IRISH WOLFHOUND

COUNTRY: Ireland
WEIGHT: Minimum 105 pounds for females and 120 pounds for males
HEIGHT: Minimum 30 inches for females and 32 inches for males, 32-34 inches more ideal
COAT: Rough and hard, especially wiry and long over eyes and on underjaw
COLOR: Gray, brindle, red, black, pure white, fawn, or any other color that occurs in the Deerhound
REGISTRY: FCI, ARC, TKC, CKC
GROUP: Southern

The Irish Wolfhound is the tallest of the running hounds, combining speed and power to the "nth" degree. Their history, equally sketchy, probably parallels that of the Scottish Deer-hound. Imposing sighthounds have been recorded in Ireland since histories were kept. The Celts invaded Greece and sacked Delphi in 275 BC. There they could have acquired dogs of the Greyhound/Afghan type who accompanied them on their conquest of Europe. Celtic tastes in dogs ran to great speed and size, and these running hounds may have been crossed with rangy mastiffs even before they reached Ireland, the furthest reach of the Celtic migrations. The Romans found the dogs there when they invaded British shores in the first centuries AD.

A letter written in 393 AD by Roman consul Symmachus to his brother Flavianus, then stationed in Britain, thanked him for the seven Irish hounds sent previously. He states "All Rome viewed them with wonder"—this a jaded citizenship who regularly saw huge mastiffs and men fighting bears and lions in the arena! The Irish dogs must have been imposing figures even then.

In early times the great Irish hound came in smooth and rough coats as well as in a variety of dark and light colors. While type might have been quite variable, their qualities of heart, loyalty to master, strength and speed were universal and became legendary. From Ireland's heroic age of 200 BC to 200 AD, magnificent tales of these dogs abound.

One saga involves the hound "Ailbhe," who supposedly defended the entire province of the king of Leinster. The story says the dog was so fast that he could run around Leinster in a single day, and he possessed keen wisdom and supernatural intelligence. In one episode, Ailbhe is asked to decide whether the men of King Conor or those of Queen Maeve are more heroic. Unfortunately, the dog is killed while pursuing the frightened men of King Conor!

The bitch "Bran" was another famous legendary hound, the best of a famous pack of the 4th-century king of Ireland, Cormac. Cared for by Fionn MacCurahaill, the dogs in the pack supposedly were said to have magical powers. "Bran was especially prized for her incredible speed, her bravery in facing wild boars and her ability to warn Fionn and his men against enemy attacks." Fionn's men rescued Bran and other hounds when they were stolen by a servingman who intended to sell them in Britain.

From other written records of the fifth century, we know that dog breeding in Ireland was so organized and the dogs so valued that merchants sold them abroad by the shipload! At least the majority of the dogs to be sold were of the wolfhound type, and these Irish cargos may have contributed to the development of breeds in Europe.

In the 1100s, it was purported that the King of Ulster offered 4,000 cows for a coveted Wolfhound. When the offer for "Aibe" was refused, it started a war. A long Icelandic saga of the 13th century sets a dog in a prominent role. One of the principals, Gunnar, received an Irish hound as a gift from a friend, who said "he is a big animal and will make as good a comrade-in-arms as a powerful man. He has human intelligence and will bark at every man he recognizes as your enemy, but never at your friends; he can tell from a man's face whether he means you well or not. He would lay down his life rather than fail you. His name is Samr." In this tragedy of feuding and revenge, the dog serves Gunnar well. When enemies come to assassinate Gunnar, they pay a farmer to kill the dog first. Samr fights mightily and is killed only because they manage to drive an ax into his head. With his dying gasp, he emits an eerie howl which serves to warn Gunnar of the approaching enemies.

From this grim tale of the past, we know that Irish dogs were already so exalted as to be featured in the literature of another country. It also shows they were regarded as princely gifts and the world knew of their strength and speed. The tale of the theft of Bran and her pack indicates how a poor man might make a few dollars selling these valuable dogs abroad.

Certainly a section on Wolfhounds would not be complete without the most famous—and true—story. In the 13th century, Llewelyn, prince of North Wales, had a place at Beddgel-ert, where he enjoyed hunting in the company of "Gelert, the Faithful Hound." One day, Gel-ert was unaccountably absent as the prince left on his hunt. On Llewelyn's return, the truant, stained and smeared with blood, joyfully sprang to meet his master. The prince, alarmed, hastened to find his son, and saw the infant's cot empty, the bed clothes and floor covered with blood. The frantic father drew his sword and plunged it into the bloody hound. The dog's dying yelp was answered by a child's cry. Llewelyn searched to discover his son unharmed, but lying near the body of a mighty wolf, which Gelert had slain. The prince, filled with remorse, is said never to have smiled again. Gelert's grave in northern Wales is marked by a monument that says: "He buried Gelert here. The spot is called Beddgelert."

From the medieval chores of battle, guarding, and hunting boar, stag and the long extinct Irish elk (which stood six feet high at the shoulder), the Wolfhound gradually turned to the specialized hunting of wolves by the 15th and 16th century. It was during this time that they became more consistent in type and more like the Wolfhound of today.

By the mid-1600s, Cromwell decreed the exporting of Wolfhounds to be illegal because wolves were still a major problem on the British Isles and the great hounds were not plentiful. The last wolf was killed in Ireland before 1800 and, within 50 years, the great hounds—having lost their purpose—were reduced to low numbers. The Great Irish Famine of the 1840s also took its toll on the large dogs. Because of the 150-year ban on exportation, there was nowhere else to go for new breeding stock.

Almost no one in the early 1800s had ever seen a live Wolfhound and, with their exagger-ated tales in literature, there was much argument among period authorities over what a true Wolfhound had looked like. (Most assumed they were extinct.)

R.D. Richardson stirred some interest in the breed by writing articles in the 1840s. He also acquired a dog named "Bran" who was of the old type, and bred him to several wolfhounds and deerhounds, and their descendants became the ancestors of all modern Wolfhounds through the Kilfane and Ballytobin Kennels.
Finally in the latter half of the 1800s, Captain G.A. Graham made the restoration of this ancient Irish breed his life's work. He acquired descendants of Richardson's Bran and bred them to deerhounds of the Glengarry strain. With careful selection and occasional outcrosses to Borzoi or even Great Dane to increase size, he recreated the old type. It bred true. Shown successfully in the 1870s, the Irish Wolfhound was on the road to recovery and a breed club was formed in 1885.
The breed is admired and owned in many countries around the world, still prized for its gentleness and unswerving loyalty. His stature as the tallest dog in the world precludes him ever becoming a common pet, but he is a quiet house dog who can be successfully kept content if his regular need to run is met. The rough coat requires occasional combing only. Modern owners can take advantage of lure coursing and other running events.