MR O'CONNOR HENCHY, 1846- 1847 



The arrival at a middle period in our history I 

 think affords a suitable opportunity to take a 

 glance, however brief, at another branch of sport 

 which has long been identified with that of fox- 

 hunting in Kildare, I mean that tradition of steeple- 

 chasing which can be traced back nearly a century 

 to its origin at the local hunt meetings, and which 

 in process of time culminated in those meetings at 

 Punchestown which are to-day famous throughout 

 the world of sport. 



Exact information as to the early racing in Kil- 

 dare is unfortunately very scanty, but there is no 

 doubt that very early in the nineteenth century 

 it was the custom of the members of the Hunt to 

 improvise some modest little meeting at which 

 gentlemen and farmers alike could indulge their 

 taste for riding over a typical bit of Kildare country. 

 It is hardly necessary to say that these early meet- 

 ings were not held at Punchestown, and it is clear 

 that until the first Punchestown meeting took place 

 in 1850 the Kildare sportsmen had no fixed habi- 

 tation, and that the races were held wherever a 

 suitable course seemed to present itself. Thus I 

 find records of races held at Rathgorragh, that bit of 

 country just south of Kill Hill, an excellent course, 

 every yard and every fence of which can be seen 

 from the hill, which is still well known to members 

 of the Hunt. It is not less familiar to officers quar- 



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