SPORT IN IRELAND 163 



days a week. Lord Dunsany hunts his own hounds. 

 Mr. William Dove, a first-rate, all-round sportsman, 

 with whom I hunted big game in South Africa some 

 years ago, was Master of the Tara harriers from 1898 

 to 1900, having some years before that mastered the 

 South Mayo harriers. In both cases he hunted his 

 own hounds. He has sent me some notes on hare- 

 hunting in Meath, which I think worth printing, as 

 throwing a good deal of light on the character of the 

 Irish hare. Meath, apparently, is nothing like so good 

 a harrier as it is a fox-hunting country. Before his 

 time the pack was mastered by Mr. G. V. Briscoe, of 

 Bellinter, and was known as the Bellinter. Mr. 

 Briscoe himself was a first-rate man with harriers, 

 and could kiU a hare as handsomely as any huntsman. 

 When Mr. Dove took over the hounds, he formed a 

 new pack, which was called the Tara. " I bought," 

 he says, " some Stud-book harriers from Mr. Doyne 

 of Wells, in Wexford, whose hounds have been in his 

 family for many years and have been bred from packs 

 such as Lord Hopetoun's, the Anglesey, etc. . . . 

 I also bought drafts from the Aspull and Boddington 

 packs, and altogether got together a very fine-looking 

 lot. Mr. Henry Thomson, of Newry, kindly lent me 

 his pack, so that I was really too fuU of hounds. We 

 had very good sport, though I did not kill many hares, 

 but that does not appear to be uncommon in Meath. 

 As far as my recollection serves me — (this note was 

 written from abroad) — fourteen brace of hares was 

 about the best season I have known with the Tara 

 harriers. Why this should be I don't know, but hares 

 are, as a rule, bad, and dodge in and out of the big 

 fences. A good hare was generally killed. There is 

 a curious difference between a hare that has been 

 hunted in Meath and one in the more open country 



