reportage Running wild
There are no teams: the champion is the first dog home. The prize money may be small—one hundred pounds, maybe two hundred for a local meet, perhaps five hundred on a major open day when the men from Cork come in to challenge Kerry’s best. The prize would hardly cover a dog’s feed and keep for a season, but that is immaterial. There is huge pride at stake for those involved. The challengers from Cork on the open day bring with them varying traditions. There, in places like Mayefild and Fairhill, the dogs are owned by local clubs and looked after by members. In Kerry, each man—there are few women involved—owns his own animal. In the city they know the dogs as ‘hounds’ rather than ‘beagles’ and in late summer they hold a meeting known as the All-Ireland Final. In both places it is a working-class or rural pursuit.
Spring 1999 | Tony O'Shea and related links | Archive | Back | Next | 7 of 15