SIR EDWARD KENNEDY, 1868-1874 



An admirable feature of Sir Edward's Mastership 

 was the annual dinner he gave to the earthstoppers 

 of the Hunt. I find the report of one of these con- 

 vivial meetings at the end of his first season held at 

 the Town Hall, Naas, where a very numerous 

 company assembled to eat the dinner provided by 

 Mr McEvoy of the Globe. Sir Edward himself pre- 

 sided, and many well-known members of the Hunt 

 were there to support him, Mr Percy La Touche, 

 Mr R. Mansfield, Mr J. G. Mansfield, Mr W. Ken- 

 nedy, Mr Robert Kennedy, Mr R. Moore and 

 others, besides representatives of the farmers of 

 Kildare like Mr Patrick Carey, Mr R. Fisher, and 

 Mr Matthew Conran. There was a band from the 

 Kildare Rifles, which provided much appropriate 

 music, from " God Save the Queen " to the " Fox- 

 hunter's Jig." 



The evening appears to have been a great suc- 

 cess. The Chairman pointed out that fox-hunting in 

 Kildare was not merely a selfish sport conducted 

 for the amusement of a particular class, but besides 

 providing diversion for all classes in a sporting 

 community like theirs, it was of real benefit to the 

 country. As illustrating this proposition he pointed 

 to the fact that if ever a place of any sort was vacant 

 in the Kildare country it was always immediately 

 taken by a sportsman and a foxhunter, whose wants 

 were provided by his neighbours in one calling or 



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