HISTORY OF THE KILDARE HUNT 



am able to gather a very definite idea of the sport 

 enjoyed in Kildare during the period we have 

 reached. 



Mr Kennedy hunted his own hounds, and from 

 a note at the beginning of one of his diaries I gather 

 they consisted of forty couples. The diary itself 

 extends from the autumn of 1848 to the spring of 

 1853 and is fairly complete throughout, while 

 during the last two seasons, those of 185 1-2 and 

 1852-3, the record of no single day is omitted. 

 During these seasons indeed it is a counterpart of 

 the historic diary of Sir John, for it contains men- 

 tion of every covert drawn, fox found, lost and 

 killed. It is obvious that this will enable us to make 

 an interesting comparison between the sport of 

 Kildare during two succeeding generations. 



Sport in 1848-9 was undoubtedly good. Here, 

 for instance, is the record of a day's hunting in 

 December. 



" Ran from Kerdiffstown through Palmerstown 

 under Furness and killed near Arthurstown, a 

 good hunting run, one hour and five minutes. 

 Ran from Kill Hill through Johnstown over Col- 

 lierstown and earthed between Coolmine and 

 Castlebaggot, a first rate run of one hour and a 

 quarter." 



An entry of the 12th of the same month would 

 seem to show that there was only a gradual trans- 

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