Ireland 2003

In August each year, there are a series of shows in the Republic of Ireland known as the "Munster Circuit".  Starting off in Clonmel, there is a show every other day, continuing with Killarney, then Limerick, and finishing up at Tralee.  The Hound Association of Ireland also holds its show in Navan the day before Clonmel, and the day before that is the Welsh Kennel Club championship show in Builth Wells, so it is possible to compete at 6 shows in 9 days, with a tremendous amount of dashing around for the first three.

Ireland has a points system similar to the US, but a dog needs 40 points to become a champion instead of 15, and must win either four 5 point majors to make half the total, or a combination of 5 and 10 point majors and/or a group win. The remainder of the total can be made up with wins of lesser points.  Click here for a detailed explanation of the green star system.

This was our fourth circuit, and we came away with 6 green stars and 2 BOBs from the five Irish shows.

                                    Tralee       Photo: Maynard Collins

And now some blarney for you. On one of our days off we were driving to the beach when we saw some people on the side of the road selling junk. They had donkeys with them, and in the panniers of the donkeys were small dogs. We stopped to have a look at what they were selling and I spoke to one of the young girls with the donkeys. She told me the dogs were a special Irish breed, from a man who lives up in the mountains. The mother is a Jack Russell and the father is a fox! I questioned them closely about this, but they were adamant and insisted it was true. A check on my return revealed that the dog has 78 chromosomes, and the fox only 34.  Nevertheless, this is Ireland we are talking about, so here are two Kerry Fox bitches, complete with donkeys!