the Irish
dogs remains high. The
Kerry Beagle is a fine
beast that stands over
twenty inches at the
shoulder. Said to be
descended from animals that swam ashore from a wrecked
ship of the Spanish Armada in 1588, the first record of a
pack dates from 1798, Scarteen, Co. Kerry.
Drag-hunts are the culmination of much hard work on the
part of the clubs involved. Dogs are exercised, trained and
dieted for weeks. The course is surveyed, permission sought
from landowners where necessary. The area is walked afterwards
and inspected to ensure that everything is in place and
any damage rectified. On the big day an artificial scent is
laid by runners. A typical course is 6 to 12 miles long, with
the first animal over the line the winner. Traditionally the
finish was a tense, silent affair, with the animals racing towards
a boundary that consisted of a ditch. In the last year
this has been replaced by a simple finish-line and the occasion
is now festive with crowds of onlookers whooping and
shouting as the dogs approach. Family groups and friends
enjoy themselves on these days, with women playing an important
role throughout.
The first drag was probably held at the beginning of the 20th.
Century. A whole mythology has grown up around the
hounds and their exploits. The sound of harriers baying is
known as "music". A famous dog which ran drags from
1921 to 1926 was Ringwood, better known as "The Armoured
Car". This celebrated animal had immense stamina,
great pace, a mellow
"tongue" and was bred
by Connie Doyle, of the
Northern Harriers,
Fairhill:
"When outshone the
evening star
Who was running
out in front
And he leading
the hunt?
It was Doyle's
Armoured Car!"
Fox hunting is as strong
as ever and there is no
doubt that the drag will
continue to be popular,
with a number of wellsupported
clubs north of the River Lee. The Kerry Pike Ha rrier
Club (established 1823) is one of the oldest in the country.
The very active Fairhill Harrier Club was founded in
1893. The Northern Hunt meets once a month in Johnnie's
Bar, Wolfe Tone Street. Northern United was inaugurated in
1924. Beamish and Crawford began sponsoring the All-
Ireland Drag in 1928. United later won it three years in succession,
securing ownership of a fine silver trophy. Sponsorship
of the All-Ireland has shifted to Murphy's Brewery,
while Guinness support another prestige event, the International
Draghunt.
