You might not be familiar with Charles Stewart Parnell unless you’re an Irish historian. He was a force with which to reckon in the British House of Commons in the 1880s at the tender age of 29,  the accepted leader of the Irish nationalist movement (Home Rule)  and a leader of the land reform movement in Ireland.

Parnell appeared to despise everything English and was notorious for obstructing the work of the House of Commons by making extremely long and boring speeches on any matter which lay before it.  Virulently anti-English, it makes complete sense that he fell in love with a vivacious English woman, Katharine Wood, because sometimes, that’s just how love is.

A short post is a disservice to a lifetime, but as we are a site dedicated to purebred dogs, we mention Parnell because this mover-and-shaker’s canine companion was “Grouse,” an Irish Setter.  Young to be tackling such big issues, Parnell was also too young to die at the age of just 45, probably from rheumatic fever exacerbated by exhaustion. In 1891 with “Grouse” lying by his side, and Katharine with her arms around him, Parnell died in her arms before midnight.

If you own an Irish Setter, you have by your knee a piece of history. We thought you should know.

Irish Setter by Scott Wallace is available as a print here