Madam, - The content of a recent letter from a writer in Mount Merrion condemning hunting did not surprise me. I may well have had similar views before moving to the country some years ago. Unfortunately, they reflect the received wisdom of the Dublin 4 middle class monoculture with no first-hand knowledge of the activity or interest in finding out.
When I attended the annual inter-schools hunter trials with my daughter, 150 teams of four members each from schools all over Ireland were fielded. That adds up to a lot of competitors yet there was not a mention of the event or the result in the national media. I wonder if it would have been different if Blackrock or Mount Anville had fielded a team.
Hunting has been a part of the culture of rural Ireland since the time of Fionn and the Fianna. It crosses all classes and divides. That wonderful symbol of Ireland, the wolfhound, was bred to hunt.
The Irish cavalrymen at the Boyne were such formidable riders and were so effective because of their training on the hunting field.
The hunt pony clubs have taught generations of children of all classes to ride and enjoy the countryside. Many of our well-known jockeys have benefited from this training. It would be a shame if this part of our heritage so interwoven in the fabric of rural society were to vanish by blindly following English legislation introduced at the behest of agitators funded by organisations whose ultimate aim is to stop fishing also and to destroy our beef-farming industry. - Yours, etc.,
JOE HANLEY,
Brownstown,
Navan,
Co Meath.