Probably no dog has been the subject of so much contention or misapprehension as Ireland's historic hound. This has been due in great part to the exaggerated statements respecting the size to which it, in some instances, attained. Its early history is also enshrouded in mystery, and we are apparently, in the twentieth century, no nearer a satisfactory solution of it than we were in the seventeenth and even earlier times. Oliver Goldsmith, who was not distinguished, as a naturalist, by strict accuracy, was certainly very far wrong in stating that the Irish Wolfhound attained to a height of 4ft., as we measure dogs and horses - that is, from the ground to the level of the top of the shoulders; though a tall, long-necked, and long-headed dog, with his snout held pointing up in air, might reach very near that height. That, however, would be a totally misleading way of taking and stating the dog's height.

Doubtless the size of the Irish Wolfhound has also been exaggerated by the use of loose expressions; but that he was the giant of his race, so far as these islands are concerned, there appears to be very good grounds for believing. That there should have been, by many, a strong desire entertained to save from utter extinction so noble a breed, is most natural. The astonishing matter is that so few persons comparatively have taken practical steps towards its resuscitation, for if the breed did not altogether cease to exist early in the eighteenth century, it went dangerously near to extinction. That much even its most enthusiastic admirer, Captain Graham himself, admits when, in the previous Edition of this work, he says: "That in its original integrity it has apparently disappeared cannot be disputed; yet there can be little doubt that so much of the true breed is forthcoming, both in the race still known in Ireland as the Irish Wolfhound (to be met with, however, in one or two places only) and in our modern Deerhound, as to allow of its complete recovery in its pristine grandeur, with proper management, in judicious hands." It is easy to see from this the theory of Captain Graham with regard to the breed; but whether or not there really existed a sufficiency of the original blood on which to rebuild the breed "in all its pristine grandeur," is still a vexed question. We have not the space to enter into all the interesting points that Captain Graham raises in his well-thought-out monograph. Here we are chiefly concerned with the dog as we know it now, rather than as it was some centuries ago. Before, however, leaving this part of the subject, we will quote another passage or two that Captain Graham has written in support of his theory that in the modern Deerhound lives the Irish Wolfhound of old: -

"That we have in the Deerhound the modern representative of the old Irish dog is patent; though of less stature, less robust, and of slimmer form, the main characteristics of the original breed remain, and, in very exceptional instances, specimens 'crop up' that throw back to, and resemble in a marked manner, the old stock from which they have sprung. For instance, the dog well known at all the leading shows as Champion Torunn (now for some years lost to sight), although requiring a somewhat lighter ear and still more massive proportions, combined with greater stature, evidently approximated more nearly to his distant ancestors than to his immediate ones. The matter of ear alluded to here is probably only a requirement called for by modern and more refined tastes, as it is hardly likely that any very high standard as to quality or looks, was ever aimed at or reached by our remote ancestors in any breed of dogs. Strength, stature, and fleetness were the points most carefully cultivated - at any rate, as regards those dogs used in the pursuit and capture of large and fierce game.

It is somewhat remarkable that, whilst we have accounts of almost all the noted breeds, including the Irish Wolfhound, there is no allusion to any such dog as the Deerhound, save in writings of a comparatively recent date.

The article or essay on the Irish Wolfhound written by Richardson in 1842 is, it is supposed, the only one on this subject in existence; and whilst it is evident to the reader of it that the subject has been most ably treated and thoroughly sifted, yet some of the writer's conclusions, if not erroneous, are at least open to question. It is a matter of history that this dog was of very ancient origin, being well known to, and highly prized by, the Romans, who frequently used him for their combats in the arena; and also that he was retained at home, in a certain degree of purity, to within a comparatively recent period, when, owing to the extinction of wolves, and, presumably, to the indifference and carelessness of owners, this most superb and valuable breed of dog was unaccountably suffered to fall into a very neglected and degenerate state.

From the general tenor of old accounts we have of this dog's dimensions and appearance, it is to be gathered that he was of considerably greater stature than any known race existing at present, and, apparently, more than equal to the destruction of the wolf.

It is an incontestable fact that the Domestic dog, when used for the pursuit of ferocious animals, should be invariably larger, and apparently more powerful, than his quarry, as the fierce nature, roving habits, and food of the wild animal, render him usually more than a match for his domesticated enemy if only of equal size and stature. We know that the Russian Wolfhound, the equal in stature to the wolf, will attack him single-handed ; but he ought not to be allowed to do so, as he would almost invariably be worsted in the combat.

The Irish Wolfhound, being used for both the capture and despatch of the wolf, would necessarily have been of Greyhound conformation, besides being of enormous power. A heavy dog, such as a Mastiff, would be equal to the destruction of a wolf when caught; but to obtain a dog with Greyhound speed and the strength of the Mastiff, it would stand to reason that his stature should considerably exceed that of the Mastiff - one of our tallest as well as most powerful breeds. The usual height of the Mastiff does not exceed 30m.; and, arguing as above, we may reasonably conclude that, to obtain the requisite combination of speed and power, a height of at least 33m. would have to be reached. Many writers, however, put the stature of the Irish Wolfhound down as far exceeding that."