The Irish Red and White Setter Submitted by Christina Phillips Irish Red & White Setter "The Irish Setter probably came into its own at the end of the 17th century. It is not well known out- side of Ireland that there are two breeds of Irish Setters, but it is fairly certain, that the Red and White Setter is the older of the two, and that judicious selective breeding evolved the solid red colour..." from The Irish Kennel Club
one of the earliest references to the set- ters we know today. Hunting with a net requires the dog to find the bird, freeze the bird in place and not be so close to the bird that the hunter nets the bird and the dog at the same time. Only a superior dog could manage all of these tasks. Legend and paintings from the 17th century reflect dogs very similar to the documented pedigrees of the 18th centu- ry. Despite the fact that we can actually see 200 year old paintings of dogs similar to today's dogs, we should keep in mind that before the middle of the 19th centu- ry, dogs were bred to work and the notion of breeders being concerned about any particular conformation has never been
number of white and red setters declined to nearly zero. Anna Redlich credits Rev. Noble Huston of Ballynahinch, County Down with saving the line and gradually building up the numbers. With the aid of his cousin, Dr. Elliott, he was able to slow- ly bring back the breed. Dr. Elliott lived in a house named Eldron, and that prefix is in the names of dogs bred in the 20's and 30's. The Rev. Huston did not keep offi- cial pedigrees, but did record his litters in the parish register. Although most of the dogs were kept in Ireland, a single dog was sent to the United States, two to Spain and several to England. The next important players in this story are Mr. and Mrs. Will Cuddy. In 1940, Mrs. Maureen Cuddy (nee Clarke) was given a sickly puppy bitch. She nursed the puppy to health and called her puppy Judith Cunningham of Knockalla. It is highly probable that every recorded IR&WS today is descended from this bitch. The Cuddys were instrumental in
Historical Summary
adapted from Irish Red and White Setter Association Inc - Parent Club
The absolute history of the Setter from Ireland is questionable due to the lack of records from ancient times. What has sur- vived the distortions of time and oral his- tory are several paintings and a few writ- ten descriptions from the 17th and 18th centuries that attest to the presence of the white "setting dogges" with red mark- ings. The earliest references to any kind of setter are from the 16th century with depictions of a hunter with a net and a supine dog pointing toward a doomed grouse or quail. The "setting spaniel" is
demonstrated. By the end of the 18th century, the white and red breed was well established and several kennels were known for supplying purebred dogs. During the 19th century, the red dogs became established in ever greater num- bers eventually becoming the predomi- nant variety. WWI brought great hardship to the people of Ireland and their dogs. The
S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE • J ULY 2011 • 205
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