The image seen here is of Slane Castle. Situated in the stunningly beautiful Boyne valley overlooking the River Boyne, the castle is just a few miles from the site of the famous Battle of the Boyne of 1690 between King William III (William of Orange) and the exiled King James II. The hill behind the castle is the Hill of Slane where St. Patrick lit his Easter fire. The fire lead to St. Patrick’s summons by the High King to Tara leading to Ireland’s subsequent conversion to Christianity.
Historically, it’s an important place.
Though you can’t see it in the photo, of course, the road from Dublin to Slane Castle is said to be one of the straightest roads in Ireland. Why? Because the Castle was also where King George IV of England and Elizabeth, the first Marchioness Conyngham (pronounced “Cunningum”) carried on a romance. The road was made straight so the King could travel faster and get to his amour sooner.
The Conynghams were originally a Scottish Protestant family who moved to Ireland around 1611 during the Plantation of Ulster in County Donegal. The castle has been the family seat of the Conyngham family since it was built in the late 18th century on land first purchased in 1703 by Brigadier General Henry Conyngham. To this day, Lord Henry Mountcharles, the 8th Marquess Conyngham, lives here.
There’s another reason the castle is of interest to purebred dog affectionados, and it appears in the photo below. Look closely at it because it is evidence of a “first.”
The dog third from the left is “”Dan.” He was owned by the Marquess of Conyngham at Slane Castle in County Meath, Ireland and was the first known Glen of Imaal Terrier to be photographed in 1910. It would be almost a quarter of a century before his breed would be recognized by the Irish Kennel Club (that happened in 1934 and when it did, the Glen became the third of four terrier breeds of Ireland to be so acknowledged); sixty four years in 1975, the Kennel Club of England accepted the breed, and almost 100 years later, the AKC did it.
It took us while to find the photo we’d only ever heard about, but find it we did on the Facebook page for Vintage Dog Photography ‘Tails with a tale’ Dog photos from past till now where it was posted by Jan Alons. Jan wrote: “[this] is probably one of the most important photographs in Glen history. It was taken some time before 1910 and features a group of terriers at Slane Castle; the seat of the Marquess of Conyngham. These terriers, Patch, Crab, Dan, Troops, Ned, Flora, Trimmer, Vic Tigey & Victor need a very close look. Take a closer look at Dan and there it is; the first known picture of a Glen of Imaal. Trimmer also deserves a second look as the head shape and front assembly says a cut down Glen. The provenance, age & photographer, Elliott & Fry of 55 Baker Street, London, could make this the breed’s greatest heirloom.”