1st, 2nd and 3rd NIPA Dinard Derby 1973

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1st, 2nd and 3rd NIPA Dinard Derby 1973

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


With so much material to go through for 1973, I have decided for the first time to carry it over into three parts, this week I bring you the second part of my 1973 Achieves. I have a rather large scrap book to go through also with different snippets of news. Also I would like to thank the many people who have phoned to say how much they are enjoying reading about the 1970’s, especially I would like to thank Jean Parkes, wife of the late Billy Parkes of Killyleagh who left a nice message on my answer phone last week, telling me how much she had enjoyed the article and it brought back some special memories for her. Also as I sat late on Sunday night typing some material for the weeklies I took a phone call from the right honourable Bobby Smyth, of the world famous Smyth Bros of Ballymena, who also was very pleased with the story that was published last week on their 2nd Open Kings Cup success from Nantes, Bobby was telling me that God willing come the end of April he will be 88 years young. I have promised the next time I am up that way I will call to see him, a very knowledgeable man indeed. Also received a nice letter from a Mr M V Dent of Mansfield who has a rather good knowledge of the Galabank Family having been to the sale held in Manchester during 1954, to which he still has the original Sales List. Maurice has promised to let me in to some detail about another very successful family of pigeons that made their way to Larne during the 1950’s. I will keep you all informed over the coming weeks. This week I bring you a few small reports on the first three in the NIPA O/Bird Derby, the first three in the International Vaux Usher, the winner of the Ulster Federation O/Bird Derby and the winner of the EDC O/Bird Derby both from Dinard also, all of the following stories have been put together by the late Millar McAllister.

‘Elizabeth’ Wins NIPA Dinard Derby
Ralph Wilson of Portadown


To win the O/Bird Derby is a pleasure and honour which comes to only a few but to win it twice is a tribute to a first class fancier. Ralph Wilson has achieved this remarkable feat in the space of only 5 years i.e. 1968 and 1973. I was impressed by both the fancier and his birds. Here is a man who does the minimum of training but with the maximum effort from the birds. I would say he has mastered the art of feeding but say he uses a hopper. All I can say is he uses it wisely.

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‘Elizabeth’ winner of 1st Open NIPA Dinard and £1,460. Bred and Raced by Ralph Wilson of Portadown.

The Dinard Derby winner of 1973 is a beautiful Blue Cheq Hen, an intelligent looking pigeon. She was mated up to her own daughter. Ralph just opens the door at mating time and lets the birds pick their own mates. The two hens mated and seemed to be happy sp he let them stay that way he feels he gets the best out of them. “Elizabeth” the name given to the winner, had races from Arklow, Dungarven and two from Haverford with no training at all between Haverford and Dinard, where she was sent sitting 12 days on eggs. The week before the race Ralph just couldn’t get her to fly around home and wondered if she had hurt herself. The last few nights before hampering Ralph took her out into the garden and threw her as far up into the air as he could but she just landed on the roof and went straight back into the loft. She was sent to the race pooled all the way to £2 and nominated Open and Section and with her Mid-Ulster Fed winnings she won £1,460.

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Ralph Wilson of Portadown proudly holding his winner of 1st Open NIPA Dinard

Ralph was visiting his brother and almost missed the bird. It started to spit rain and he decided to head for home as he had no coat with him but on arrival he saw the hen sitting on the trap. After a bit of fumbling Ralph got her in the clock where she recorded a velocity of 1536ypm to win the 445 mile event by a clear 53 yards per minute. “Elizabeth” had previously won 1st Club Portadown from Penzance as a yearling, 5th Club Dinard as a 2 year old and prior to Dinard this year she won 3rd Portadown Inv. Haverford plus 2nd Portadown and District. So, she is quite some bird. She was sent to Dinard with her mother and daughter, to whom she was mated. All three birds home in race time.

To end this short report I must put in print what Ralph’s brother said when I met him prior to seeing Ralph. He said “You’re going to see a real pigeon fancier now”. He was right you know.

2nd Open NIPA Dinard Derby 1973
Leslie Barr – Templepatrick


When one visits the home and lofts of Leslie Barr one cannot but envy the man. Leslie and Mrs Barr (Charlotte to the many fanciers who call) live in a most beautiful home situated in 2 acres of well laid out garden of which Mrs Barr was the Chief Architect. The top part, where the loft is situated, is surrounded by a miniature 18 hole golf course and the portion nearest the house contains 3 gold fish ponds and some beautifully laid out trees and shrubs.

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The magnificent “Mount Juliet” lofts of L O Barr of Templepatrick

The loft is a two tier red brick building, 30ft x 24ft high at the front and 22ft high at the rear, built by a very good friend Sandy Mairs. The top floor comprises of 4 sections. The 2 centre sections are for Y/Birds and are fitted with Belgium deep perches, the outer 2 sections are for O/Birds and are fitted with widowhood or natural nest boxes. The bottom portion is used as a consulting room and grain store. There are a couple of small wooden lofts which house birds looked after entirely by Mrs Barr and another loft houses exhibition fantails but again, these are Mrs Barr’s and have won at every show she has competed in.

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‘Satsuma’ winner of 1st Club, 1st Section and 2nd Open NIPA O/Bird Derby Dinard against 3,954 pigeons. Bred and Raced by Leslie Barr of Templepatrick.

The Barrs have been racing pigeons for many years. However, Leslie first sprung into prominence in 1946 when he was living just down the road from where I live and won 1st Club and 5th Open St Malo in the Co.Down Federation. Many years later you find that the name Barr is still pre-eminence and the year I choose is 1963 because it has a bearing on my article. The positions were 11th and 18th Open Le Sables, 600 miles, only 59 birds in race time. Now these 2 birds were mated together and bred a Red Cock which in turn bred ‘Satsuma’ Red Pied Cock winner of 1st Club, 1st Section and 2nd Open NIPA O/Bird Derby Dinard & £270. He flew every race to Haverford as a Y/Bird as a yearling raced to Penzance winning 1st Club Wexford on the way. As a 2 year old he was prepared for Dinard from where he arrived home just out of race time; however his loft mate and cousin was 5th Club. This season his race programme, was 2 Arklows, Wexford, Dungarven, Haverford, Okehampton, where he was a prize winner and was then sent to Dinard sitting 9 days on eggs where he preformed to take 2nd Open from a convoy of 3,954 birds. The 3 organisations were liberated together i.e. the NIPA, East Down Combine and Ulster Federation and he also beat a further 800 birds from the latter 2 organisations. Only one bird from a total of 4,700 birds beat him on the day.

The Barr birds are flown night and morning and he uses the Mairs transporter twice per week. For feeding he uses maple peas, especially when rearing Y/Birds also No 1 and No 2, is fed during the Y/Bird racing.

The Barr’s certainly enjoy their pigeons and the pigeons certainly enjoy the wonderful environment in which they are housed.

3rd Open NIPA Dinard Derby 1973
Seamus Mulholland & Son


Pigeon racing is full of surprises some pleasant, some not so pleasant. The Dinard O/Bird Derby held quite a few surprises for a number of competitors not the least of which was Seamus Mulholland.

Seamus’ young son, Patrick, started to keep pigeons in 1967 but like quite a number of young lads he soon tired so his father took over about four years ago. In the last three years he has only sent 4 birds to Dinard and all four are home, one in 1971, one in 1972 and 2 this year. The first of the 1973 arrivals was a Blue 5 Year-Old cock a most consistent bird on the channel and seldom out of the clock. He has competed from Penzance on 4 occasions and only last year flew every channel race i.e. Haverford twice, Okehampton and Penzance. A few weeks before the race his hen was dropped and he paired up with another hen. However, a few days before the race his old hen returned and on the day of basketing he was sitting 10 days and also driving his old hen. Seamus doesn’t know if it was the driving of the old hen, the sitting condition or a combination of both which put the extra zip into his pigeon but he certainly was in tip top form and romped home to take 1st Club, 2nd Section, and 3rd Open NIPA 3,954 birds and collected a handsome £263.

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Seamus Mulholland winner of 3rd Open NIPA Dinard 1973.

Here again, it was a case of very nearly missing the boat. Seamus didn’t expect the birds until at least 3.30 and just happened to be in the working kitchen of his home when he glimpsed out of the window in time to see the Blue Cock alighting on the landing board of the loft. You can imagine the scrambling snatch to get the clock and shuttle in order to time the bird in.

The Blue Cock is from a Blue Cock from Beckett Bros of Lurgan and a Grizzle Hen from McCreanor & Son, Dollingstown and she is from Massarella Stock.

The loft here is in the back garden and is ‘L’ shaped 10ft x 4ft and 8ft x 4ft. One side for Y/Birds and the other for O/Birds. They are fed night and morning after their flight. The Blue Cock was jumped from Haverford and in between he had 2 tosses from Aldergrove which is about 7 miles away and about 10 from Seamus’s work which is only about 3 & ½ miles away. It just goes to prove that you don’t have to be singling up from the border to get them fit. There are more roads to Rome than one.
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willie reynolds
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Re: 1st, 2nd and 3rd NIPA Dinard Derby 1973

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willie reynolds
Posts: 6785
Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2008 4:44 pm

Re: 1st, 2nd and 3rd NIPA Dinard Derby 1973

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