"Richardson, in his essay on this breed, says Sir Richard Betham, Ulster King at Arms, has stated it as his conviction that the Irish wolf dog was a gigantic greyhound, not smooth-skinned, like our greyhounds, but rough and curly-haired. In the face of this, Sir William Betham's son, the well-known archer, wrote me some years ago to call my attention to a specimen of the Irish wolfhound which was to be purchased in his neighbourhood; his description of the dog, however, showed him to be distinctly a boarhound or Great Dane, of no great size. A Mr. Mahony, of Dromore - a large property near Muckross - had, about twenty years ago, a breed of these dogs, but they have been allowed to die out. He had them, however, from the late Sir J. Power, so that the same blood is now in my possession. He described them fully to me as being similar to the deerhound, but more massive and powerful, and not so high on the leg.

"Two of these dogs, of the Power breed, were the property of a lady living at Ryde, Isle of Wight, and of which I have photographs; they are however dead, and left no produce. I at great trouble traced out the Mr. Carter who is referred to by Richardson, but only to find that his breed of dogs had passed into oblivion."

At the Irish Kennel Club Show, held at Dublin, April, 1879, a class was made for dogs showing the nearest approach to the old Irish wolfhound as described by sporting writers of the past, and the committee did us the honour of appointing us to judge. The class was composed of dogs differing very widely in character, and what we considered our duty was to select for honours the elements out of which the old race could be rebuilt. We therefore gave first prize to a dog of very distinct deerhound type, but enormous stature - a dog, indeed, wanting nothing but more bone and substance to be our ideal of an Iri3h wolfhound. These are great wants, no doubt, but in the class brought together in this, the first public attempt to resuscitate the breed - an attempt that redounds to the honour of the Irish Kennel Club, and in a marked degree to Mr. St. George, who laboured hard in the interest of the breed - the judge had to deal with elements and possibilities only; the actual has to come, and was not even looked for in this, the first show of dogs under this name.

The winning dog, Mr. Percy H. Cooper's Brian, is by Captain G. A. Graham's Swanan - Dr. Lammond-Hemming's Linda. The latter is a well known deerhound bitch, while Swanan, we believe, has as much of the genuine old Irish wolfhound blood as any dog living; and it was with a view to forward the resuscitation of the'Irish wolfhound that the litter, of which Brian is one and the better-known Ingleside another, were bred.

The second prize was awarded to a puppy shown by Mr. Frank Adcock, no pedigree given. He had a strong look of the great Dane, with a good deal of the shape and style of the deerhound - dark, grizzled, and with a hard useful coat, although rather short; he was a puppy of great power and substance, the right stamp of head, although just a trifle too heavy, and in a cross with a sister to this dog and such a dog as Brian, we should expect to see the nearest approach in form to the old Irish wolfhound that has existed in this century, and in them we should also expect to get courage, a most essential attribute in a dog that has to cope with large and fierce game, and without which, indeed, he is worthless.

The third prize was awarded to Capt. G. A. Graham's Scot, a dog with more authentic Irish wolfhound blood in him than anything shown, and, in shape and style, correct, but wanting in coat, and, what is more important, size and substance, for he was small almost to weediness.

The Irish Kennel Club give a challenge cup of £15 15s. value, and I hope this and the other means they are taking to encourage the restoration of this noble breed will eventually prove successful. The demand for such a dog for the hunting of fierce game in our colonies and abroad is unlimited, and with that view alone Ireland should encourage the restoration of the Irish wolfhound.