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The Irish Wolfhound is the world's largest breed of dog. The name is
quite a recent one but the hound itself goes back far into the mists
of time. The name it was given in ancient Ireland was "Cu"
(variously translated as hound, Irish hound, war dog, wolf dog,
etc.) and it is mentioned in Irish laws, which predate Christianity,
and in Irish literature which dates from the 5th century or, in the
case of the Sagas, from the Old Irish period A.D. 600-900.
The Great Irish Hound was only permitted to be owned by kings and
the nobility but there were plenty of them as there were 150
kingdoms in Ancient Ireland as the country was divided into Fifths,
each with a king, and each Fifth comprised numerous kingdoms, each
of which had a lesser king subject to the kings of the Fifths.
The hounds were used as war dogs to haul men off horseback and out
of chariots and there are many tales in Irish mythology of their
ferocity and bravery in battle. They were also used as guards of
property and herds and for hunting Irish elk as well as deer, boar,
and wolves and were held in such high esteem that battles were
fought over them.
The second century A.D. saw the rise of the Fianna, who were foot
soldiers. Each Fian had two hounds, while the greatest of their
chiefs, Fionn Mac Cumall, had three hundred full-grown hounds and
puppy hounds two hundred. Fionn's favourite hound was Bran, who
always killed more men or beasts than Fionn.
Dating from the middle of the 4th century, we have the description
of Celtic hounds in the works of Arrian: "There is nothing more
beautiful to see, whether their eyes, or their whole body, or their
coat and colour". "The neck should be long, round, and flexible.
Wide chests are better than narrow ones. The legs should be long,
straight, and well-knit, the ribs strong, the back wide and firm
without being fat, the belly well drawn up, the thighs hollow, the
tail narrow, hairy, long and flexible with thicker hairs adorning
the tip. The feet should be round and firm. These hounds may be of
any colour."
They were much coveted and were frequently given as gifts to
important personages and foreign nobles. Often the hounds' collars
and chains were of precious metal: There were seven hounds held
with silver chains with a ball of gold between each of them, and
with a long chain of antique silver he held in leash two hounds of
the chase.
In 1210 A.D. an Irish Hound was send as a gift to Llewellyn, King of
Wales, by Prince (later King) John of England. This hound was
probably Gelert, slain by Llewellyn under the misapprehension that
the hound had killed his baby son when, in fact, the hound had
killed a wolf that had got into the baby's room. Gelert's burial
place is known as Beddgelert.
During the 16th, 17th, and early 18th centuries these gifts of
hounds increased greatly. Some of the recipients were the Great
Mogul, The Emperor Jehangier, the Shah of Persia, and Cardinal
Richelieu. Large numbers were sent to Spain and King John of Poland
is said to have contributed to their near extinction in Ireland by
procuring as many as he could lay hands on. In 1652 a declaration
was issued banning the exportation of hounds from Ireland on account
of their scarcity.
In 1770 Goldsmith wrote: The last variety and the most wonderful
of all that I shall mention, is the Great Irish wolfdog, that may be
considered as the first of the canine species…….Nevertheless he is
extremely beautiful and majestic in appearance, being the greatest
of the dog kind to be seen in the world.
The last wolf in Ireland is said to have been killed by a Mr. Watson
in County Carlow in 1786 and, once their prey was gone, the Irish
wolfhound went into decline with only a few families keeping them "more
for ornament than for use" and complaints abounded that they
were reduced in size, made coarse through being crossed with Great
Danes, or so crossed that two were hardly seen alike.
In the mid
19th century a Major H.D. Richardson (a Scot living in Dublin) wrote
a book (entitled The Dog: Its Origin, Natural History, and
Varieties) in which he asserted that the Irish wolfdog and the
Highland deerhound were one and the same breed, although much
degenerated in the latter. Richardson wrote several articles on the
wolfhound, exhorting gentlemen to save the breed before it was too
late. Eventually he began breeding, basing much of his efforts on
the Glengarry deerhounds which were noted for their size and heavy
build. Glengarry appeared to have had the object of producing a
strain of hounds, one brace of which (dog and bitch) should be
sufficient to track, follow, and pull down a deer, and he bred the
bitches almost as large as the dogs.
Little is known of Richardson's breeding programme but it is
probable he used some outcrosses, including one to a Pyrenean. It
has also been said that Glengarry used a Pyrenean, but that was a
different type to the breed we know today, being taller and less
heavy, with prick ears, and resembling the ancient Spanish hounds
from which it was descended.
The next to appear on the scene was Captain George Augustus Graham,
determined to bring the Irish wolfhound back to its former glory.
Not only were there very few specimens available of the old blood
lines, but some of them were not able to breed and others were very
delicate. He complained that death and disease robbed him of his
finest specimens. Capt. Graham made no secret of his use of
outcrosses, mainly Glengarry deerhounds, but some Borzoi and one
Tibetan. He did not himself use a Great Dane but he did acquire the
progeny of such crosses, mainly from the Earl of Caledon who used a
Harlequin Dane called "Earl of Warwick". Crosses with Gt. Danes were
carried out well into the 1930s.
The breed had problems during both of the World Wars. In the 1914-18
war, the progeny of Hindhead Mollie kept the breed going. Her sire
was Hy Niall, which was bought as a puppy from a tramp and
registered as an Irish wolfhound with a made-up pedigree. The sire
which did most to help at this time was Sulhamstead Pedlar.
By the end of the 1939-45 war just about every hound was by Clonboy
of Ouborough or his sons or out of his daughters and it was for this
reason that the American Irish Wolfhound Club gave the U.K. Club
Rory of Kihone. Rory went to Sanctuary kennels and was extensively
used, doing a great deal to help the breed out of the doldrums.
Another American dog that came to this country at about the same
time was Barney O'Shea of Riverlawn, but unfortunately he died quite
soon after and only sired a few litters.
Captain
Graham and other breeders founded the Irish Wolfhound Club in 1885.
The Kennel Club recognised the Irish wolfhound as a sporting breed
in 1925. In 1902 a hound was first presented to the Irish Guards as
a mascot. The Irish Wolfhound
Society was founded in 1981. |
