150 IRISH SPORT AND SPORTSMEN. 



Watson's residence, Ballydarton, Bagnalstown. They 

 have all been bred there, principally crossed with the 

 Belvoir, Brocklesby, and Fitzwilliam blood. The 

 hunting district is one of the largest in the kingdom, 

 and comprises all Carlow, a small portion of the 

 Queen's County, and Kildare ; and, since 1853, that 

 part of Wexford known as the Island country, for- 

 merly hunted by the late Mr. Bolton. This division 

 is a fine wild country, with light hills, and includes a 

 large portion of the north of Wexford. The Ferns 

 part of the Island territory, and the Kildare side of 

 Carlow, is the ** cream" of the country. 



Nearly all the gentlemen of the county subscribe 

 liberally to the hunt fund. Lord Fitzwilliam, Messrs. 

 H. Bruen, M.P., Arthur Kavanagh, M.P., F. M'Clin- 

 tock Bunbury, J. M'Clintock Bunbury, H. Eustace, 

 William Duckett, Charles M. Doyne, Captain Denis, 

 Pack Beresford, Sir Charles Burton, Bart, Sir Thomas 

 Butler, Bart., and Mr. Edward Irvine, are amongst the 

 most liberal ; but no hunt can boast of more general 

 support, although, in proportion to the extent of 

 the country, the number of resident gentlemen and 

 hunting men is small. Very few sportsmen reside on 

 the Wicklow or Wexford sides of the district, so 

 that the meets in the locality are generally badly 

 attended. The " fields" average there about twenty; 

 and on the Carlow side forty. 



I will now mention a few who were first-flight men 

 during the late Mr. Watson's mastership. There 

 were at that time, as now, many '* clinkers" amongst 

 the followers of the Carlow Hounds. I cannot name 

 them all, but the following were generally leaders of 

 the van — Mr. John Watson, as a horseman, earned 



