THE MARTEN IN IRELAND. 189 



Shannon, lost seventeen pheasants in one night, destroyed by one 

 cat that was killed, gorged with blood, in the morning." Martens 

 "are sparingly scattered all through Ireland, especially in the 

 wooded districts." Mr. E. G. Pennington, Commandant of the 

 Royal Irish Constabulary Barracks in Dublin, states that in 1891 

 he met with the Marten about ten miles from Ennis. He writes : — 

 " I was fishing in that neighbourhood, and the local Sergeant of 

 Police told me of some Martens having robbed two bee-hives, 

 and, traps having been set, two were caught one night, and the 

 sergeant made the skins into a cape for one of his children." In 

 the summer of 1892 Mr. Pennington was again in Clare, and 

 found Martens " still fairly plentiful in the same locality. In the 

 woods in the neighbourhood there are a great number of wild 

 cherry-trees which bear a good deal of fruit, and the owner of the 

 property was lamenting the fact that the Marten-cats eat them 

 all, and was puzzled to know how they managed to get at the 

 fruit at the ends of the long pendulous boughs. Another place 

 I have heard of lately as still the haunt of the Marten is in the 

 large woods on the shores of Lough Neagh." A skin of a Clare 

 Marten, kindly sent me by Mr. Pennington, measured 2 ft. 4 in., 

 total length, and 1 ft. 7 in. to the base of the tail ; the throat 

 was yellow, and the tips and backs of the ears light-coloured. 

 Interesting notes on the propensity of the Marten for honey and 

 robbing bee-hives will be found in * The Field' for April 4th, 

 1871, May 17th ; 1873, and Feb. 10th, 1877. 



Co. Tipperary. — Capt. J. J. Dunne informs me that he has 

 met with the Marten in Tipperary, and there is a specimen from 

 this county in the Dublin Museum of Science and Art at Leinster 

 House, presented by Mr. J. C. Springfield. Mr. E. G. Pennington 

 states that in 1861 he saw one which was taken in a rabbit-trap 

 at Rockforest, near Roscrea. The present owner of Rockforest 

 informs me that " The Martens here are very seldom seen, and 

 are evidently very shy animals. The last I saw was in a grove, 

 and immediately it saw me it ran up an ivy-covered tree, where 

 it quickly concealed itself." He states in another letter (Oct. 26th, 

 1892) :— " The Marten-cats have been often caught here on the 

 adjoining place (Timoney Park) from time to time, and there are 

 still some of them about, but they are not nearly so numerous as 

 formerly, and they are very seldom seen ; in fact, only one of 

 them was observed last year." 



m2 



