west waterford foxhounds
West Waterford Foxhounds at Ballyduff, Co Waterford
Moving off from Ballyduff to the first draw are (l-r) Philip Desmond, MFH; whipper-in Alan Curley; huntsman Donal McAuliffe; and Field Master Connie Curley. / Catherine Power photo
Philip Desmond must be one of the best-known names in Irish hunting, be it in Cork or Waterford, and why wouldn’t it be? In addition to farming, he has hunted the Cloyne Harriers, the Dungarvan Foxhounds, and the famed Avondhu in North Cork. He is now Joint-Master of the West Waterford but no longer carries the horn. That task has been passed on to Donal McAuliffe, a young dairy farmer. It would be hard to find a more enthusiastic huntsman than he, this side of Leicestershire.
The invitation from Philip was concise. “Be on the bridge at Ballyduff by eleven on Saturday if you want to see some proper hunting.”
The Goodwin Hounds: New Hunt, Familiar Figure
"Tot" Goodwin and his Midland Crossbreds / Mary Kalergis photo
Jefferson “Tot” Goodwin and his wife Colleen have established a new hunt, the Goodwin Hounds, to hunt country in Inman, Statesville, and Union, North Carolina. The country was previously hunted by the Stonebroke Hounds which disbanded in the late 1990s. Landowners seem to be prepared to welcome the return of foxhunting to the area.
Not long ago there were there were four hunts in the Foothills area in the northwestern part of the state: Green Creek Hounds, Tryon Hounds, Greenville County Hounds hunting the Gowensville area, and Stonebroke Hounds hunting in Inman. The Greenville country has been assigned to Tryon by the MFHA, and Goodwin has permission to hunt from landowners in the old Stonebroke country. He plans to start small and has applied to the MFHA for Registration.
Foxhunting in the “Garden of Ireland”
West Wicklow Senior Master and huntsman Rupert Macauley takes hounds to covert. / Noel Mullins photo
Well-known hunting author Willie Poole once said, “There is no landscape in the world that can’t be enhanced by a pack of hounds.” County Wicklow, known colloquially as the Garden of Ireland, has a reputation for beauty quite on its own. Add the foxhounds to a landscape of blue skies, sheep grazing in green fields, extensive plantations, and snow-capped hills, and the image describes perfectly my day with hounds from Pat Kavanagh’s Hampton Lodge Equestrian Centre at Brittas.
Captain Tom Morgan, MFH, Dies in Ireland at 94
Captain Tom Morgan (in wheelchair) presents the Isaac Bell Perpetual Challenge Cup at the 2015 National Irish Masters of Foxhounds Show. / Noel Mullins photo
Captain Thomas Morgan, MFH, died peacefully at his home, Hunters Lodge, Bishopstown , Lismore, Ireland on Sunday, March 15, 2015 at age ninety-four.
Captain Morgan worked closely with Ikey Bell, father of the Modern English Foxhound, and with Ben Hardaway, MFH of the Midland Foxhounds (GA), to create the Hardaway Crossbred. The Captain was Joint-Master, with his wife Elsie, of the West Waterford Foxhounds (IRE) from 1953 to 1989. For more on this iconic triumvirate of hound breeders, read “The Hardaway-Morgan-Bell Connection.” Here is Noel Mullins' tribute to this outstanding soldier/sportsman:
Captain Tom Morgan, MFH, was a gentleman, wise, widely read, passionate about horses and hounds, and a diplomat who had a wonderful relationship with neighbours and landowners across the hunting country. He welcomed visitors to his very traditional home with his lovely, gentle Welsh accent, and they seldom left without the customary cup of tea and talk of hunting and horse breeding.
The Hardaway-Morgan-Bell Connection
Captain Tom Morgan (seated) presents the Isaac Bell Perpetual Challenge Cup to South Tyrone Foxhounds Honorary Whipper-In Paul Kinane and huntsman Ryan Carvill for Beauty, winning un-entered female hound, at the National Irish Masters of Foxhounds Show. / Noel Mullins photo
The above photograph caught my eye because of the man in the wheelchair, Captain Tom Morgan. The photo is one of several sent by photo/journalist and author Noel Mullins, a regular contributor to Foxhunting Life, reporting on the National Irish Masters of Foxhound Show held on Sunday, July 6, 2014.
Captain Morgan, now in his mid-nineties, is one of the few people still alive who intimately knew and worked closely in his hound breeding program with the late Isaac “Ikey” Bell, father of the modern English foxhound. The only other living individual I know who knew and benefitted from his relationship with Ikey Bell is Ben Hardaway, also in his mid-nineties.
If it weren’t for Ikey Bell and Tom Morgan, Ben Hardaway would not have his Hardaway Crossbred as we know it today. And if it weren’t for Bell, we wouldn’t have the modern English foxhound as we know it today.
