Federation Success From Dinard For Jim McCluskey

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IRISH ARCHIVES
By Adie McCormick
http://www.pigeonnetwork.com

Jim McCluskey Makes Dinard Look Easy !

The Copper writes, here is a man I have looked forward to meeting ever since a conversation I had with Tommy Simms. When I asked Tommy who was the best racer in the town he replied that a visitor had told him that Jimmy McCluskey of the South Club and he (Tommy) were about the best racers in the Federation.

So, soon after hearing that Jimmy had again topped the Federation from Dinard I set off to pay him a visit and the evening I spent with him is one I will long remember. He has been in and out of pigeons for 50 years and knows all the ropes from A to Z.

We go back to 1938 and some of his best early birds came from a man called Jimmy Montgomery the breeding was Hermon x Swigger and Bricoux. One particular bird that sticks in Jimmy’s memory is a 1941 bred Blue Pied Cock he obtained from Mr Montgomery. He had been kept for stock by his previous owner but as Jimmy says they have to earn their perch, and so the Pied cock was broken in and had his first race in 1945. There were two races on the one day and when the Pied Cock came home he was duly timed as you do into the wrong clock. After wasting some time the shuttle was removed and eventually put into the correct clock and the Pied cock emerged as winner of the Fed from Holyhead. He also collected 1st from Milford and 2 x 1st’s from Penzance as well as breeding a first Combine winner and a 1st Fed winner.

To show the type of fancier Jimmy is I should say that before going out of the fancy in 1951 he won the Penzance Cup outright winning the race in 1945, 1946 and 1947 and this was no mean feat as Penzance winners in those days were looked upon as our French birds are today.

As I said, he went out of the sport in 1951 but the itch caught up with him again and he restarted in 1961. After feeling his way for a few years he came good in 1965 winning 47th Open Nantes with a Blue Tip Hen he bought for 50/- at the sale of the late Billy McKernon. This was a fantastic hen which went on to win 3rd Open Dinard in 1967 and 4th Open Dinard in 1968, thereby proving that one doesn’t have to be a millionaire to buy good pigeons.

In between the fantastic racing of this good hen Jimmy won 1st Open Dinard in 1966 with a Red Hen which had previously won 19th Milford Y/B Derby. Her breeding is mainly Wegge x Fabry. We will now jump to 1971 which, early on, was proving quiet a lean one by Jimmy McClusky standards. Shrewd man that he is, Jimmy realised it was due to the feeding. He had changed his brand so the week before Okehampton he went back to his old feeding which resulted in 5th Club Okehampton. But, he went even better the following week by winning from Penzance. This man wins from this race point as if it were just around the corner. The winning bird, a Mealy Pied Hen came from his good friend Billy Parkes of Killyleagh, bred from a hen presented to him by Jimmy and a Downey & Dowds Cock. Jimmy had got this hen as a yearling and broken her in. 1971 was her first season on the road and Penzance only her 2nd Channel race.

This years Dinard winner (1971) is a lovely Blue Yearling Hen, a good racer, having won £40 in pools as a Y/Bird. This season she has had races from Arklow, Dungarven and Haverford before going to the French race point a distance of 450 miles. She had tosses from Dunleer, 40 miles, twice and Lurgan, 20 miles, on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday prior to the race. She was clocked pooled to the hilt to win £320 making Jimmy a winner of just over £1,000 since 1966, not bad for a 10ft x 8ft loft and a very small team.

The Blue Hens parents were bred by Davy McCallion of Ligoniel, a Black Cock almost unbeatable in the pen and a Red Hen breeding Grooter and Jurion. I haven’t done Jimmy justice with this report because there’s so much I could write but space doesn’t permit. I will end by giving his positions from France since 1965 when he finished 37th Nantes 550 miles; 1966 1st Open Dinard 450 miles; 1967 3rd Open Dinard; 1968 4th Open Dinard; 1969 24th Open Dinard. He didn’t send to the Derby in 1970 as it wasn’t being flown from France and to finish this report of as you know 1971 1st Open Dinard. How’s that for racing by a retired man.