Ireland The Irish Game And Country Fair At Birr Castle This Weekend Saturday 27Th And Sunday 28Th August 16

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***AND NOW FOR THE BIG ONE.***

ALL ROADS LEAD TO BIRR CASTLE THIS WEEKEND

HIGH HOO,HIGH HOO, ITS OFF TO BIRR CASTLE CO OFFALY WE GO , THIS WEEKEND , SATURDAY 27TH AUGUST, AND SUNDAY 28TH AUGUST , FOR THE IRISH GAME AND COUNTRY FAIR .

SEE YOU ALL THERE

 

Margaret Mc Stay

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2 more sleeps

[appleblossom 703]

1 more sleep. best of luck to all, and drive safely

[Sean Hartigan 101]

Poor show, not many dogs, was told dogs were been taken off owners by ISPCA ? I saw a guy been kicked out by Guards (Police) apparently for selling dogs, lot of unhappy lurcher & terrier men most said they wouldn't go again ? was told after ISPCA were there yesterday the word went out not to go/bring dogs

Edited August 28, 2016 by Sean Hartigan

[peterhunter86 8,627]

I had a good day yesterday weather was lovly and picked up a few bargins as for dogs been taking of lads some of them deserved to have them taking off them i seen lots of rough looking dogs down there it was a fooking disgrace the state of some of the poor dogs.

[WEDGEY 769]

Maybe you can explain that a bit better Peter ?? What was a matter with the dog that were taken,skinny or mistreated ??

[peterhunter86 8,627]

I didnt see any been taking but i seen alot of poorly kept dogs skinny poor coats etc

[Mary 352]

very poor show of terriers, it was more or less a pet show, borders that very obviously never seen work, Russell's the same and one fella in tracksuit and bright blue runners in the show ring with a Yorkshire terrier, good showing of lurchers though but yeah, terrier wise, terrible.

[shaneg 2,589]

Every terrier that got first place were showing signs of work to be fair to the judge he picked all workers. None of the show boys got a luck in the way it should be

[bullcross13 58]

Have to agree the were workers picked the amount of worker that where there is the problem and this was because the ispca where there why put your self in front of the gun by displaying your workers it is plan to see that the show doesn't want worker there that my last time going to birr

[stonewall 1,913]

just take a look at where the lurcher and terrier rings are in the grounds that should tell us all we need to know out of sight out of mind.birr castle and its grounds looked great yesterday really enjoyed walking the entire estate.

[AlbertJ 569]

As usual a lot of misinformation posted based on people 'hearing or assuming things'

 

FACTS :

 

1. The Guards due to a large number of complaints from the public about pups and particularly dogs in poor condition being sold last year had asked that we publicise NO DOGS for SALE which we did. They also advised that they would be asking the ISPCA to attend.

 

2. We obviously had to agree to this BUT I spoke to the ISPCA before the show in detail to define precisely what they would and could do on site. It was agreed that no owner of a dog racing or showing would be in anyway hassled at the show or after it. The ladies involved stuck to this. It was RUMOURED that they had taken photographs of dogs being shown - this was not the case as when I challenged the ladies about this they readily showed me the photographs they had taken at the fair and they were perfectly innocent.

 

3. AS AGREED they did NOT HASSLE ANY PERSON SHOWING OR RACING THEIR DOGS. They did take one lurcher on Saturday TO THE VET as it had a severely injured leg.

 

4. We have had most complaints from the public and from GENUINE lurcher and terrier enthusiasts about a person with pegged out dogs in poor condition. This person is known to the ISPCA for the manner in which these poor unfortunate animals are sourced and sold - he originally denied the dogs were for sale but then later admitted selling them. He initially claimed he was going to show them but had no idea of the classes and most were in such bad condition that they could not have been shown with any chance of success. ANYONE who thinks that such a person brings any credit to the terrier and lurcher fraternity or to countrysports is totally deluded. I PERSONALLY ASKED HIM TO LEAVE ON SUNDAY AND MAKE NO APOLOGY WHATSOEVER FOR DOING SO.

 

5. The comment about the location of the terrier & lurchers once again displays a 'CHIP ON THE SHOULDER' mentality. Far from hiding the terriers & lurchers away they are positioned in our second publlc carpark WITH THE CLAY PIGEON SHOOTING - WHY because it is the best area for both which gives RINGSIDE PARKING! And of course the final of the FN Terrier and Lurchers is staged in the main ring. AND we make special arrangements for Terrier & Lurcher owners to camp out in a field which WE HIRE from the local publican.

 

6. ALL of the judges for all the terrier events were guys who WORK their terriers. The winner in the show was NO Yorkshire terrier and the winner and the runner up in the FIVE NATIONS were good looking working terriers.

 

 

I hope these facts CLARIFY what ACTUALLY HAPPENED AT BIRR.

 

Albert

Edited August 29, 2016 by AlbertJ

[mad4digging 664]

The judges were spot on, plus it's no harm to stop the doggy dealers messing around up there

[THE GENERAL 1,982]

Handbags at dawn again lol. Season starting shortly most lads can't wait to get at it, others are already organising events for next year which I've no problem with and I enjoy a good show, though I rearly attend let alone bring dogs. The only reason that would draw me to a show is to meet likewise folk and have a catch up and maybe get a few new collars or anything else that I may fancy. Reading the content on here over the summer months only reinforces my thoughts on the matter. Dogs that are in poor condition is one thing, but if the ISPCA are anything like the USPCA in the north they'd know all about badly cared for animals as they're very good at doing it themselves with animals in there care, dogs that have been taken from yards and kept for x amount of time, some destroyed for no reason others returned in poor condition, it's hypocrasy at the highest level. I wouldn't give them uninformed jumped up antis the time of day, let alone welcome them into anything to do with working dogs, that's terriers, lurchers, hounds, spaniels the whole lot! it's not hard to see why the support for working shows isn't anywhere near as much as it should be on this fine island. Just my opinion though for what it's worth.

Edited August 29, 2016 by THE GENERAL

[AlbertJ 569]

The General,

 

I agree a lot with what you say and indeed I went as a witness for a terrier & lurcher owner whose dogs had been seized by the USPCA.. We won the case and the dogs were returned. As you can see from the above I DID NOT WELCOME the ISPCA to the show but agreed with the Guards that they could be there - the sole objective was to stop pups and dogs being sold at the fair especially those that had been the subject of public AND genuine terrier & lurcher fraternity complaints. Apart from the harm this was doing to the image of genuine terrier & lurcher owners it did no good for the image of country sports AND of course there was a serious risk of the spread of disease.

 

The ISPCA dealt with one animal on Saturday and a person selling dogs in poor condition on Sunday. As agreed with me, they DID NOT interfere in any way with dogs being shown or raced and did not get involved in checking microchips. They came and watched the Five Nations Championships and were complimentary about the condition of the dogs being shown. I judge people as I find them and not by reputation or rumour - as far as I am concerned the two ladies involved kept to what we had agreed, and I fully support the action they took with the owners involved. Albert