History of the Irish Wolfhound

The Irish Wolfhound is the world's largest breed of dog. The name is quite a recent one but the hound itself goes back far into the mists of time. The name it was given in ancient Ireland was "Cu" (variously translated as hound, Irish hound, war dog, wolf dog, etc.) and it is mentioned in Irish laws, which predate Christianity, and in Irish literature which dates from the 5th century or, in the case of the Sagas, from the Old Irish period A.D. 600-900.

The Great Irish Hound was only permitted to be owned by kings and the nobility but there were plenty of them as there were 150 kingdoms in Ancient Ireland as the country was divided into Fifths, each with a king, and each Fifth comprised numerous kingdoms, each of which had a lesser king subject to the kings of the Fifths.

The number of hounds each person was permitted to own depended on his position. For example, the Filid (the professional class of composers of Sagas and other tales, who were of the lesser nobility) were entitled to two hounds.

The hounds were used as war dogs to haul men off horseback and out of chariots and there are many tales in Irish mythology of their ferocity and bravery in battle. They were also used as guards of property and herds and for hunting Irish elk as well as deer, boar, and wolves and were held in such high esteem that battles were fought over them.

The second century A.D. saw the rise of the Fianna, who were foot soldiers. Each Fian had two hounds, while the greatest of their chiefs, Fionn Mac Cumall, had three hundred full-grown hounds and puppy hounds two hundred. Fionn's favourite hound was Bran, who always killed more men or beasts than Fionn.

Dating from the middle of the 4th century, we have the description of Celtic hounds in the works of Arrian: "There is nothing more beautiful to see, whether their eyes, or their whole body, or their coat and colour". "The neck should be long, round, and flexible. Wide chests are better than narrow ones. The legs should be long, straight, and well-knit, the ribs strong, the back wide and firm without being fat, the belly well drawn up, the thighs hollow, the tail narrow, hairy, long and flexible with thicker hairs adorning the tip. The feet should be round and firm. These hounds may be of any colour."

They were much coveted and were frequently given as gifts to important personages and foreign nobles. Often the hounds' collars and chains were of precious metal: There were seven hounds held with silver chains with a ball of gold between each of them, and with a long chain of antique silver he held in leash two hounds of the chase.

In 1210 A.D. an Irish Hound was send as a gift to Llewellyn, King of Wales, by Prince (later King) John of England. This hound was probably Gelert, slain by Llewellyn under the misapprehension that the hound had killed his baby son when, in fact, the hound had killed a wolf that had got into the baby's room. Gelert's burial place is known as Beddgelert.

During the 16th, 17th, and early 18th centuries these gifts of hounds increased greatly. Some of the recipients were the Great Mogul, The Emperor Jehangier, the Shah of Persia, and Cardinal Richelieu. Large numbers were sent to Spain and King John of Poland is said to have contributed to their near extinction in Ireland by procuring as many as he could lay hands on. In 1652 a declaration was issued banning the exportation of hounds from Ireland on account of their scarcity.

In 1770 Goldsmith wrote: The last variety and the most wonderful of all that I shall mention, is the Great Irish wolfdog, that may be considered as the first of the canine species…….Nevertheless he is extremely beautiful and majestic in appearance, being the greatest of the dog kind to be seen in the world.

I'd love to get one of these, but their life span unfortunately, is very short.