The Kerry Beagle isn’t considered to be a Beagle, and it’s probably not even from County Kerry in Ireland. Some even dispute whether it’s a legitimate breed since it’s not recognized by any major registry outside the Irish Kennel Club which recognized it in 1991. That date is a bit ironic, as well, since the Kerry Beagle is believed to be one of Ireland’s most ancient dog breeds next to the Irish Wolfhound.  The irony continues in that a breed not recognized by any major registry is one of the dogs that strongly contributed to creation of the Foxhound, as well as various Coonhounds, all of which are recognized by major registries.

Ireland’s only native scent hound has always been highly regarded as a hunting dog. Accounts from 1834 report a test run between the breed and English Foxhounds, and the Kerry Beagles, as some would say today, “kicked #@!.” They were faster over ditches and banks than the Foxhounds, and some reckoned they had the better nose.  These days, Kerry Beagles are used in drag trials, and in the exciting hunting of hare on foot (though a hunt master calls off the hounds before a hare is distressed). The real excitement in hare hunting isn’t the catch (since there isn’t one), but in watching a pack of an ancient breed scour the nooks and crannies of the mountainside. The growth in popularity of drag hunts offers a vulnerable breed a more secure future since the Kerry Beagle has been facing alarmingly low numbers for over 100 years.

Image of Kerry Beagles from 1915  – W. E. Mason – Dogs of all Nations, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6800957