88 MEMOIR OF THE KILKENNY HUNT. 



handed, crossed the railway some way on the Kil- 

 kenny side of Gowran station, passed Flagmount and 

 Castlewarren coverts on his right, ran through Clara, 

 and away nearly to Uskerty wood ; but, turning left- 

 handed at the road above it, passed by Muckalee 

 Chapel and so on to Ballyfoyle covert, where he 

 found safety in the earth. Though this run was not 

 straight, it covered a great extent of country, and is 

 remarkable for the number of coverts which were 

 passed, but not entered, by this very bold fox. 



On the resignation of Captain Hartopp in 1882, 

 the hounds fell under the management of a com- 

 mittee, consisting of the Earl of Desart, Mr. Daniel 

 Smithwick, Mr. James Sullivan, Mr. C. B. Ponsonby, 

 and Major Bunbury ; but at the close of the year 

 Lord Desart took the sole mastership, and kept the 

 hounds until the spring of 1884, showing good sport 

 under most trying circumstances, and using every 

 endeavour to keep up the pack, which, from relying 

 on drafts rather than on home-bred entries, had to a 

 certain extent deteriorated, and working with a very 

 attenuated subscription. 



The agitation with which Ireland was then con- 

 vulsed naturally affected most hunting districts, and 

 Kilkenny was no exception, though it suffered much 

 less than many other Hunts. Gradually, as matters 

 settled, troubles died out, and disappeared altogether 

 nearly ten years since. But it is not too much to 

 say that Lord Desart came in for the most difficult 

 period. 



It is not intended to attempt to chronicle the 

 sport during his mastership, but the following run 



