Galway Blazers huntsman Tom Dempsey and whipper-in Anthony Costello hack home after a cracking day’s hunting in Craughwell. / Noel Mullins photo
The County Galway Foxhounds (the Blazers), hunted by Tom Dempsey, had a brilliant day’s hunting at Craughwell, finding five foxes and running each one to ground.
The hunt was formed in the early nineteenth century and hunts about thirty square miles of unique limestone wall country. The first Master and huntsman was John Denis, an ancestor of the late Lady Molly Cusack-Smith, MFH, who, neé Molly O’Rourke, hunted the Blazers during World War II. There were many other well known Masters, including Isaac (Ikey) Bell, father of the modern English foxhound; American film director John Huston; and Captain Brian Fanshawe, one of England’s illustrious Masters (Warwickshire, North Cotswold, and Cottesmore) and renowned breeder of foxhounds. Two Field Masters that held office for long periods were Lady Anne Hemphill and Willie Leahy.
The Galway Blazers have some of the very best hunting country in the world. To say it is unique is an understatement, with miles of small enclosures, resulting in often fifty stone walls to the mile and uninterrupted views of hounds hunting. To hunt even once with the Galway Blazers is on most hunt followers’ bucket list.
Trevor Adams, former huntsman for 25 seasons of the Duke of Buccleuch Foxhounds in Scotland / Noel Mullins photo
Former huntsman Michael Dempsey still serves as Master, while his son Tom Dempsey carries the horn. Willie Leahy still serves as Field Master, along with Kevin Dempsey and Johnny Geoghegan.
This day, followers at the meet at Cawley’s Bar in Craughwell experienced nonstop action—short circular runs following the Blazer’s bitch pack who found five foxes, almost one in every covert that they drew, and marked every one of them to ground.
The Blazers have made an enormous economic contribution to County Galway, with visitors who come to hunt spending money on accommodation, meals, and car hire. Many purchase horses to take home to their home packs around the world.
Tom Dempsey, a science graduate, gave up life as a school teacher and opted initially to whip-in to his father Michael before being appointed huntsman in 1998. He and his wife Mairead have a purpose-built guesthouse, Craig House, which is popular with hunting visitors from around the globe.
Anthony Costello was standing in for whipper-in Nathan O’Connor who is recovering from a hunting accident. It was refreshing to see a whip with both fox and hound sense, as Costello demonstrated throughout the day. As a former point-to-point jockey he can cross the country with ease. I met him later in the day collecting young backmarker hounds near the Galway road, which is the mark of a good whip. His late father James hunted the County Sligo and the County Clare Hounds, and I remember Anthony as a teenager whipping-in to his father.
Pat O’Neill was on foot, as was Liam Irwin home from the USA having looked after the hunt horses of the Middleburg Hunt in Virginia last season. Tom McNamara who produces sport horses was showing hunters to English buyers. His father Joe, another good horseman, trained two bullocks to pull a plough for the film King Arthur that was filmed nearby in Peterswell.
Field Master Kevin Dempsey, who runs a busy livery yard at Dunsandle, led the followers. Hounds had just skirted the covert behind Pat Slevin’s Garage when the bitch pack opened to a crescendo of the sweetest music one ever heard. Whipper-in Anthony Costello tracked the running pack from the left while the huntsman flanked them on the right—really textbook stuff.
The fox ran by the wall on the Ballymana Road, but ducked underground at the back of Martin Moran’s. Almost immediately they found again in Pat Egan’s Covert and he ran back into Martin Moran’s before turning and making a beeline for the dump of boulders in a field of kale. Hounds were screaming as the fox went to ground. Hounds found again at the back of Pat Egan’s house and ran into Miko Ryan’s and left-handed through the covert in Anthony Kennedy’s. Hounds marked him to ground in Michael Brennan’s.
Peter and Lorraine Duggan were following their twelve-year-old son James who competes in working hunter classes on his ponies Ard Con Farley and Ard Fay Ceda. Peter looked after the Blazer’s hunt horses when Michael Dempsey was hunting hounds. He describes Dempsey as an extraordinary horseman, with a talent to cross any type of country. Even the double of railway gates at the level crossing in Craughwell were no problem for Dempsey!
Opposite Anthony Kennedy’s farmyard hounds found a fresh fox in Molly Shaughnessey’s that ran up to the top of Kennedy’s, down the hill left-handed to the Blackgarden/Seefinn Road by the ruined castle, into Paddy Keane’s, and to ground in Sean Smith’s. In the meantime the foot followers on top of Seefinn had a grandstand view of three smashing foxes that even had time to look up at the spectators.
The huntsman drew Paddy Keane’s and found another fox that they hunted around the covert for ten minutes, but left him. But the huntsman was far from finished. He drew back towards the meet from Patrick Farrell’s farm in Ballymana. Finding there, hounds were away again in fine voice before going to ground in Kennedy’s. Kilquane was blank so they hacked back to the kennels where Declan Moran gave the huntsman a hand to feed and bed hounds down after a busy day’s hunting.
Posted December 4, 2014
Portrait of John Denis, MFH, founder and first huntsman of the Blazers. The painting hangs in Bermingham House, Tuam, near Galway
Author and photojournalist Noel Mullins is a lifelong foxhunter. More of his work is available on his website.