90 IRISH SPORT AND SPORTSMEN. 



CHAPTER III. 



THE WARD UNION HOUNDS. 



The mention of the ''Wards" recalls to the minds of 

 many sportsmen, old and young, recollections of 

 pleasant scenes, extraordinary feats, and happy hunt- 

 ing grounds. Their fame is more than European. 

 In the new world as well as in the old they are 

 spoken of with enthusiasm ; and many there are 

 whose destiny has placed them beneath the fierce 

 glare of an Indian sun who owe some of their hap- 

 piest hours to the " Wards." 



No wonder that Dublin includes so many sports- 

 men, and sportswomen too, amongst its inhabitants. 

 They may, and do call you dirty Dublin, but who sepa- 

 rates that epithet from one of endearment belonging to 

 no other urban agglomeration ? Despite Anna Liffey, 

 a quarrelsome corporation, and fierce party spirit, and 

 the other ills to which your inhabitants have long 

 been heirs, you are always " dear" to your sons and 

 daughters. There are amongst the inhabitants many 

 merchants, and merchant princes too, who are ardent 

 votaries of the chase. There is a regular influx of 

 Nimrods during the winter months, and the citizens 

 include many patrons of the turf, the chase, cricketers, 

 rinkers, and pursuers of tribes feathered and finny. 

 A sportsman, whether possessed of moderate or 

 ample means, could not reside in a city with more 



