The Celts of the European continent are credited with the origins of the Irish Wolfhound.  It is thought that the continental Celts brought their hound to Ireland sometime between 2500 B.C. and 1500 B.C.  The Celts used these animals as dogs of war.  The dog's great size made it possible for the dog to pull a mounted horseman off his horse during battle. The Irish Wolfhounds were revered for their courage and admired for their beauty. This breed of dog also was used for hunting, chasing and killing of wild game such as the stag and wolves. As a note of interest, the Irish stag that the Wolfhound hunted stood six feet at the shoulder.  Unfortunately, the Irish stag is no longer in existence, having been hunted to extinction by the late 1700's.
     The first written mention of the Irish Wolfhound appears in a manuscript dated around 390 A.D.  A Roman consul, Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, mentions a gift from his brother of seven Irish dogs: "All Rome viewed them with wonder and fancied they must have been brought hither in iron cages."
     Nobility were the ones who possessed, bred, hunted and gave these great beasts as gifts of reknown to other noblemen.  After all, how could a peasant farmer afford to even feed these giant dogs, when he had difficulty even feeding his own family? The giving of the Irish Wolfhounds as gifts were a part of the cause of their demise in Ireland.  So many were given to the noble families of Europe that  by 1652 a declaration was issued banning further exportation of these dogs. When the famine of 1845-46 hit Ireland, the Irish Wolfhound nearly went the way of the Irish stag.
     It was about this time that a Scottish officer of the British Army, Captain George Augustus Graham, took a keen interest in the breed and decided to set about reviving the almost extinct breed.  He was able to obtain descendants of a dog said to be the last true example of the Irish Wolfhound.  Captain Graham took these descendants and bred them with Glengarry Deerhounds, occasional outcrosses to Borzoi and Great Danes.  He eventually did achieve a dog that bred true to type. It is important to note here that these outcrosses were done with extreme care and only with breeds which the Irish Wolfhound most probably had been crossed through the centuries.
     These dogs were successfully shown at the Dublin shows in the 1870's.  A club was established for the breed in 1885.
     It is not known when the first Irish Wolfhounds were brought to the United States, however, in 1912 the first Irish Wolfhound was registered with the American Kennel Club (A.K.C.).

Return to Irish Wolfhound Directory

Return to Bark Bytes Home