Our
Glorious Heritage
The Killultagh's
heritage stretches back to the early 17th
Century. At one stage the Hunt possessed
arguably the oldest pack of pure bread
harriers in Ireland with a pedigree as old
as the Hunt itself. Today the pack is
exclusively Foxhounds, introduced in the
1980s with the gift of black and tan pups
from a County Carlow farmer.
The Hunt's unique scarlet, green and
old-gold livery resulted from a series of
amalgamations. In 1832 the Killultagh
Hunt, using the scarlet livery of the
staghounds amalgamated with the Old Rock
Harriers whose livery was dark green. Later,
the Hunt joined forces with the Earl of
Chichester's private pack, introducing the
old-gold into the livery.
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Based outside Dundrod, County
Antrim, an area more renowned for
the roar of motor cycle engines than
the call of the hunting horn, the
Killultagh area is bounded by the
Bow Mile Water at Antrim Town, the
Broad Water, between Moira and
Aghalee, Lough Neagh and the
outskirts of the City of Belfast
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Our ground is variable with many fences and
ditches with hunt fences being constructed
in many areas to improve passage across
country. The Killultagh Hunt meets each
Wednesday and Saturday during the season and
it cherishes the support of those willing
friends who support all aspects of its
social, sporting and fund-raising
activities.
Jack Taylor's Story
A fine gentleman and
incredibly knowledgeable huntsman, Jack
Taylor was in his nineties when he died in
2005. Jack, as he was known to all who met
him in those ninety years, spent his life in
hunt service in his native Ireland.
Jack was one of six sons of the famous Tommy
Taylor, all of whom went into hunt service
in Ireland and England. One brother,
Sam, was killed in combat in World War II,
while Jack had volunteered for service with
the Royal Ulster Rifles as part of the
glider troops that landed in France prior to
D-Day.
Jack began under his
father's tutelage whipping-in at the
Killultagh Old Rock and at the Chichester
Harriers in County Antrim. He then
moved on to whip-in at the Kildare
foxhounds, then to the Craven Hunt and then
for three seasons as first whipper-in at the
Hursley Foxhounds before returning to his
native Ireland to volunteer for military
service with the outbreak of World War II
Post war, Jack return
home serving again as a hunt servant and
working with many of those in whose service
he had previously been. Jack Taylor
was named to take the horn to succeed his
father as huntsman of the East Antrim,
leaving the Killultagh to hunt the East
Antrim's hounds for thirteen seasons before
going to the Cumberland Farmers’ for the
next sixteen seasons, eventually retiring
from hunt service in 1981.
But
Jack Taylor's work in the foxhunting world
was not yet finished. The very high
standards in hound work and horsemanship of
the Taylor family are continued today in
Jack's son Robert, professional huntsman for
the Goshen Hounds in Maryland, USA.
When
Robert agreed to hunt the Goshen hounds, he
knew that his father, Jack was there to
support him. Jack spent several years
as Goshen's kennel huntsman working closely
with Robert to establish the breeding and
training programmes and training program
that the Goshen still enjoys today.
Typical of Jack was his response when
offered the position of kennel huntsman at
Goshen to which he replied "Aye, that's
right up me street!" Indeed it was, but far
more to the benefit of Goshen than Jack
could ever comprehend.
For those of us that have
an interest in pedigrees, Jack's keen sense
of horsemanship and hunting lives on.
Of his many grandchildren, at least two
continue the hunting tradition.
Robert's two youngest children, MacKenzie
and Hunter are regular members of the Goshen
hunt field. The notes of Tommy Taylor's
silver horn are still heard across the
hunting fields of Goshen. Indeed, Jack
Taylor is gone, but he will never be
forgotten