Hounds & the First Hunt, Laois.

2nd November 2016

The Hunt in Laois was established in 1899 according to the date on a plaque where the dogs are kept.

We had friends over from America and we decided to ‘kidnap’ them for a day and bring them to places that they would never thing of going to in their lives.  The first hunt of 2016 just happened to occur on that ‘kidnap’ day.

First place of stop was to see the houndss which were not going out for the day. Meeting with the new Huntsman Dermot Hannify and seeing the hounds in their kennels was very interesting.  Laois Hunt has approximately 60 hounds, sexes are kept separately in the kennels.  When they first go out young hounds are tied to an older hound and the older hound will teach them.

An hour or so later we headed to the Manor Hotel, Abbeyleix where the Laois Hunt was about to take off from.

An interesting event to view.  I’ve never actually seen the hounds or the proper hunt take off before.