Mr. G. W. Hickman, who has equally devoted time and ability to an examination of the subject, suggests that -

"There is not a particle of direct evidence to identify the Irish Wolfhound with the Deerhound, and such evidence as we have goes in the opposite direction. Until some time in the 'thirties' of the past century all the naturalists who described or depicted the Irish Wolfhound concurred in representing it as an animal of a certain kind, both in their descriptions and their pictures. But about the time mentioned, a Mr. Haffield, who appears to have been prompted by that desire for starting new theories and demolishing old-standing beliefs which actuates men of science, read a paper before one of the Dublin philosophical societies, in which he departed from all existing ideas, and enunciated views which suggested - as it seems - to Richardson his enlarged Deerhound theory. Richardson, who admits that he had previously entertained the orthodox views, in accordance with the existing evidence, appears to have had an accommodating mind, and to have considered that evidence equally applicable to 'the new departure,' which he hastened to advocate. The theory of Richardson and his followers is merely one of conjecture and inference. The practice of these writers has been to start with a theory, and to adapt their evidence to it, instead of deducing their theory from the existing evidence. They pick out such passages as suit their views, with more or less of misquotation, draw their own inferences from them, and totally ignore all the authorities that are opposed to them.

No doubt what first suggested the identification of the Irish Wolfdog with the Deerhound was Macpherson's 'Ossian,' and the accounts in the Fingalian legends of the marvellous doings of the hero's ' white-breasted,' 'hairy-footed' Bran, and others. As Ireland claimed some common property in this legend, Irish amour propre seized the idea of associating with their already extinct and almost mythological Wolfdog - as harmonising with his traditional gigantic size - all the glamour and poetical colouring belonging to the dogs of ' Ossian.' But as it is a matter of doubt with some 'if' - as Gibbon says - 'we can with safety indulge the pleasing supposition that Fingal lived and Ossian sung,' there is no value in such an argument; and even granting that there is foundation for those legends, it is absurd to draw any conclusions as to the gigantic character of the dogs from the poetical exaggerations of mere legends; whilst their rough coats would only be an instance of the 'local colouring' supplied by the bards from the dogs they were accustomed to, as no one disputes that the Deer-hound, or rough Greyhound, was a common dog enough in olden times. The Ossianic argument may therefore be put aside."

Having given some opinions of the two principal modern writers upon the early history of the Irish Wolfhound, the one a supporter of the theory that the ancient dog survives in a modified form in the Scottish Deerhound, and the other a great opponent of such a theory, we now pass on to the writings of a still more recent date - 1897. In that year an Irishman, the Rev. E. Hogan, issued an interesting little work entitled "The Irish Wolfdog." * This gentleman's opinions in the main coincide with those of Captain Graham, though the arguments in support of them are not always very conclusive. In tracing the descent of the modern Wolfdog, he writes: kept up a long and constant communication with Ireland. . . . Now, these Irish warriors came from a land famous for deer-hunting, as Bede informs us, the inhabitants of which were ardent in the chase of stags and wolves. . . . Being hunters, then, those warriors took their big Greyhounds with them to 'Caledonia stern and wild,' and kept up the breed for hunting, being able through their close connection with Ireland for centuries to import dogs from thence if necessary. In that case, as the wolf-hunting Greyhound of the seventeenth century was descended from the dogs that remained in Ireland, so the Deerhound was descended from the old Irish dogs that were exported. Hence we find that the Highland Deer-hounds were called Irish Greyhounds, as the Highlanders are called Irish (Gaels) and their language Irish (Gaelic)."

"Friend and foe say he has the Highland Deerhound strain. Now, the Deerhound has the old Irish Wolfdog blood. Therefore the modern Wolfdog has it also. . . . Taking for granted that the Irish Wolfdogs and Scotch Deerhounds were the largest, most notable, and among the most ancient dogs of their respective countries, I say, whereas it is certain (1) that the Irish conquered Scotland centuries ago, and (2) that they took their wolf, boar, and deer-hunting Greyhounds with them, it follows that the Scotch Deer-hounds are descended from these Irish dogs. . . . Centuries ago Irish warriors, then called Scots, conquered and colonised Caledonia, gave their name and language and its kings to that country, and

* "The History of the Irish Wolfdog," by the Rev. Edmund Hogan, SJ. (Dublin: M. H. Gill & Son).

The opinions above quoted by no means exhaust those put forth with regard to the early history of the breed by the more modern writers. With the exception perhaps of Richardson (of whom Captain Graham is a disciple), who wrote in the "forties," they may be regarded as the chief.

If we look for enlightenment in the writings of the older authors, we find little; indeed, rather is it a case of confusion worse confounded. In some descriptions seem grossly exaggerated; while in others they are lacking in those essential details that, if forthcoming, would have helped us with greater accuracy to piece together the unwoven threads of history. Take, for instance, the coat, which is one of the most debatable of all points in connection with the hound. Was it a rough or a smooth coat? The weight of evidence is in support of the latter. Nor is there more unanimity among, or greater assistance from, the artists of the time. Bewick depicts a smooth dog, as did Lambart some four years later; but whereas the former shows a dog of Greyhound type, the latter's depiction more closely approximates to the Mastiff. Reinagle, a Royal Academician and a contemporary of Bewick, illustrates in the "Sportsman's Cabinet " a dog that is quite out of harmony with the description, which applies to a Great Dane-like animal. It must, however, be confessed that Reinagle's picture (Fig. 35) accords more with the popular creation of the Irish Wolfdog than anything that we know. It has been suggested that Reinagle's is a fanciful creation rather than a representative picture of the Wolfhound of the time - a time, be it noted, that accords with that in which Lord Altamount's dogs were supposed to be in existence.