HISTORY OF THE KILDARE HUNT 



he was going was Meredith, for he had often ridden 

 over that part of Meath. 



" There are to the best of my knowledge but two 

 survivors of those who were present when the 

 hounds killed their fox at Swainstown, myself and 

 Gaffney, at that time old Jerry Aylmer's groom at 

 Painstown, and for the remainder of his life in the 

 employment of the Blacker family at Castle- 

 martin. 



" I can testify to the following names. Stephen 

 Goodall, huntsman, Henry Meredith, Sir James 

 Higginson, Fred Henry of Lodge Park, Michael 

 Aylmer of Courtown, Baron de Robeck, John 

 Wakefield, R.N., Captain Warburton, A.D.C. (no 

 relation of the Kill family), my brother Dick, 

 myself, and Gaffney. I never heard Hoffman's 

 name or Frank Kennedy's mentioned in connec- 

 tion with the run. 



" Your father drove home and had to wait till 

 past 9 p.m. before Goodall arrived at Palmerstown 

 and handed him the brush. The scene at the forge 

 near Swainstown was ludicrous. The smith found 

 fifteen or sixteen people with horses nearly denuded 

 of shoes and a long journey before them. They got 

 away in batches of two or three, and old Jack 

 Wakefield rode his gallant grey mare the whole 

 way home to Carnalway, a distance of nearly thirty 

 statute miles. Michael Aylmer, Courtown, put up 

 our horses for us, and I returned with my brother 

 by the late afternoon train from Kilcock. I brought 

 the first news of the run to Kildare Street Club, 

 274 



