The well-bred Old English foxhounds of the County Limerick continue to show exciting sport. The Limerick breeding program has been closely associated with that of the Belvoir (UK) since the Mastership of Lord Daresbury beginning in the mid-twentieth century. / Catherine Power photo
Reports on hunting with The Counties, as the County Limerick Foxhounds are locally referred to, have been glowing with stories of one red letter day following hard on the heels of another. So it was with some sense of anticipation we joined last Saturday’s meet at the mart yard in Kilmallock.
There were over sixty mounted, including several U.S. visitors. From the Midland Fox Hounds in Georgia came Mason Lampton, Jr, MFH, with his two sons Whitney and younger brother Henry—great-grandchildren of the famous foxhunter, Ben Hardaway, who at age ninety-eight passed away only recently. Organizers of the American expedition were Richard and Lilith Boucher, steeplechase jockey and trainer from Camden, South Carolina, and their daughter Mell.
Young Hugh Lillingston keeps tabs on hounds. / Catherine Power photoI would know Kilmallock mart yard better as a farmer bringing cattle to sale with tractors, trailers, and cattle lorries, but on this occasion horse boxes, hounds, and foot followers were the order of the day.
With the field mounted, hounds enlarged, and the statutory photos taken, it was time for huntsman Fergus Stokes to take his seventeen-and-a-half couple of old English foxhounds to the first draw. This was just a short hack to the famed stud at nearby Mount Coote, home of Lady Vivi Livingston and her husband Alan, an outstanding hunting family. Alan was for many years Field Master in the hunt’s halcyon days. So it was fitting that the family would be represented by the current generation, Hugh and his even younger sister Lara. Young Hugh is making a name for himself in the hunting field, having been one of that elite band to have swum the Camog recently from a meet at Bruff.
Huntsman Stokes was on a borrowed horse as the hunt horses were badly in the need of a day off, after some tiring and testing days hunting. Regular Limerick visitor George Lionel-Smith from Devon was out with his son and daughter and got through the day with a clear round which is more than could be said of many others both local and visiting. The hunt has a new whipper-in this season but he is no novice to the game. Nathan O’Connor, originally from Glenbeigh in the Kingdom of Kerry, has been acting as first whipper-in to Tom Dempsey with the Blazers for the last couple of seasons. Also out was last season’s whipper-in Jamie Byrne who gets out every day his duties in Islanmore Stud in Croom allow.
Huntsman Fergus Stokes with whipper-in Nathan O”Connor (left) and Jamie Byrnes move off to the first draw from Bruff. / Catherine Power photo
All the regulars were on hand. There was honorary secretary Deirdre Hogan and Field Master Kieran Cusack. Two of the three serving Joint-Masters were mounted, John Halley, Member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons was out on his good grey produced by Sean McAuliffe that has never been known to put a foot wrong, and Lady Ana Johnson of Dunraven who joined the Mastership just three seasons ago with her cousin Emma Thompson. Master Thompson lives in London, but was born and reared in Glenbevin, Croom. Her brother Sir Francis Brooke is one of the Queen’s representative’s who run Royal Ascot. Sadly Emma was missing this day.
First draw was of course Mountcoote Stud, now run by Luke and Tabs Lillingston. As well as running one of Ireland’s most successful studs, Luke is also an international bloodstock agent and it was the latter duty that had taken him off to Australia. The Irish Field directory lists Mount Coote as standing on five hundred acres. And every one of the five hundred was hunted on the day with the resident fox taking hounds on several guided tours. The spectacular Old English Limerick pack worked particularly well, and the orchestra was in the finest voice.
Mason Lampton, Jr, MFH, Midland Fox Hounds (GA), out with the Limerick. “We jumped some monster ditches!” he says. / Catherine Power photoHounds hunted into the Millennium Plantation with every native species flourishing, now eighteen years old but still with plenty covert underneath, and were at fault. It is at times like this that a good huntsman calls on his best hound. Sandhurst, a fourth season dog by Limerick Perkin out of Belvoir Saline soon had our pilot back in the open. The link between Limerick and the Belvoir has remained strong since Lord Daresbury was Master. Current Belvoir huntsman John Holliday regularly has a day with the Limerick Hounds and hounds are regularly exchanged between Belvoir and Limerick, both loyal to the Old English (traditionally-bred) type of hound. Belvoir Saline was out of the first litter of Limerick Sambo. Eventually all good things come to an end, and Reynard decided to run for the railway and was given best.
The Irish Field was doubly represented on the day. First season Field intern Orlaith Cuddihy was out on her good chestnut. She comes from Kildimo, and having done her BHS is now learning her journalistic trade under the able tutelage of Horse World editor Isabel Hurley. Orlaith takes up the story:
“Not a lot of jumping, but loads of galloping in Lillingston’s place. I actually saw the first fox, who was massive! The day then got going in terms of jumping once we moved across the road to Riversfield. There were one or two nice banks there, including a kind of triple bank that I think took us out of the stud into Quane’s farm.”
Riversfield is now owned by Tom Mowlam and was formerly the home of the late Dolores O’Riordan of the Cranberries. The Mowlam’s had previously lived in Carrigaline where young Alan still runs the Maryville Equestrian Centre. Having jumped into Quane’s and on to McMahon’s, fox and hounds crossed back into Mount Coote where he was given best.
Henry Lampton won’t be left behind. / Catherine Power photo
They drew on through McMahon’s extensive dairy farm where the hounds are always made very welcome, and on through Dominic and Nicolas Hayes’ farm before coming out on the Kilfinane road near the Cross of Black. While hounds were drawing in this huge block of land bereft of roads the foot followers were kept in touch by Paul Woody in his famed white van. No one quite knows whether he has some mysterious means of communicating with the hounds or perhaps the fox but he always appears to be in the right place at the right time.
Mell Boucher from Camden Hunt (SC), is among the American visitors along with her parents Richard and Lilith Boucher. / Catherine Power photoA short hack up the Ardpatrick road and drawing to the left towards Effin (a small village on the Limerick /Cork borders) and Sean Sheehan’s farm. For many seasons, Sean was the very successful amateur whipper-in to the hunt. The farm held a fine dog fox which was holloaed away by our huntsman’s brother Shane from Tullylease. Both brothers were brought up to the sound of hounds in kennels, as the family kept a private pack and hunted on foot. Venery is in their blood. Duhallow is their calling but they are now staunch Limerick supporters. Shane is now a proud green collar member of the hunt and a key member of the team.
The field was now in serious bank country, rarely hunted with one more bank even more challenging than that which preceded it, and our scribe Orlaith again takes up the story:
“Jamie Brynes (former whipper-in) was saying about the ‘final five’ who hunted a different way, only to be confronted by that last dreaded bank. He said they got right hard jumping to get to the railway. The gallant jockeys were Fergus Stokes, Nathan O’Connor, Jamie Byrne’s, Joe Burke and Donnagh Buckley.”
Those who didn’t confront the monumental bank managed to continue by a less suicidal route. The bank, I am reliably told, has something in common with the Great Wall of China, in that they can both be seen from outer space! Hounds at this stage had swung right handed and the next landmark crossed was the Effin railway bridge (no pun intended).
It was just another mile or so before our pilot found welcome refuge in an underground shore at Ashill Stud just outside Kilmallock. It was indeed a happy, if tired group that made the short hack back to the mart yard and welcoming boxes to take tired horses and exhilarated riders home to a welcome rest.
Posted April 4, 2018
This article recently appeared in The Irish Field and is republished with permission.