Louis Murphy carves Dunraven’s famous roast beef at tableside. / Catherine Power photo
There can be few hotels that are so intrinsically linked to their owners or the world of the horse as the Dunraven Arms in Adare, Ireland. An institution, it has been a welcoming home to generations of North American foxhunters, and indeed, families across the sporting world. Once you enter that famed revolving door you are struck by the quiet elegance, and you won’t have taken too many steps before you will meet one of the Murphys, Louis or Brian and more latterly Brian’s son Hugh. Brian and Louis were born and brought up in Athenry, County Galway where their father PF (Paddy) was a veterinary surgeon and a keen hunting and racing man. He bred and produced many useful horses such as Orient War and Fred Octerri who went on to win the Sweeps Hurdle.
As Louis and Brian came of age (around seven) they started hunting with the Galway Blazers, hounds then hunted by the brilliant Brian Fanshawe, MFH. Fanshawe was not only a superb huntsman but also a top class jockey riding the 1973 Gold Cup winner, The Dickler, to success in his earlier races. Lady Hemphill was Field Master, and she had set up the Galway Pony club where the lads started. Their younger brother Noel enjoyed considerable racing success later on Tulira Rocket owned by the Hemphills. He now runs the very successful Castle Park stud fam in Kentucky.
The Murphys came from a family steeped in the hotel business. Uncle Rory was general manager of the famed Ashford Castle in Cong, County Mayo and a generation back their grandmother owned and ran the Railway Hotel, Athenry. So it seemed a natural choice on leaving school for young Brian to study hotel management at Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, and, like many aspiring hoteliers, he went abroad to gain experience.
The Dunraven Arms at this stage was still owned by the Dunraven Family of Adare Manor and indeed they would have owned most of the village as well. It had originally been built around the 1700s as a village inn with some rooms attached. On that momentous day of August 1, 1977, when young Brian aged twenty-three arrived to take up his role of Assistant Manager, the hotel had all of fifteen rooms. In the interim it has grown to ninety rooms with a top of the range leisure centre thrown in. For all that if Lady Nancy Dunraven were to return today on first inspection she would see very little difference from the hotel she knew. The style and layout of the public areas has been essentially maintained even down to the exterior colour (Dunraven Yellow) which is the trademark colour of all the Dunraven properties.
Brian Murphy took over the Dunraven Arms in 1981
In 1981 the Dunraven’s decided to sell, and control passed to a still very young Brian. All the while he was developing the hotel, horses remained a key part of his life. A busy amateur, he ended up riding a hundred point-to-point winners mostly for nearby Michael Hourigan as well as thirty winners under the rules. Amateur bumpers were usually the last race on the card and after weighing in, a quick dash back to the hotel, shower, change into his dress suit, and be on duty into the early hours became Brian’s normal routine. He was leading amateur in Limerick’s Green Park in 1988 when he won the hotly contested handicap hurdle on Tubber Telly trained by Michael Hourigan.
His morning regime was an early rise, ride out and school at Michael Hourigan’s, back in the hotel to supervise breakfast and serve lunch. An afternoon nap would set him up for a late night, particularly at weekends, when he would still be on his feet at two or three in the morning. The Murphys regularly buy fourteen or fifteen NH foals which they sell as three-year-olds. Among the many successful horses that have found fame and fortune were Rith Dubh who won in Cheltenham owned by JP and ridded by the late JT McNamara.
When Brian joined the hotel, winter meant a nearly closed hotel, and to develop business he re-ignited his love of hunting and would make numerous trips to America starting with the Los Altos Hounds in California as the guest of Al Schreck. As time went on he went up-market by visiting Middleburg in Virginia and hunting with Randy Waterman of the Piedmont Fox Hounds (VA) and the other smart packs with which the Middleburg area abounds. These trips were instrumental in Dunraven becoming a Mecca for visiting foxhunters. At breakfast it is not un-common to see groups in britches and boots with stocks already tied, breakfasting in preparation for a long day in saddle. In the evening back in the dining room or the bar, the same group with coats steaming on the backs of their chairs, the tired but elated jockeys will be seen again re-living their day.
As often as not Brian would accompany the hotel guests. He recalls a special day with the County Limerick out of Dromin with Hugh Robards carrying the horn. Brian rode a roan mare of Gerard Hogan’s.
“She was a dinger and we had an absolute miller of a day. Hounds hunted nonstop all the way to Bruree over the biggest and best Limerick had to offer. It was easy to count the finishers,” Brian said.
The US Olympic team stayed at Dunraven in preparation for the games in Munich 1972. The team consisted of Bruce Davidson, Kevin Freeman, Jimmy Wofford, and Mike Plumb and went on to win team silver.
Louis Murphy and daughter Emily in he field / Catherine Power photo
Around 1990 young Louis joined Brian, having studied hotel management in Shannon Hotel School. While there, Louis studied under no less a tutor than Derry McMahon who went on to become Assistant Manager of The Shelbourne in Dublin—Ireland’s most historic and prestigious hotel. While not a jockey, he shared Brian’s equestrian interests and joined his brother on their early morning forays to Michael Hourigan’s.
Commenting on the lads, no less an authority than PP Hogan used to say that while Brian was the jockey, Louis was the horseman! Louis hunted as often as hotel duties allowed, and very often hunting was hotel duty! He recalls a day from Ash Hill riding Andy Clohessy’s brilliant mare Speckles. It so happened it was New Year’s day, and Louis had barely been in bed as the new Year’s Eve Ball had gone on until all hours. “We had stormer of a day, but if hounds hadn’t stopped when they did I would probably have fallen off from exhaustion,” Louis recalled.
Anyone who is any one in the horse world has passed through that famous revolving door. The Murphys have had three princesses—Princess Grace of Monaco, Princess Anne (the Princess Royal), and Princess Haya of Dubai. What were they like as guests? “Well they were all superb and were thrilled with their stay,” the Murphys assured us.
The Dunraven Arms has now been joined in Adare by the uber-smart Adare Manor, owned by JP McManus. JP is no stranger to Dunraven having held many of his celebratory dinners there in the past. Their famous pre-Cheltenham get togethers would regularly feature JP and Nicky Henderson on the panel. Do they feel overshadowed by their new neighbour? Definitely not. “Its like being parked beside an Hermes shop,“ said Brian,
I have had the pleasure of hunting with both Brian and Louis and more latterly have hunted with Brian’s daughter Slaney and Louis’s daughter Emily, both crackers across the country. Louis’ youngest, Charlie, while in college is making a name for himself in the point-to-point world.
For full disclosure, I have to admit to being biased, as Catherine and I have had some of our most important and enjoyable family occasions ranging from weddings to birthdays and book launches under the roof of Dunraven Arms.
Dinner in the Maigue Room is always a treat to be put aside for special occasions. While the menu is wide-ranging, almost everyone (apart from those on diets or of a delicate constitution) must have the kitchen’s special roast beef, carved at the table by Louis. Service is seamless and your plate and glass keep getting refreshed as if by magic…but then, the hotel is magic.
And don’t fear. These dark days won’t last forever and the magic will return.
Posted May 17, 2020
This article previously appeared in The Irish Field and is republished with permission.
Liam Murphy and Jodie Moran with the Stonehall Harriers outside Dunraven Arms / Catherine Power photo