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LEINSTER NORTH ROAD

FEDERATION NOTES

Early Season Update

By Francis Corcoran

April 2015

I had just started to get a few short training

spins into the cocks while the weather was

fine and thought at this rate there should

be no problem having them ready for the

first race, however with the change in the

weather that has taken place over the last

few days it has put training on hold

immediately, I consider myself lucky, as I

can get away while the weather is fine on

any given day, but I do know that some had

to wait until the weekend to get them

started, and it turned out a right miserable

day, so bad in fact that those that chanced a

short chuck got a bit of a roasting on the

day, there were other factors involved, but

the less said about them the better, as the

more we go on about them the more

paranoid we all become. Hopefully the

weather will pick up again soon and we can

get back on the road with the birds.

Had a nice complimentary telephone call

from Eleanor of the BHW to let me know

that they had received my copy for the

forthcoming week and seeking the right

pronunciation of some of the place names

that I had written about, funny, but I had

not given it much thought before and just

write them down, automatically thinking

that those that read the fancy papers would

understand the names, it is a great privilege

for me to be able and allowed to promote

our area of the world and the fanciers that

race in it, also to let people know a little

more about the area we come from and live

in. Thanks again Eleanor for the kind words.

Looking Upstream from Tankardstown Bridge

Whilst our for a drive lately, we stopped on

Tankardstown bridge just a mile from our

LEINSTER NORTH ROAD FEDERATION NOTES

home to pass a few minutes in quietness,

using my binoculars it was amazing the

amount of wildlife viewed in a very short

time. First it was three wild Mallard that

rose from the river only for one Drake to

return and pitch in, not fifty or so yards

away from our position.

The View Downstream from the same bridge.

Viewing him through the lens I could see a

black shape in the background, a mink was

working his way along the bank looking for

a handy meal, he disappeared into a fallen

tree stump that I presume he was using as a

base. Further up the river was a white Egret

sticking out like a sore thumb, he decided in

a flash to take off across the river and keep

the company of some cows that were

grazing just off the wetlands, I’m amazed

that these birds survive, as they have

absolutely no camouflage whatsoever, they

are in fact only a very recent visitor to these

parts, less than six or eight years ago you

would never see one. The Buzzard is

another recent addition to our native

wildlife, less that ten years ago there were

none or very few to be seen, nowadays they

are around every corner or perched on

every second telegraph pole along the road.

Still watching through the binoculars, there

were plenty of grey crows to be seen along

the bank of the river and in the trees

overhanging the river, flighting out over the

fields on the opposite bank, I think they are

feeding on the worms and snails that are

left stranded on the higher ground once the

flood water begins to recede. The above

may be quite a common sight to readers in

the UK as a lot of the wildlife and the lands

that they occupy are all well protected,

however in this Country hunting, Shooting

and Fishing are still widely practised, with

vermin control, at the heart of the plan. It is

mostly the self-governing approach of

hunters and shooters in this country, to

wildlife in general, that has the situation as

it is today, ie you only have to stop and look

to see a wide array of wildlife on display.

Settling before the off.

Take for instance the approach that the

government has taken over the Marsh


Harrier situation, a bird that I can hardly

remember seeing in all the years that I

spent in the field, they have now made

them a very endangered species, and how

have they decided to help, well they first

decided to make certain parts of the

countryside a place of special habitat for

these birds and although the farmers may

be compensated to the tune of a couple of

hundred Euro the value of the lands in

question has dropped by up to two

thousand Euro per acre, that’s if you could

sell it at all, the effect being that now , no

one wants the Marsh Harrier on their lands,

a couple of years back most farmers would

not know a Marsh Harrier from a Marsh

Warbler, but now that they have the effect

of devaluing their land they want to avoid

them like the plague. Now tell me, what

good is that going to do the Hen Harrier?

Added to that, they also announced on the

evening news recently that they had

already spent a staggering fourteen million

Euro on the project with little or no

improvement to the Harrier population.

What with the amount of austerity being

imposed on the citizens of this country and

the fact that there are people out there that

are both homeless and hungry, it’s nothing

short of a holy shame what they have done,

and it hasn’t endeared the Hen Harrier to

the general public either. I did have my

quiet moment by the river, it was very

relaxing. It was only when I got home and

started writing this that I got into a bit of a

rant. Thankfully I’m over it now and feeling

much better.

My lot, on their way

We were back on the road again with the

birds from Easter Sunday morning and over

the next few days we had lovely weather

each morning after the fog lifted, which was

about the ten o clock mark, it was grand

and the birds seemed to appreciate the sun

on their backs.

The racing will soon be upon us again, our

Federation lorry is prepared and ready,

thanks must go to Damien Summers,

Tommy o Rourke and the rest of the lads for

overseeing and completing the work done,

to have it in ship shape for the season.

May 2015

Whilst on my way to Waterford last

weekend, I decided to stop on my way into

town and take a photograph of the last

remaining item left standing of the Irish

Sugar Industry. To me and a lot of other

people this has to be one of the saddest

sites that we, as previous employees, have

to endure each and every time we pass by.

The old site is actually situated between my


home now and my home town of Carlow, so

I see it on an almost daily basis.

Carlow Sugar Factory Lime Kiln

The kiln itself holds a lot of mostly happy

memories for me, standing at exactly 238

feet tall, I worked on the very top of it on

many, many occasions, as a fitter’s helper,

and it was always a fabulous place to be no

matter what the weather, although I have

to admit that after all the sun tans we got

up there, summer time was the most

enjoyable.

The fact that it was impossible to get caught

dodging up there was a given, for as soon as

a foreman or manager put his foot on the

first step of the stairs the vibration let you

know that there was someone on their way

up. From that point we had approximately

ten or twelve minutes to get busy, and

apart from the fact that the work done had

to be signed off , we were very seldom paid

a visit, so unless someone was going to

approach the job by helicopter, the sun

tanning went on unabated.

The winter time however was a different

kettle of fish, with howling winds blowing

and at that time of year the kiln was in

operation, with the running temperatures

inside up to eight hundred degrees it was a

rough place to be. Some of the extractor

fans at the top would have to be balanced

at the start of the processing campaign, and

I can tell you that was a quite hairy place to

be when the whole kiln was vibrating.

Happy days.

Anyway, onto the Carrickmacross race,

when the Federation had sixty members

sending eight hundred and twenty five birds.

The race itself was brought forward to the

Saturday, as it was expected to be the

better of the two days, and as it happened,

the decision was quite correct, as Sunday

was an absolutely horrible day. Also the

decision to liberate a bit earlier than

expected, Rather than wait for the Northern

organisations to pass over, was a good one,

we were away bright and early and most

birds were safely home and locked up even

before some of them had liberated. So, well

done the race controller. Certainly credit

where credit is due.

Arklow RPC.

Notes are brief this week from Arklow,

however it appears that John Annesley’s

bird got well away from the bunch to record

a great victory on a Velocity of 1583ypm.


John Annesley & Son Arklow RPC winner from

Carrigmacross

Next up with two together for 2nd and 3rd

positions was the partnership of Dempsey

& o’Keefe. A new name on the result for 4th

& 5th is James Roach & G.son. Its nice to

see the Arklow boy’s holding their own

against quite stiff opposition. Well done all.

Cill Cheannaigh RPC.

It’s that man again, Edward Holden, in again

for a 1st, 2nd & 3rd position in the Cill

Cheannaigh club with three yearling cocks

dropping together, Velocity 1502ypm, as

opposed to a bunch of Hens last week. I’ve

included a photo of the winning chequer

cock, a Busscheart and he looks a right one.

In next was the partnership of Conran &

Cullen for 4th place, tough going on the lads

down there, with Edwards birds flying out

of their skins at the moment.

Wexford RPC.

News now from Thomas Walsh.

Hi Francis, Please find results for

Carrickmacross on 09/05/15 when 9

members sent 142 birds. 1st Anthony and

Jodie Thomas on a Velocity of 1490, in 2nd

Thomas Walsh and son, and 3rd to Michael

Carr. This is a great win by Anthony who

recently buried his father Adam.

The late Adam Thomas with Grandaughter Jodie

Thomas.

Adam was a lifelong supporter of North

Road racing and will be missed by all.

Michael Carr who turned 90 recently can

still show the younger members a thing or

two about pigeon racing. Kind Regards,

Thomas Walsh, Chairman, North Road

Pigeon Club.

Newross RPC.

1st Keith Gardiner with a pied yearling hen

bred from birds from Ron Mckelvey Newry

This hen was having her first ever race. In

2nd Keith Gardiner with a 2 year old blue

Staf van Reet cock. And 3rd was Jackie

Power clocking his yearling van loon Hen.


Keith Gardiner Newross Club holding his Winner

from Carrickmacross

Barrow Valley RPC.

Roly Brennan take the first three in the

Barrow Valley, his first bird, a yearling Blue

cock a brother to his first timer from

Frazerburgh last year, next it was the Blue

pied cock “ Roger “ that has been a really

consist ant bird over the years and finally

“Margaret” off the late Terence o Brien.

The two bird average was won by Roly

Brennan, 2nd was JJ Hurley.

In the single bird Snowball which will be

flown for on a points system, Roly takes the

10 points with “Roger” JJ Hurley takes six

points, then Michael Ramsbottom takes the

final three points with a 2yo Black cock.

Roger, 2nd BV club Carrickmacross 1st in the

Single Bird Snowball

Our Young bird breeder buyer was also held

on the Friday evening and with most of the

birds going back to their owners there will

be a nice little pot of about €450 to be

flown for from the Larne young bird race

later on in the season.

Hacketstown RPC.

Peter Lucas again wins in the Hacketstown

club, Velocity 1091ypm for this one.

Unfortunately I have no news from either

Enniscorty RPC or Fethard RPC. For this

issue. The Federation result for the first

Trim race has now come to hand, and

shows Lyn Griffiths of the Wexford North &

South Road Club with a stunning victory in

this race taking First Section “A” and the

First Five Open Federation positions, two

birds on 1787ypm and the next Three on

1778ypm.


Hacketstown Club Members Peter Lucas, Brian

Kennedy, Joe Geery, Eddy McGrath & Tony

Byrne

Winner of Section “B” also 2nd & 3rd is

Edward Holden of the Cill Cheannaigh Cub.

Whilst the Winner of Section “C” is the

Arklow partnership of Dempsey & o Keefe.

2nd Michael o Brien and 3rd Damien Farrell.

Edward Holden's Yearling Cheq Cock, winner of

Carrickmacross at the weekend.

Section “A” Nom was taken by Joe Sinnott,

Wexford. Section “B” Nom by Edward

Holden and Section “C” Nom by James Clare,

Arklow. And finally the Open Nom was won

by Joe Sinnott, Wexford. Overall a fair share

out of prizes and prize money between the

members of the different sections.

Next week it’s Monaghan and with the

weather set to stay calm we will hopefully

have a race on the Sunday this time. My

own lot are doing ok, my little experiment is

still on track, and if the season proceeds in

this vein, I will be quite happy.

End May 2015

I will start by clearing up the results of the

Federation races thus far and also the result

of this weekend’s race.

From the Trim 2 race held on May 1st,

when 53 members sent 790 Birds, it was

Edward Holden of the Cill Cheannaigh club

that won first Section “B” and the First

three Open positions on velocities of 1520,

1519, & 1518ypm. Whilst section “A” was

won by John Tobin of the Newross club,

with Lyn Griffiths, Wexford RPC and Pat

Ronan Newross RPC in hot pursuit in 2nd &

3rd section “A” respectively. Section “C”

was taken by Peter Lucas flying with the

Hacketstown Club on a really tough day for

the boy’s on the east coast.

Conran & Cullen won the section “B” nom.

John Tobin won the section “A” Nom and

Peter Lucas won the section “C” Nom.

The Open Nom was won by Jimmy Hurley of

the Barrow Valley RPC.Carrickmacross was

the venue for the next Federation Race

when 60 members sent 795 Birds. They

were away at 8:45am with a slight tail wind.

Taking the premier 1st Open position in the

Federation and First section “A” was Eddy

Dobbs of the Enniscorty club on a velocity

of 1554ypm. Eddy’s winner bred for him by

club secretary Joe Donnelly.


Eddy Dobbs Enniscorty RPC holding the winner

of the Federation from Carrickmacross.

In 2nd Open and winning 1st section “C”

was John Annseley & Son of the Arklow RPC

velocity 1535ypm.

Third Open position was won by John

Dobbs of Enniscorty. 4th Open and 1st

Section “B” was Edward Holden.Section “A”

Nom was won by Thomas Walsh & Son

Wexford RPC. Section “B” Nom was won by

Roly Brennan Barrow Valley RPC.

Edward Holden with his Federation Winner from

Trim 2.

Section “C” Nom was won by John Annseley

& Son Arklow RPC. The Open Nom was also

won by John Annseley & Son.These single

bird Open and Section Nominations are

creating a right spread of the prizes

throughout the Federation, whilst also

creating a more even playing field which in

turn is enhancing the competition amongst

the membership.

Members of Cill Cheannaigh RPC before

Marking for Monaghan.

Right then, let’s move on to this week’s club

results from the Monaghan race. Any hopes


of a race on Sunday were dashed when the

weather forecast on Wednesday evening

and early Thursday morning indicated that

Saturday was going to be the best day of

the weekend with little chance of a

liberation on the Sunday. The decision was

made to race mark on the Friday night for a

Saturday race. Again there was a good

turnout in our own club with seventeen

members sending 279 birds.

Saturday morning dawned bright, and with

a lot of other organisations preparing to

liberate down the country, our man had

them away at seven thirty, which everybody

seemed pleased about. However it was

unfortunate that as the morning moved on

the strong westerly wind increased even

more in strength, that said, there seem to

be a little north in it as well and that might

help the situation.

Enniscorty RPC.

The leading pigeons into Enniscorty were

clocked by the Polish partnership of

Murkowski & Kolodziej to secure 1st and

2nd Club, a Blue hen on a velocity of

1601ypm was first through the traps

followed closely by another Hen, this time a

cheq to record 1598ypm. Third club go ex-

federation treasurer John Dobbs with a Blue

Maris x Hofkens cross Cock on 1573ypm.

Wexford RPC.

Hi Francis. Sorry for the delay, please find

Race results below for the Wexford club

where 9 members sent 129 birds. 1st 2nd

and 3rd Lyn Griffiths and son, velocity

1587ypm. 4th Thomas Walsh and son.

Another great performance from Lyn as he

continues to dominate Wexford North Road

pigeon racing. Kind Regards, Thomas Walsh

Chairman & club PRO.

Thomas Walsh & Son winners of the Section A

nom in the recent Carrickmacross Race.

Newross RPC.

Well Frank. First 3 in New Ross this week is

to Keith Gardiner. Next to clock was Pat

Ronan and John Purcell was in there with

Keith Gardiner finishing off the top ten.

Keith got three together 2 hens and a cock.

With the winner been a blue pied hen. Well

done Keith.

Fethard-on-Sea RPC.

Mick & Brandon Nolan had a great race in

this one, clocking three in quick succession

to secure a 1, 2, 3 in the Fethard club. John

Power and Gary Nolan trying hard to catch

the front runners and will be there or

thereabouts as the races get longer I expect.


Young Brandon Nolan holding his Winner from

Monaghan

Cill Cheannaigh RPC.

News now from Edward Holden.

1st Edward Holden Velocity 1498ypm. 2nd

Conran & Cullen on 1497, & 3rd Edward

Holden on 1474ypm. First pigeon is bred

from Roly & Roca stock he's a yearling cock

that was in the first drop of birds last week

finishing 3rd club & is a full brother to my

Malin Head Young Bird National winner.

Jimmy Conran & Wattie Cullen winners of the

Section B nom in the Trim 2 Race

Jimmy Conran’s pigeon is a van Reet cross

of Mickey Croskery x Gerry Marley lines. He

is a cheq yearling cock & has been showing

good form in the last couple of weeks. My

bird in 3rd position is a mealy pied yearling

cock gifted to me as a youngster by David

Doheny of Kilkenny.

Barrow Valley RPC.

Roly Brennan continues to dominate our

club and this week secures his fourth win on

the trot in this highly competitive club,

taking the first three positions on a Velocity

of 1493ypm, also second, with two yearling

cocks, his third bird on the clock was

“Roger” the Blue pied Staff van Reet cock

that has done a lot of damage in all types of

competition right up to National level, again

this week Roger secures another ten points

in the Single Bird Nom that is run over the

course of the season giving him the

maximum 20 points possible from the two

races already flown. JJ Hurly had the next

two, Damien Maher, Tom McNally and

Corcoran & Keegan made up the top ten in

this race that seen 17 members send 279

Birds.

Hacketstown RPC.

Peter Lucas wins again in this newly formed

club also 2nd. His first bird, a Blue Pied

Yearling Hen bred from two of his North

Coast Classic pigeons that were purchased

back last year. Paul o Neill had a 2012 bred

Blue hen having only the third race of her

career.

Arklow RPC.

Mick Murphy writes with the following

information on their recent Monaghan race.

In first position it’s the partnership of

Dempsey & o Keefe with an SU rung 2yo

cheq Pied hen on1439ypm. 2nd and 3rd

went to James Clare both 2yo cheq cocks on

1434 & 1424 ypm. 4th position went to

John & Mick Murphy a GB rung Yearling

cheq hen on 1413ypm. Last week’s winner,


John Annseley and sons with a yearling blue

cock on 1392ypm completes the result for

the Arklow boy’s.

Well that’s it for this time. There were a few

birds missing on this one, and a few old

favourites have bitten the dust and some

new birds have shown their metal too, as is

the way of the world in pigeon racing.

Until next time, any news to

[email protected] or

00353599145419

Punch.

Geoff Hogan, Cill Chainnigh RPC, former Kings Cup Winner with the INFC.

mailto:[email protected]


Harry Beale staunch supporter of North Road Racing in the Kilkenny area for over fifty years

Paul o Neill Hacketstown Club Member


Wattie Cullen explains to David Doheny how to spot a good ‘un.

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