By Adie McCormick
http://www.pigeonnetwork.com
A VISIT TO MY GOOD FRIEND DAVID SUITTERS OF DOAGH
By Millar McAllister
It gives me great pleasure to write this article on “D” Suitters because firstly we are related through marriage and secondly I was his chief scraper when I was at school, and used to train his birds on an old bicycle with a hamper tied on the back. Those were the days. I can trace the winning ancestry of “D’s” Blue Two Year Old Hen back 20 years, but will start from 1956. In this year the veteran racer of the village of Cogry, Harry Turkington gave “D” a young Mealy Cock. This bird the same year won 31st Open Haverford Y/Bird Derby. In 1967 he was mated to a Black hen which in 1958 was mated to “D’s” old Blue Cheq Cock, a veteran of two Milford smashes. This pair bred a nest pair of Black Hens DS 441 and DS 442 and another nest a Blue W/F Cock. 441 and the Blue W/F Cock were sent to Milford Y/Bird National. I took them up to Belfast, or should say, was taken up to Belfast by “CO” McConnell, the boxing manager and pigeon fancier. On the Saturday of the race “D” and I walked up the garden with a bucket of water to change the drinkers and watch for the birds. I stood under the trap while “D” went into the loft to change the drinkers. Suddenly I saw a shadow on the ground passing the loft and on looking up I saw the Black Hen circling the garden. I must have scared her because she flew for some time and after dropping on the loft sat very nervous for some time before going in. She eventually did and “D” really thought he had an early one, so off he went to get into the good cloths to take the clock to Belfast, while he was doing this I clocked the Blue W/F Cock, the first bird I ever clocked, what a thrill! Well, “D” took the clock to Belfast and found he had an early one, so early in fact that he won 1st Open Y/Bird National Milford Haven and the W/F Cock was also in the money.
"Dian" Blue Hen, winner of 4th Club Haverford West, 208 miles and 8th Section, 2,665 Birds. Four weeks later was 1st Club, 1st Section, 3rd Open Dinard 3,595 pigeons bred and raced by David Suitters of Doagh.
The following year, 1959 “D” was in the money again in the Haverford Y/Bird National with a daughter of the 1958 winner. I should add here that Robin Duddy, of Kilbride purchased the nest mate of the Y/Bird National winner, DS 442 and she was G/Dam of Robin’s 11th Open St Malo winner, another Black Hen. This was a hard race and only two birds were timed in the centre on the day.
To get back to my subject, “D” did not race birds in the early 60’s and gave his brother Roy the two Black Hens and he bred several winners from them. Roy broke both birds in but the National winner used to return to “D’s” loft after the breeding season. In 1963 “D” decided to race again and went up to get the National winner but to his dismay, found that the hen had left brother Roy’s loft as usual at the end of the breeding season and he thought she had returned to “D”. It is a real mystery where the Black Hen went to, because she appeared a couple of years ago and entered “D’s” loft as if she had never been away. She was as fat as a fool and had been well looked after, but that was the least whoever had her in could do, after all, he had 4 or 5 good years breeding from a National winner, which didn’t belong to him, the only reason he let the hen out was that she had stopped laying.
Back to the story again, in 1964 I got “D” to rear me a Y/Bird for a young friend of my wife’s who had just started pigeons. The bird was a Blue Cock and I gave to Noble Cowan of Ballynahinch. He was in the money as a Y/Bird and as a yearling was 2nd Club Ballynahinch from Penzance. In the winter of 1967 Nobel sent for me to take the Blue Cock back to “D” an arrangement I had made with him should he decide to quit the sport. I took him back and in 1968 he was mated to “D’s” Broken Wing Hen winner of 2nd Club Wexford (then broke her wing and was put to stock). She had previously bred winners with other cocks. The mating produced the Blue Hen winner of 1st Section and 3rd Open lifting a cool £909.00. To go further into the breeding, the Blue Cock sire of the Dinard hen was bred from a Blue hen who was a ½ sister to the Black hen that won the National in 1958, being from the same cock, a beautiful Blue Cheq Cock he was. The sire of the Blue Cock was a Blue W/F Cock a G/Son of Jimmy Crothers Pied Hen, winner 9th, 11th and 12th Open St Malo.
The Dam of the Dinard hen was bred from a Red cock presented to “D” by Tom Stewart of Stewart Bros of Ligoniel. This was a great racing cock having been in the clock 16 times in 19 races, many time a money winner. Incidentally “D’s” loft blew over in a storm a couple of years back and this was the only bird that went missing. Funny how it is always the best that disappear, he had been clocked from Dinard the year previous and big things were expected from him the following season. Dam of the broken wing hen was a Red Cheq Hen from Brother Roy from his Red Van Cutsem hen who was a great breeder, Dam & G/Dam and G/G/Dam of countless winners and also a big winner in Eye Sign Classes. The Dinard hen flew through to Wexford as a Y/Bird, as a yearling was clocked from Penzance and this season prior to Dinard won 4th Club B/East Section 2,665 Birds. After this race she was prepared for the Derby with tosses from Newry twice and Enniskillen once. Her last toss prior to hampering for Dinard was on the Monday prior to the race. The rest of the week she was given the Open hole. She was the only entry from the loft and was sent sitting 11 days on eggs.
You will see from her Haverford performance that this was no flash in the pan win and it couldn’t have happened at a better time because “D” and his family had been re-housed in 1969 in a new Council Estate and he had to walk one mile twice a day to attend the birds in the village of Cogry. The council permits the keeping of pigeons but with lofts at around £100 each it is doubtful if “D” would have been racing in 1971, but with health, he will now and who knows what comes next ?