 Amber Necklace |
 Gin Glass |
 Neck Ornament |
 Irish Lady's Tresses Orchid |
 The Lennox Quilt |
 Fossil Crinoids |
 Madonna and Child |
 A Red Alga |
 Irish Wolfhound |
 Coates Family Photograph |
 Chinese Ivory Puzzle Ball |
 Early Medieval Tomb-shaped Shrine |
 The Green Coat, Sir John Lavery |
 Juvenile Bald Eagle |
Irish Wolfhound
Donation
Accession number: Lh784
Shoulder height: 915 mm
Large, powerful dogs are frequently mentioned in Irish history, literature and legend. Known variously as the Irish Dog, the Wolfdog of Ireland and the Great Hound of Ireland, they were used for hunting (red deer, boar, wolves) and also on the battle field.
Following the extinction of the wolf in Ireland during the 1700s, wolfdogs became scarce and by the start of the nineteenth century there were few, if any, left.
In the early 1860s Captain George Augustus Graham (1833-1909) decided to revive the Irish Wolfdog - what we now know as the Irish Wolfhound - as a breed. He travelled all over Ireland to inspect any dog reported to be a true Irish wolfhound and obtained many of these animals for his breeding programme. Because there were so few dogs of the old blood lines left. Graham had to inbreed his animals to achieve the characteristics he was looking for. He also used other dog breeds, mainly Deerhounds, in his breeding experiments.
Eventually Graham achieved a dog that bred true to type. But whether he saved a disappearing breed or created a new one is open to debate. Whatever the case, the Irish Wolfhound became firmly established as a breed.
This example is 'Champion Patrick of Ifold' who was bred by Mr Ralph Montagu Scott at the Ifold Kennels in West Sussex. He was born on St Patrick's Day, 17 March 1923, and died on 8 May 1931, aged 8 years old. He was donated to the Ulster Museum in 1932 by his owner, Mrs Beynon of Broadoak, Sutton-at-Hone, Kent.
Comment
Angela Ross, Curator of Vertebrates
I have always found Irish Wolfhounds fascinating, and to be able to see one of the earliest examples of the breed in the flesh is very exciting. It is interesting to see how the Irish Wolfhound as a breed has changed over the years.
