Do please, i would like to know what to pack so to speak…
ANTHONY DALY. Dublin Hurling manager, 40, Coursing
The Dublin managers love of coursing arose out of a way of life in Clarecastle a way of life he believes people have treasured for centuries
WHERE DID your interest in coursing come from?
Since I was nine or 10 I would have been off trapping hares. Its kind of a way of life in Clarecastle, where I grew up. My brother Michael would have had dogs and I often had to feed them when hed be working.
My uncle Haulie, who captained Clare to a hurling league title in 1946, would have always been big into coursing, and been chairman of the club.
Whats involved in a session of trapping hares?
What you do is you go in to a field. Weve traditional preserves where we go, or where the farmer gives you permission to go in and trap the hares. Thered be netmen. Theyd go to the gaps in the field.
Its very hard to cover the ground because obviously the hare will try and escape and we want him to escape towards the gaps, but some of them are smart out theyll come back against you.
Its always great crack slagging the fella who the hare got back past. Everyone has their own kind of a shout, to try and rise the hare everything from Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah to Yah! Yah! Everyone will have an auld stick with them as well. If there was a bush in the field youd hit it an old wallop. A pheasant could jump up in front of you; youd get the fright of your life.
Thered be an interval. The committee would provide sandwiches.
Thats one of my earliest memories youd be guaranteed an auld bottle of 7Up and a bag of Taytos on a Sunday if you went.
It toughened us up as well. Youd be out in the worst of weather. Youd fall into trenches, but great auld crack.
What do you like about coursing?
I love the sport of watching a hare making an eejit out of two greyhounds. Its the thrill of the chase.
What about the hares?
It cant be pleasant for them. Look, coursing is coursing. Thats what hounds and hares are bred to do.
In the wild, foxes follow hares. It makes me die all these people who say, Ah, the poor hare and then they have their tenner each way on the Grand National every year when the horse has to face into seven-foot ditches and a jockey whipping the arse off him and theyve no problem with that. Or theyve no problem going off on a deep-sea fishing holiday and horsing the neck off a shark for two hours.
I just think that somewhere along the way weve lost the plot with the country way of life. Theres a way of life that people have treasured for centuries and theres people coming along and telling us what we can and cant do.
Theres nothing more important for me as a coursing man than when that cheer goes up for a hare who gets home that you thought might be in a spot of bother on the field.
As soon as there is a hare in trouble theres three guys coming in from the side whipping that hare off. And the dogs are muzzled now as well, which they werent until 1993.
What are your career highlights?
We had tremendous luck a few years back my brother Michael and Tom Howard we won the Derby in Clonmel in 2002 with Murtys Gang, and we got to two Champions Stake finals and won numerous cups and trials around the place.
Whats the Derby at Clonmel like?
We always mention the film Man about Dog when were trying to explain it to people who dont know anything about coursing, but I always say, some year, on the Wednesday of the meeting in early February, if you can twist a day sick or something, go to Clonmel, go up in to the stand, and just watch the atmosphere. Thered be 20,000 people there. Its absolutely electric.
Whats the most unusual thing youve seen at a coursing meeting?
I famously remember a dog belonging to my uncle and he was running in a road meeting. I was only a young lad. It was in the local stake, out in Lynchs land, in Claremont.
Thered be huge local pride in winning it. Haulie was very confident about this dog he had. It was well bred. The two dogs were let up the field and the hare was in front of them.
Haulies fella, whatever way he cocked his head, he spotted Haulie and trotted over to him, and started licking him. He was absolutely mortified.
Fellas would be awful proud about the way the dogs would hunt as well.
Thered be great saving grace, even if he was slow, in, Hes following it anyway.
Ironically, the cup is named after him now the Haulie Daly Cup!
Cracking stuff Pikeman, where did that appear?
Dunph, you’ll need all this stuff. You don’t want to end up like Scott of the Antarctic and get there only to find out you’ve run out of supplies or inexplicably brought horses instead of dogs or something.
2 x gloves (fingerless)
1 x hat (wooly but not poncey, All Blacks one preferable)
1 x scarf (wooly, with or without the name of a football team on it)
1 x warm overcoat (not a Crombie)
1 x warm undercoat (sleeveless)
1 x warm shirt (rugged)
2 x camping shop socks (green)
1 x box of white chalk (to write initials on box)
3 x €5 notes (counterfeit) for the box man
1 x cell phone (charged, with all bookmakers numbers on board)
1 x ball point pen (blue/black)
1 x pencil (leaden)
1 x highlighter (luminous yellow)
1 x bale of bank notes (€20,000 banded into €1000 wads)
3 x packets of Hacks (honey)
15 x Fun size Mars Bars (five per day)
1 x hip flask (sterling silver, inscribed “Khe Sahn - 68, some gave all…all gave some.” brimful of Jameson)
1 x litre bottle of Jameson (to be left in lodgings and used as needed)
it was in the irish times shannonsider, personally i thought he came across as a bit of a simpleton
I enjoyed the sentiments expressed padjo however I’m absolutely appalled at the paper of record printing worlds which simply do not exist. I have consulted both my Collins and Oxford dictionaries and can’t find the word ‘auld’ anywhere.
Has Michael O’Donovan a bitch in the Oaks, possibly in the last quarter? Does anyone know her name off-hand?
Is it time we got a roll call going for the TFK February Fiesta on Tuesday 2nd of the aforementioned month?
Runt - signing in.
[quote=“The Runt”]Is it time we got a roll call going for the TFK February Fiesta on Tuesday 2nd of the aforementioned month?
Runt - signing in.[/QUOTE]
Signing in.
Yes Dunph, Intense Focus, the bitch that one in Old Kilcullen… a good’n.
Aslo folks, what ye reckon about merging this to the Greyhound Matters thread, the thread of record that contains last years National Meeting as well… Dunph sort it.
[quote=“The Runt”]Is it time we got a roll call going for the TFK February Fiesta on Tuesday 2nd of the aforementioned month?
Runt - signing in.[/QUOTE]
Signing in… Day Trips this year though… have a driver each day though, so 
[quote=“The Runt”]Is it time we got a roll call going for the TFK February Fiesta on Tuesday 2nd of the aforementioned month?
Runt - signing in.[/QUOTE]
working on it. will know closer to the day.
[quote=“HangBlaa”]Yes Dunph, Intense Focus, the bitch that one in Old Kilcullen… a good’n.
Aslo folks, what ye reckon about merging this to the Greyhound Matters thread, the thread of record that contains last years National Meeting as well… Dunph sort it.[/QUOTE]
What do you think of her chances, HangBlaa?
In all seriousness, i wasn’t messing when i said i know a fella that owns a bitch for the Oaks that he reckons will win it. He is a member of the syndicate that owns New Inn All In and told me months ago (before she won her trial stake in Lixnaw i think it was) she has a right chance. Unfortunately, her price has since retracted to a pitiful figure but there’s nothing i can do about that.
Re: merging this into Greyhound Matters, i think we should talk about coursing matters here and track matters in the Greyhound Matters thread, as most of the Clonmel talk has been in here so far and we may as well keep it that way. But that’s just my opinion.
Finally, i have a tip (at a nice price) for the 2010 Irish Greyhound Derby, straight from the dogs mouth so to speak, which i will share with my fellow members of TFK Coursing Supporters club at Clonmel.*
*The Runt will probably be able to guess where this is from.
[quote=“The Runt”]Is it time we got a roll call going for the TFK February Fiesta on Tuesday 2nd of the aforementioned month?
Runt - signing in.[/QUOTE]
there in spirit
[quote=“The Runt”]Is it time we got a roll call going for the TFK February Fiesta on Tuesday 2nd of the aforementioned month?
Runt - signing in.[/QUOTE]
Clonmel Festivities Cancelled!!!
[quote=“manaboutdog”]Clonmel Festivities Cancelled!!!
[Click Here]("http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0127/clonmel.html)[/QUOTE]
I hope the wrestling midgets are still available.
[quote=“The Runt”]Is it time we got a roll call going for the TFK February Fiesta on Tuesday 2nd of the aforementioned month?
Runt - signing in.[/QUOTE]
Signing in.
Dunph will you be making yourself known on Saturday night?
Christ you gave me some fright there, MAD. I thought the thing had been called off!!
Seriously, what are the chances of it being called off? They’re forecasting terrible weather this weekend - snow, rain, frost etc.
[quote=“manaboutdog”]Signing in.
Dunph will you be making yourself known on Saturday night?[/QUOTE]
I don’t know yet i’ve i’ll be there…
If you’re looking for me I’ll be the fella being carried shoulder high with a cup in my hands.