Huntsman Raymond O'Halloran and the hard hunting Kerry Beagles of Scarteen  / Catherine Power photo

The earliest records of the Scarteen and the Ryan family goes back to 1640, coming after the flight of the Earls in 1607, another incident in the long history of Irish-British conflict. Around 1820, Daniel O’Connell (the Liberator) disbanded his pack of Kerry Beagles, and his hounds were sent to Scarteen to augment the Scarteen pack. The Ryans of Scarteen were closely related to the O’Connell’s of Caherdaniel. Chris Ryan, now in his thirty-fourth season as Master, is the eight generation of his family to have carried the horn at Scarteen.

The morning of February 11, 2020 at Emly, County Limerick, started with squalls of rain, sleet, and even some snow, but riders were undeterred and a large field gathered just outside the famed and historic village of Emly, where the pent-up excitement was palpable. It may have been the thought of jumping the Emly banks and their attendant trenches, any one of which could swallow up both horse and rider leaving little more than a ripple.