South East Ireland
with
Billy Walsh
Been pretty busy all winter with moving house getting lofts up. I bought an old country cottage which, though structurally sound, had been allowed deteriorate somewhat. Little or, in fact, no time for writing. The "Irish Night with the Stars" has come and gone, somewhere in the neighbourhood of 18,000 was raised for the new National trailer. It was a terrific night, great attendance with fanciers coming in from the UK to make the night a truly international affair. Highest price bird on the night was 4,500 for a youngster from Donkere Leo kindly donated by the one and only Micky Collins from Birmingham. My thanks and indeed the thanks of all the National members must go to all those who donated birds so generously from their absolute best. It was indeed a proud night for the sport in Ireland. The staff of the Clayton Hotel were just outstanding and the night was still going strong at 6 am when panellist Steve Goulding was heading for the airport to catch an early flight back to Liverpool. It was that kind of night. Steve was excellent on the panel and a big debt of gratitude to you pal for coming across. Hugely knowledgeable about our sport, enormously entertaining, Steve, in company with his eternal tormentor, Stephen Milner have been doing some severe damage along the Mersey with the performances being breath taking. The lads are constantly in demand for judging various eye sign classes and always ready to oblige.
Great debt of gratitude to Geoff & Catherine Cooper. Brian & Michelle Bolton who flew in from Holland in the company of the other panellists Willem and Jolanda Koelma Lenez. Last but by no means least Chris Sutton excellent as MC and a shoe in for a recall in 2017 when Marc Evans from M & D lofts will be on the panel. I will be looking too for a recall from Steve as quite a few had more questions to pick his brain on. To a man, and woman, the panel were all on board from day 1 to support this cause of purchasing the transport unit for the National. And so truly establish National racing here. It now has the opportunity to do just that.
Irish Night with the Stars looks set to be an annual event and one which raises the profile of the sport here considerably.
NEW ROUTE
Mike Woodyard has written quite a bit on the sound common sense of this new route. Michael Feeney is well known for his efforts to fly with the BICC into Ireland from the various International race points. Michael and his fellow BICC members I am thrilled to see have embraced the proposed new route to Ypres with Gusto. Michael recently wrote a terrific article on here about it. The nearer we come to decision time the more support there is from everyone who fully understands the proposition and what has surprised me is the great sense of anticipation and excitement at the prospect. But nothing is ever certain in pigeons so be sure to get along and vote if this is the route you want National racing to go in this country. The Welch lads have been flying it now with terrific success for 18 years. There is no issue with clashing as the birds once they get across England are liberated Friday and Mid Week from Belgium. The distance from Ypres to Cork is just 500 miles. Almost 550 to Galway, with 450 miles being the average distance along the east coast, Dublin, Wexford, Waterford etc and similar in the midlands. The BICC lads see this as a way to truly develop a team of distance birds capable of competing in the international arena. My firm belief is we can, indeed we must, develop our national along similar lines to the BICC. Have our own domestic nationals then compete internationally in our own right and not simply as an adjunct to the BICC.
Many are now seeing the body of water between Cornwall and France to the Southern part of Ireland as simply to big. Too much water. The losses are unjustifiable. For the NIPA and EDC Ulster Fed etc the sea crossing is considerably less than down south. Liberating our birds in Cornwall means birds must go straight out over the water if they are to come on a line for home. The result is the overwhelming majority go out to sea, back to land, out to sea, back to land, up and down the coast looking for a place to cross; all the while they are the target for the huge peregrine menace in Cornwall. Geoff Copper when over here maintained it was lunacy to continue racing from there. Geoff will not even train his birds from Cornwall, which is his natural line of flight, simply because the place is alive with Peregrines. We can do nothing about birds in flight being hampered by peregrines, that is beyond our control. But to liberate our in the most infested area of Britain knowing our birds take an eternity to clear, is not just foolish in the extreme, it is, in the view of this writer, cruelty.
The proposed new route not only provides distance, but, dramatically reduces the sea crossing to the shortest possible at 70 miles. Half that of Cornwall. a quarter that of St Malo. The time has come to take the blinkers off and stop doping what we always done just because, well, "this is what we always done!” It is relentlessly sending the troops "over the top on my whistle lads” in the fervent belief that sooner or later the other side will run out of bullets.
The South Central Super Club Bring & Buy sale for 2017 looks set to be the biggest in the UK and Ireland this year with almost 500 birds and 2 sales. One in the Sarsfield Club in Dublin Saturday March 25th, the other in Waterford a week later Saturday April 1st. Belated congratulations to Billy Cullimore who won the event racing a JJ Hurley bred YB to scoop the first prize of 4,000 euro; giving the lads a handy 2,000 each. Much celebration in Nolan Park on this victory. It was the legendary Maurice O’ Donnell scooping 2nd with a Patrick Quirke (Wexford) bred pigeon. Patrick Quirke in again with a home bred for 3rd lifting a handy 1,500 euro. Larry Edwards, Wexford in 4th spot with another homebrew taking 1000 euro in prize money. Ian Harty Dungarvan takes 500 euro for 5th, with Derek Larkin all the way up in Dublin lifting 6th place and 250 euro. This yb bred by R Moore & Son who takes the 250 for the first UK bred pigeon. Given that the fanciers up north are eligible to compete in the event as buyers from 2017 then the first UK prize will be for Mainland UK. Quite a few entries from the north for 2017 and a huge number from Dublin will, as I said, see this as the richest event in UK or Ireland in 2017. Two sales. Two races. One land. One channel. The inland race will see a portion ring fenced for the first three birds over 160 miles. Simply because it is far more difficult for these fanciers just get the bird into the actual race. Fanciers flying much shorted distances have a better prospect of having their birds on the grid when the chequer flag is raised. Pigeon racing should be more about sport and fairness for as many as possible if it is to prosper. You cannot make everything perfect for everyone, especially pigeon fanciers. Like the guy who won 7 million quid in the lottery and felt he was very unlucky. Poor sod. Turned out someone else had the same numbers so he had to share the 14 million prize. Breaks my heart just to think about it.
Time to wave the chequer flag here now too. Good luck! Birds paired, eggs chipped, youngsters to ring. In this weather even grass to cut.
Prometheus
