Scarteen () is a

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...

in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

of Ballyscaddan, County Limerick, near the village of Knocklong. It is best known for the Scarteen Hunt, a

fox hunting Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of ho ...

pack of

Kerry Beagle The Kerry Beagle ( gle, An Pocadán Ciarraíoch) is the only extant scent hound breed native to Ireland. Description Appearance It is unclear why the name 'beagle' has been applied, as the Kerry Beagle is a medium-sized hound; height is b ...

s based at Scarteen House, a big house owned since the 1750s by the Ryan family, one of the few Catholic

gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest ...

of Penal times. The dogs' coat pattern gave the hunt its nickname, the "Black and Tans", later applied derisively to the Royal Irish Constabulary during the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...

. Hunt master Thady Ryan (1923–2005) increased the hunt's cachet among visitors from Great Britain and the United States and, later, Continental Europe. Ryan was chef d'equipe of the Irish eventing team at the

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

and

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

Olympics. the hunt was mastered by Thady Ryan's son Chris Ryan.

References

Townlands of County Limerick Fox hunting Hunting in Ireland {{Limerick-geo-stub