There are 41 packs of hounds fully registered with the Irish Masters of Foxhounds Association (IMFHA). Each registered pack of foxhounds has its own defined territory or hunt country and the hunt kennels are usually situated in the heart of that country.
The minimum number of foxhounds needed to maintain a registered pack is 10 couple (twenty hounds) although most hunts maintain in excess of thirty couple. Hounds are cared for by the Hunt Staff comprising the huntsman and his assistant, the "whipper-in". Some hunts may also have a kennelman and a hunt groom to look after the hunt horses.
During the nineteenth century the sport of foxhunting began to develop into the structured organisation that exists today. In the earlier years, packs of hounds belonged to local families and disputes occasionally arose over hunt boundaries or their respective hunting countries. Families such as the Nicholsons of Meath, the O'Driscolls of West Cork, the McCalmonts of Kilkenny, the Filgates of Louth and the famous Ryans of Scarteen, still survive to this day and have had strong connections with foxhunting in Ireland . In time, these hunts developed into the county packs that exist today and now there are few counties which do not have a pack of foxhounds affiliated to the IMFHA. Collectively these hunts are the largest single employer amongst the associations which represent hunting with hounds.
County Limerick Foxhounds. Photo © Catherine Power.
Most famous amongst these packs is probably the Scarteen Hounds of Tipperary/Limerick. Known as "the Black and Tans", this pack comprises 23-inch pure-bred Kerry Beagles. They are unique and have been in the possession of the Ryan family for over 300 years. The Muskerry Hunt is the oldest pack in the country having been established in 1743, while the Duhallow is the oldest pack with continuous record having been established in 1745. The Kildare Hounds have records to show that a hunt club existed in Kildare as far back as 1766. Other hunts with a rich and long tradition include the Ballymacad Hunt centred around Oldcastle in Co. Meath who celebrated their bicentennial in 1997 and the Kilkenny Hunt, the oldest county pack in the country, also established in 1797.
The importance of these long established and organised packs is that through their experience, local knowledge, organisation and control, the coverts and countryside have been preserved over the centuries. The protection afforded to these coverts, woodlands and bogs that provide a habitat for the fox and for many other insects, birds, small mammals and plants can only be attributed to the fact that they either belonged to the hunt club or to its farmers and landowners. Many of these varied habitats would have long since disappeared if it had not been for their historical and continued association with hunting.