KIRKWOOD BROS - NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

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KIRKWOOD BROS – NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
Winners of the Graham Trophy for Best Average all INFC Races 1970

To become National Champions and lift the Graham Trophy for Best Average all INFC Races is no easy task, when you aspire to such greatness you can truly start to appreciate how good your family of pigeons actually are. The following is a report put together by the late Millar McAllister back in February of 1971 highlighting this such achievement.

My visit to this outstanding loft was long overdue. I had intended reporting it in 1969 but due to circumstances beyond my control this had to be postponed. However, now I have moved house and are fortunate to be living quite close to the Kirkwood’s, the preparation of this report has been made easier.

On my arrival at the Kirkwood farm it was quite sunny, but cold not a day that one would choose to stand in a well ventilated loft for a couple of hours looking at pigeons but once inside the loft and handling the excellent stock birds (winner after winner), I suddenly started to feel warm! Believe me, if you are used to sitting beside a big radiator full on all week, as I am, and can turn around on a Saturday and stand for 2 hours within a very well ventilated loft looking at pigeons, then they must be something special. Believe me, the Kirkwood birds are something else.

I was told by Mr Kirkwood (Senior) that although the birds are registered in the name of Kirkwood Bros (his sons) that the real pigeon man is Tom and it was he who showed me the birds and gave me the information for this report.

Living on a farm it was only to be expected that the odd stray bird and common pigeon would stop by from time to time for a feed, a drink and a rest and Tom tells me from the time he was 8 years old he can always remember pigeons of some description about the farm. However, it wasn’t until 1959 that the birds were taken seriously. In that year a Dark Cheq cock, a stray, entered the loft and was duly reported. It belonged to a Mr Pugh of Wales and although Tom offered to have the bird returned to Haverford West, Mr Pugh permitted him to keep it and transferred it. The bird was lost in a real smash of a race, where few birds made home to Wales in race time. His breeding was Hansenne and Fred Shaw’s Gurnay. He turned out to be an excellent racer for the Kirkwood loft and in 1960 won 1st Club Penzance by 30 minutes. He went on to fly France but had the misfortune to be in the St. Malo smash and was lost, only a handful of birds ever returned from that race.

As a result of the transfer of this bird and the friendship grew between Mr Pugh and the Kirkwoods, several late breds were acquired from Mr Pugh. They did everything that was asked of them and some even went on to fly France.

1961 was the first year in which the name, Kirkwood Bros, appeared on the result sheet from France, from Le Sables, close on 600 miles and the position of 14th Open was won by a Blue Cheq bred from a Red Pied cock 13 year old (feathered to the toes) and he came from the lofts of Mrs Frazer of Ligoniel, the former Kings Cup winner.

Having now tasted success from France it was decided in 1962 to add new blood. Eight birds were purchased from the loft of Frank George (Gits & Havenith). In 1963 more introductions from the same lofts, this time Blondel, including a Blue Cheq cock son of ‘The Flying Dutchman’ and a Blue Hen G/Daughter of ‘The Flying Dutchman’. Another magnificent bird from the Frank George loft is a Blue Cheq Pied cock with a great eye, in fact, great everything, come to that! His children and G/Children are really doing their stuff! Other notable birds in the stock loft are a black Pied Hen winner of 2nd Open Kings Cup and a few relatives of Nelson Corry’s famous ‘Champion Endeavour’

It can be seen from the above class of birds that the Kirkwood’s really mean business and it is hardly surprising that their name has seldom been absent from the Derby and National race results in the last 2 or 3 years.

Take some of their best performances since 1967, the inauguration year of the East Down Combine: Arklow (1) 1st and 2nd Combine; Wexford (1) 4th and 5th Combine; Dinard O/Bird Derby 11th and 40th Open; 1968 Arklow O/Bird 4th Open; Y/Birds; Arklow 12th Open Combine; Wexford 2nd Open Combine; Dungarven 14th Open Combine; Haverford Y/Bird Derby 17th Open. 1969 O/Birds – Wexford 1st and 15th Open Combine; Haverford 2nd Open Combine; Penzance 13th Open Combine. Y/Birds – Arklow 18th Open Combine; Wexford 1st and 9th Open Combine; Skibbereen Y/Bird Derby 21st Open Combine. 1970 O/Birds – Arklow 4th, 6th and 11th Open (5,541 birds); Wexford 10th Open (5,435 Birds); Haverford (3) 8th Open (3,376 Birds); Haverford (4) 13th Open (3,145 Birds); Okehampton 8th Open (2,356 birds). Y/Birds – Arklow 5th and 6th Open (5,560 Birds); Haverford Y/Bird Derby 2nd and 28th Open (only 58 birds in 2 days) 1,225 birds); Skibbereen Charity Race 15th Open, (1,652 birds).

The Kirkwood’s have put up many more outstanding performances in the NIPA but I will cut this short by saying that a pair of nest mates won 2nd Section 3rd Open NIPA and its nest mate won 1st Open Skibbereen for Brendan Fox plus £738 in 1970.

The best 1970 achievements were with the INFC where they won best average all INFC races Nantes, Penzance and Skibbereen winning the Graham Trophy, also IHU Trophy and Combine Trophy, the latter two for Nantes.

The positions won in these three races were Nantes 4th Open, Penzance 5th Open and Skibbereen 21st Open. Now a few details of the winning birds. First, the Nantes cock, a 2 year old Red Cheq Cock. He had only one race as a Y/Bird. As a yearling he flew up to Penzance where he was about 12 hours on the wing. This year he had one inland race, two Haverford and Okehampton, before going to Nantes. When hampered he was 9 days on eggs. He is bred from a Mealy Hen, one of the original Gits and Haveniths from Frank George. She is also dam of a Mealy cock 81292, three times Dinard and 14th Open Nantes 1968.

The 5th Open Penzance Y/Bird National winner is a beautiful Blue Cheq Pied Hen bred from Uncle and Niece. She flew all inland races, including Skibbereen and was sent to Penzance sitting a pair of eggs slipped to her a couple of days before.

The 21st Open Skibbereen winner is a nice Blue Cheq, small to medium size but all there. He flew 6 club races then Skibbereen (246 miles) sitting 13 days. His breeding Blondel x Gits and Havenith, being from a most magnificent Blue cock, 14 times a prize winner including 2 x 1st’s, 4th and 6th East Down Combine and flown France three times. Not only is he a good racer but with his violet eye is an outstanding breeder. Among other birds he has sired Gibson and Mitchells of Ballynahinch 1st Open East Down Combine Dinard winner in 1968. The bird also won the Miller Gold Cup and if that wasn’t enough he bred 2 x 1st Federation winners for P. O’Neill. There are not many birds of this calibre about.

A couple more of the 1970 money winners are worth noting before I move on. First we have a Blue Cheq Cock ring number 96566, 6 races to Wexford then Haverford Y/Bird Derby with the EDC, winning 2nd Open & £103 in one of the hardest races for many a year. Strong N.West wind all the way. Hard as the race was, it took little out of the Blue Cheq cock and he was sent to Penzance the next week, clocked 2nd morning to take 41st Open and another £21. We should hear more from this one.

The last bird I am going to write about is a Black Cock winner of 28th Open in Haverford Y/Bird Derby (EDC). He was also sent to Penzance and was picked up on the 2nd morning in Newcastle, Co.Down, with a broken wing and a damaged leg, by a police man. But for the birds misfortune he would also have made the money in the hardest y/Bird National in the British Isles. This bird is a ½ brother to the violet eyed Blue cock, from the same Sire and the Blue Pied Hen winner of 2nd Open Kings Cup.

I have outlined only a very few of the many winners in this loft as it would take a lot of space to cover them all. I have often heard it said, “There’s only a couple of good pigeons in every successful loft and the rest are passengers”. Let me tell you, here and now, that this could not be further from the truth regarding the Kirkwood loft. Their system leaves little room for weaklings and passengers. In fact, there are so many prize winners and outstanding breeders here that I just chose to describe the top 1970 birds.

The system here is quite simple. O/Birds are hopper fed, all year round on, and note, a number 3 mixture! They have the open hole all day long and fly themselves fit. Water is changed three times daily. No tonics, or fancy tricks, birds are flown on the natural system. When asked what condition the birds raced best to, Tom said, “Feeding Y/Birds”. His reason for this was that they had the hopper all day in front of them and with the open hole they also do a great deal of fielding with the result that they get very fat. So feeding Y/Birds helps to keep their weight down. There is no forced flying of O/Birds. Apart from racing, the only work they get is a 15 mile toss on a Sunday.

Y/Birds are treated entirely differently. They are forced to fly both morning and night. They are hand fed three times daily and like all Kirkwood birds have to toe the line, most of them fly every inland race and some even compete in the Derby and National races as well. The Kirkwood’s are certainly hard task masters. An example, a Red cock yearling competed in all Channel races up to Penzance. Was then sent to Nantes, 543 miles and was home on the 4th morning where only 75 birds made home in 3 days, in 1970. The same young cock is the sire of the 2 x Y/Birds which put up the magnificent performances in the NIPA in 1970.

With all their great wins I asked Tom if there had been any disappointments his answer, “no, not with the racing performances, or with the birds themselves. The only disappointment is where a bird injuries itself on the large electricity cables which pass quite close to the farm. Believe me quite a few excellent birds have ended their racing career on these wires”.

What about Eye-Sign? I need not have asked because these birds have it in abundance. All the colours of the rainbow, deep and rich. Some have won Eye-Sign classes, others with better eyes, that is, in my opinion have not been entered. If, and when they do, I will be surprised if they don’t get a red card or two.

Finally advice to novices, Tom like the rest of the family, is a quiet, modest chap and was reluctant to say much. Eventually said, “Feed well, race hard and with the right birds the good ‘uns will show and the weaklings will fall by the wayside. There is only one way to test them and that is in the hamper”.

It has been a pleasure writing this article, I sincerely hope you get as much pleasure reading it. I will leave you with one question. Why do farmers race pigeons so well?