GAME Fairs Ireland enjoyed another successful game and country fair, despite the worst summer weather for years, and the beautiful grounds of Birr Castle Demesne were left in good condition despite the throng of visitors.

The clay pigeon shooting competitions had the largest prize fund of any competition in either the Republic or Northern Ireland and was keenly fought as was the Pat Burns Memorial Trophy for Distance Casting.

I was honoured to be asked to present this trophy as Pat was a close and valued friend of mine for many years and the good he did for Irish angling should not be forgotten.

The Welsh medieval enactment group, Drudion, provided plenty of fun in the main arena, even luring the commentator to take part in some banter with their evil knight, Callum, who called in the wily Welsh Collies and the small but adept Bleithin Bach who chased him back to his box. The good Queen Rowan managed to distract them just long enough for him to save the seat of his tweed plus twos!

High standard gundog competitions, plenty of trade stands and the activity in the arena kept everyone happy and looking forward to another great show in The Great Game Fairs of Ireland series.

The fair was opened by Minister of State, Dr Martin Mansergh, who was presented with a fine handmade stick by Tom Kavanagh if the Celtic Stickmakers Club.

Don’t dump a dog

I am sorry to say I have witnessed a number of dogs, from lurchers to spaniels, being dumped at game fairs in recent times. Not only is this disgraceful behaviour for any dog owner, it also creates a serious problem for game fair organisers.

I also saw an instance of a young dog being beaten by three men but the directors and staff at Birr Game Fair soon put a stop to that. Organisers will not stand for the mistreatment of any animal and those who behave in this way are not welcome in the fieldsports community.

Illegal duck shooting

The Pest from the West has had to move his horses on several occasions to avoid them being accidently shot by duck shooters cruising the River Shannon duck hunting. On one occasion there were four shooters mounted on the back of a cabin cruiser trying to flush duck from the extensive reed beds. Surely they know that shooting while a boat is under power is illegal.

These unsporting types didn’t even have a dog with them so retrieving a runner or recovering a duck from the reeds was well beyond their capabilities.

Some of our leisure boating areas are infested by large twin screw cruisers and the damage to banks and reed beds can be severe. Many of these crafts were designed as sea going cruisers and have been moved to freshwater in the last couple of years – a case of being unsuitable to the water does not seem to have thought of by the owners.

Now that’s style

Young Catherine Midlander has taken to target shooting with a vengeance and it is costing me a small fortune.

Being, according to herself, a ‘Daddy’s girl’ she has managed to lighten my wallet on several occasions with ear defenders, a range bag and a new waterproof coat with most of them come in a shade of pink!

Pink ear defenders decorated with black stripes and glitter and a range bag that is also a pink and black striped affair, what will the lads and lasses of the Dublin Target Sports Club think?