Sennen Cove Yearling National Race Marking.
Update Saturday 6th June 2015 at 23:00
SENNEN COVE YEARLING NATIONAL
Weather reports received for Wednesday would indicate it will be favourable to race.
Therefore race marking will take place as planned on Monday 8th June times as printed in the race entry form booklet.
Sennen Cove Y.N. Liberation
Update Wednesday 10th June 2015 @ 08:00
Sennen Cove Yearling National.
852 Members have entered 5188 pigeons in the race and are competing for £36,530 sterling pools and prizemoney.
The pigeons were released at 07:45 into a light North Easterly wind.
Posted at 1.20pm on another site
\\\'2 Birds in Cork and 1 in Mallow I heard in the last 30 mins\\\' Five birds in Cork Area from 100 sent - Martin Shiels -Lombardstown (west of Mallow) 12.40, David Nagle Bishopstown 12.42, J Walsh Northside 12.48.
Mark Hughes is meant till b in at 4.32 good time in Portadown.
Sennen Cove Yearling National
Provisional Top 10
1 M Sheill Mallow R.P.C. 1167, 2 D Nagle Cork Southern 1038, 3 Mr & Mrs C Hayes Ballyclare 1027, 4 R & A Gore Lagan Valley 1025, 5 J Walsh Cork South Road 1020, 6 M Robinson Bondhill 1009, 7 N Black & Son Dromara 1007, 8 M Hughes Edgarstown 1002, 9 Reid Bros. & McCloy Cullybackey 989, 10 G & R Lawrie Ballyclare 987.
Clock stations opening times for second day arrivals
Balbriggan, Stillorgan, Wicklow & Cork all 19:00, Lisburn 19:30 Banbridge 19:00 Muckamore 18:00
Approx 270 first day arrivals.
Club Results
Edgarstown 10/100 – M Hughes 1002, P Dunlop 870, G & C Simmons 807, P Dunlop 771, S & E Buckley 762, G & C Simmons 705, R & J McCracken 667, P Dunlop 642, P Hope 616, P Dunlop 552.
Harryville HPS – J Rock 975, G Price 837, T Johnston & Son 826.
West Belfast – M Johnston & Son 969. Well done to Mark 2nd Centre, 10th North Sect & 13th Open INFC flying 314 miles in 9 hours 30 minutes. Also best bird in Ulster Federation.
Ballymoney 11/63 – A Gage 963, J Walker 948, J McConaghie 935, Curry & Gilmore 724, D & H Stuart 578, D Dixon 509, W & L McCaw 431, D Dixon 417. Austin Gage shows them the way home from the Yearling National. His winning Blue cock was bred from his good Kenyon cock that flew France three times and the dam was McCallum of Ballymena bloodlines.
Bray South End RPC 19/109 – M & A McCann 957, Fitzpatrick & Hughes 602, E O’Toole & Sons 560, 423, B Doyle 320, 318.
Dervock RPS 4/20 – J Walker 948, D & H Stuart 578, W & L McCaw 431.
Ballymoney West Combine – J McConaghie 935, Curry & Gilmore 724.
Ballymena & District 8/54 – W & J Smyth 887, B Ramsey 868, B O’Rawe 751, B Ramsey 729, M Graham 591, B Ramsey 559, 544, M Graham 541, Blair & Rankin 534, J McNaghten & Son 522, M Graham 502, 462.
Portadown & Drumcree – Sloan & Reid 853.4, Matchett Bros 853.3, Hagan & Rowney 690, J Geary 618.
Skerries 14/110 – A Kelly 842, P Rock & Son 732, P & J Jones 649, P Rock & Son 644, A Kelly, Walton Family 412, 404, A Kelly 350. Only 8 birds in race time - Well done Arty.
Beechpark Social – R Bothwell 823, 719, Dando & Bennett 716, S & J McCullough 631.
Monaghan 8/54 – P McFadden 807, J Graham 754, P McFadden 699, 657, G Swift 646, H Gormley & Son 632.
Armagh – G Steenson 778, 651, P Campbell & Sons 396.
Lurgan Social – J Douglas & Son 755, Houston & McDonald 747, D & B Lyness 728, K Henderson & Son 464.
Ballyholland – A McAteer 735, Sands & Rice 665.
Ballynahinch HPS – A Bradley 734, 675, W J Hayes & Son 654, A Bradley 635, W J Hayes & Son 561, A Bradley 463.
Laurelvale – M Milligan & Son 714, G & C Topley 503, 468.
Malahide & District 17/129 – B Harris & Son 591, G O’Brien & Daughter 521, A Knowles & Son 402, C Maples 278.
Sallynoggin – Brady & Burton 680, T Barrett 660, D & J Kavanagh & Lawless 533. Three birds on the day - Only 3 birds in race time.
Boyne Valley – H C Thorpe 583, D Murray 346, B P McEvoy 344.
Randalstown HPS – Percy Son & Murphy 493.
Arklow United 13/76 – B & N Costello 475, Kenna & Finn 444, S Leonard & Son 432, 244.
Corrigs 5/20 – Benson Bros 400.
Kells & District HPS – J Millar & Son, B Swann & Son, T Shanks & Son.
The INFC Yearling Nat was flown from Sennen Cove on Wednesday 10th June, over 5,100 birds were released at 7.45am in a Lt North Easterly wind. It turned out a hard test and just over sixty birds were recorded on the day in the local Muckamore Centre. Mr & Mrs Hayes from Ballyclare had a clear lead timing at 16.59hrs recording velocity 1027 for the 323 miles into County Antrim. Reid Bros & McCloy from Cullybackey were next best timing at 17.41hrs recording velocity 989 for 335 miles. The Hayes team finished a good 3rd Open INFC behind two birds in Cork. Reid Bros & McCloy have topped Mid Antrim Combine in both INFC races to date, Skibbereen last month and now Sennen Cove fantastic racing by a top loft. Austin Gage from Ballymoney had the big early bird up into North Antrim, he timed at 18.23hrs to record velocity 963 for the 349 miles. Others well placed included James Walker, John McConaghie and Terence McCrudden who was best in Coleraine.
Feds & Combines Sennen Cove –
Muckamore Centre – M/M C Hayes 1027, Reid Bros & McCloy Cullybackey 989, G & R Lawrie Ballyclare 987, J Rock Harryville 975, R Duddy Ballyclare 970, A Gage Ballymoney 963, Reid Bros & McCloy 956, G McNeilly Ballyclare 953, A Darragh Cullybackey 949, J Walker Ballymoney 948, Cochrane Bros Cullybackey 943, J McConaghie Ballymoney 935, Speirs & Campbell Cookstown 933, Grattan Bros Eastway 926, J Robinson Carrick & Dist 926, A & N Lewis Doagh & Dist 912, G McNeilly 912, D & J Campbell & Bigger Eastway 908, A & N Lewis 906, M/M B McNeilly 904.
East Antrim Combined – M/M C Hayes 1027, G & R Lawrie Ballyclare 987, R Duddy Ballyclare 970, G McNeilly Ballyclare 953, Grattan Bros Eastway 926, J Robinson Carrick & Dist 926, A & N Lewis Doagh & Dist 912, G McNeilly 912, D & J Campbell & Bigger Eastway 908, A & N Lewis 906, M/M B McNeilly 904, A Gault Ballyclare 889, M/M B McNeilly 883, F Simpson Doagh & Dist 860, G K & I Moxham Larne & Dist 852, N Lusty Muckamore 805, G McNeilly 793, G McNeilly 793, G K & I Moxham 787, G McNeilly 779.
Mid Antrim Combined - Reid Bros & McCloy Cullybackey 989, J Rock Harryville 975, Reid Bros & McCloy 956, A Darragh Cullybackey 949, Cochrane Bros Cullybackey 943, W & J Smyth Ballymena 887, B Ramsey Ballymena 868, J & M Milliken Rasharkin & Dist 847, A Darragh 842, G Price Harryville 837, T Johnston & Son Harryville 826, J McNeill & Son Randalstown 810, B O’Rawe Ballymena 751, B Ramsey 729, Gibson & Dickey Cullybackey 713, Reid Bros & McCloy 618, W Scott Cullybackey 606, M Graham Ballymena 591, A Darragh 569, J & M Milliken 508.
North South Federation – R Williamson Newry & Dist 874, G Hughes & Son Newry & Dist 816, H Walsh & Son Millvale 777, G Hughes & Son 754, Mal Maguire & Son Newry & Dist 748, A McAteer Ballyholland 735, K Havern Millvale 719, Mal Maguire & Son 711, Mal Maguire & Son 711, R Williamson 675.
Cullybackey HPS – Reid Bros & McCloy 989, 956, A Darragh 949, Cochrane Bros 943, A Darragh 842, Gibson & Dickey 713, Reid Bros & McCloy 618, W Scott 606, A Darragh 569, W Scott 558.
Harryville HPS - J Rock 975, G Price 837, T Johnston & Son 826.
Ballymena & District 8/54 – W & J Smyth 887, B Ramsey 868, B O’Rawe 751, B Ramsey 729, M Graham 591, B Ramsey 559, 544, M Graham 541, Blair & Rankin 534, J McNaghten & Son 522, M Graham 502, 462.
Rasharkin & Dist – J & M Milliken 847, 508.
Ballymoney 11/63 – A Gage 963, J Walker 948, J McConaghie 935, Curry & Gilmore 724, D & H Stuart 578, D Dixon 509, W & L McCaw 431, D Dixon 417. Austin Gage shows them the way home from the Yearling National. His winning Blue cock was bred from his good Kenyon cock that flew France three times and the dam was McCallum of Ballymena bloodlines.
Dervock RPS 4/20 – J Walker 948, D & H Stuart 578, W & L McCaw 431.
Ballymoney West Combine – J McConaghie 935, Curry & Gilmore 724.
Ballymena & District 8/54 – W & J Smyth 887, B Ramsey 868, B O’Rawe 751, B Ramsey 729, M Graham 591, B Ramsey 559, 544, M Graham 541, Blair & Rankin 534, J McNaghten & Son 522, M Graham 502, 462.
The INFC Yearling Nat was flown from Sennen Cove on Wednesday 10th June, over 5,100 birds were released at 7.45am in a Lt North Easterly wind. It turned out a hard test and just over sixty birds were recorded on the day in the local Muckamore Centre. Mr & Mrs Hayes from Ballyclare had a clear lead timing at 16.59hrs recording velocity 1027 for the 323 miles into County Antrim. Reid Bros & McCloy from Cullybackey were next best timing at 17.41hrs recording velocity 989 for 335 miles. The Hayes team finished a good 3rd Open INFC behind two birds in Cork. Reid Bros & McCloy have topped Mid Antrim Combine in both INFC races to date, Skibbereen last month and now Sennen Cove fantastic racing by a top loft.
Muckamore Centre – M/M C Hayes 1027, Reid Bros & McCloy Cullybackey 989, G & R Lawrie Ballyclare 987, J Rock Harryville 975, R Duddy Ballyclare 970, A Gage Ballymoney 963, Reid Bros & McCloy 956, G McNeilly Ballyclare 953, A Darragh Cullybackey 949, J Walker Ballymoney 948, Cochrane Bros Cullybackey 943, J McConaghie Ballymoney 935, Speirs & Campbell Cookstown 933, Grattan Bros Eastway 926, J Robinson Carrick & Dist 926, A & N Lewis Doagh & Dist 912, G McNeilly 912, D & J Campbell & Bigger Eastway 908, A & N Lewis 906, M/M B McNeilly 904.
Mid Antrim Combined - Reid Bros & McCloy Cullybackey 989, J Rock Harryville 975, Reid Bros & McCloy 956, A Darragh Cullybackey 949, Cochrane Bros Cullybackey 943, W & J Smyth Ballymena 887, B Ramsey Ballymena 868, J & M Milliken Rasharkin & Dist 847, A Darragh 842, G Price Harryville 837, T Johnston & Son Harryville 826, J McNeill & Son Randalstown 810, B O’Rawe Ballymena 751, B Ramsey 729, Gibson & Dickey Cullybackey 713, Reid Bros & McCloy 618, W Scott Cullybackey 606, M Graham Ballymena 591, A Darragh 569, J & M Milliken 508.
Cullybackey HPS – Reid Bros & McCloy 989, 956, A Darragh 949, Cochrane Bros 943, A Darragh 842, Gibson & Dickey 713, Reid Bros & McCloy 618, W Scott 606, A Darragh 569, W Scott 558.
Harryville HPS - J Rock 975, G Price 837, T Johnston & Son 826.
Ballymena & District 8/54 – W & J Smyth 887, B Ramsey 868, B O’Rawe 751, B Ramsey 729, M Graham 591, B Ramsey 559, 544, M Graham 541, Blair & Rankin 534, J McNaghten & Son 522, M Graham 502, 462.
Rasharkin & Dist – J & M Milliken 847, 508.
Sennen Cove Yearling Nat - 10/06/15
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willie reynolds
- Posts: 6813
- Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2008 4:44 pm
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willie reynolds
- Posts: 6813
- Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2008 4:44 pm
Re: Sennen Cove Yearling Nat - 10/06/15
IRISH NATIONAL FLYING CLUB YEARLING NATIONAL FROM SENNEN COVE
The Irish National Flying Club’s Yearling National was held on Wednesday 10th June this year. Once again there was a huge entry for this very popular race in the racing calendar. I must say that it was one of the busiest afternoons that I have seen at the marking station in Lisburn with long queues for all the electronic systems.
In the end the overall entry was 852 members sending 5188 birds to compete for £35,530 in pools and prizes. This was much the same as the 2014 entry which saw 5243 birds entered. The birds were liberated in Sennen Cove at 7.45am in a light north easterly wind. While the clear winner of the race was Martin Shell in Mallow, followed up by David Nagle in Cork the majority of the early birds were in the North section with Mr. & Mrs. Colin Hayes of Ballyclare putting up another strong performance to finish 1st North section 3rd Open. The race was sponsored by Bucktons Quality Racing Pigeon Foods and we are very grateful to them for their continued sponsorship of the race.
1st South section, 1st Open Martin Shiell Mallow, Vel 1167, flying 196 miles, winning £1487 and the Nelson Corry Trophy
The winner of the Yearling National sponsored by Bucktons this year is Mallow’s Martin Shiells from an entry of just two birds. This is the first time that an Irish National Flying Club has been won in Mallow and is a great achievement for Martin. Unfortunately Martin missed the big occasion due to work commitments but his partner Joan was at hand to time the National winner. Martin is a chef and owns a mobile diner “Green Café” which is based on the Killarney Road. Martin only started to race pigeons just over 5 years ago, although he comes from a pigeon background as his father raced in Dublin in the 1950’s. When Martin joined the Mallow club they had only five members but Martin and the others have made a great effort to encourage new members to the extent that the club now boasts a membership of 16 and they now have their own clubrooms. Martin is also a dog man and enters his springers in trial competitions. Martin believes that his background with the dogs was a good foundation for the pigeons and many of the concepts are the same.
While this is only Martin’s fifth year racing he was 1st and 2nd club from Hamilton (355miles) last year. The pigeon timed here to win this year’s Yearling National is a chequer cock sent to the race sitting on a 10 day old youngster. The bird was obviously in form as it had been first club the previous week from Monaghan (165 miles). Unraced as a young bird the chequer cock has had only four races this year. Martin races some young birds but others are just trained from 30 miles regularly. The bird was actually a gift from clubmate Dan Rice and the breeding is Jan Arden x Delbar. Martin asked me to thank the officials at the clock station for being so helpful to Joan on the day of the race, Sheldon Leonard, Sid Collins and all those he met at Sheldon’s on Sunday for the photos and of course his partner Joan for all her help.
Martin Shiell and partner Joan from Mallow, 1st South Sect & 1st Open.
2nd South section, 2nd Open D Nagle Cork Southern, Vel 1038, flying 175miles, winning £542
2nd Open goes to David Nagle from the Cork Southern Pigeon Club. David’s father had pigeons in Mallow some 50 years ago. David later moved to Mitchelstown but as there was no club there he still kept some pigeons (mainly tumblers) as pets. However in 1989 having moved to Cork he decided to join a club there. David has previously been second Open in an Irish Homing Union National so it’s another near miss for him. David’s bird is a blue cheq hen of Boxford Busschaert lines with both parents being inbred to ‘Dark Dan’ and ‘Dark Princess’. These birds were bought from Louella Pigeon World. The cheq hen was sent to this race sitting on a three day old youngster, her first one ever. As a young bird she had just one race from Portlaw (50 miles). This year she had just three races, Rosslare (96 miles), Arklow (125 miles) and her last race prior to the National was Dundalk (171 miles), when she only returned on the second morning but Dave noticed that she was still quite fresh so set about preparing her for this race. Dave likes to train on the Federation transporter prior to racing and would usually have six tosses up to 50 miles, and then one toss from 40 miles, midweek when the racing starts.
1st North section, 3rd Open Mr & Mrs C Hayes Ballyclare, Vel 1027, flying 323 miles, winning £1462 and the James McGrugan Memorial Cup.
Dave Nagle from Cork Southern, 2nd South Sect & 2nd Open.
1st North sect 3rd Open goes to the lofts of Mr & Mrs Colin Hayes of Ballyclare. Colin and Pat are established names within the Irish National Flying Club having taken some top positions in recent years; including 2nd Open Young Bird National Penzance in 2013 and 9th Open in the same race in 2014.The pigeon timed is a Blue cock which was one of 16 spare cocks at the beginning of the year. He was 5th club Talbenny while still unpaired but by this stage Colin had his eye on him and he was given a hen the next day for 5 minutes and for 5 minutes every day following that until the day of basketing for the Yearling National. On this day another cock was put in the nest with the hen to help motivate this bird and it certainly worked. He wasn’t trained as a young bird but was trained to Moira, a distance of 20 miles. This year he had every race through to Talbenny with the exception of the third race. The breeding of this cock is Nevin Bros x Battenburg and is from Colin and Pat’s number one stock pair. Ronnie Nevin is a great friend of Colins and bred the sire as a gift for him. Feeding is Versele Laga super widowhood and training is as often as they can on the transporter as the birds are raced natural.
Colin Hayes racing as M/M Hayes Ballyclare & Sist, 1st North Sect & 3rd Open.
2nd North section, 4th Open R & A Gore Lagan Valley, Vel 1025, flying 306 miles, winning £433
2nd North section, 4th Open goes to the Lisburn lofts of Robert Gore and his father Ashley who race in the Lagan Valley club. The Gores first came to prominence in 2009 when they were 1st Open Ulster Federation Talbenny Young Bird Derby. They had a tremendous year in 2013 when they won six old bird races in a row and ended up winning nine out of ten races in a very competitive club. The pigeon timed here, a grizzle hen flown on the roundabout is from a pair of pigeons on loan from T & K Mawhinney, Donaghcloney. The dam is responsible for numerous winners including Mark Johnston’s Ulster Federation winner from Penzance. The birds are given two tosses before racing commences and then they are flown at home for an hour morning and evening. The grizzle hen known as ‘Champagne Fever’ had the first four races with the NIPA and Talbenny with the Ulster Fed. Following that she had 2 tosses from Castlebellingham with John Abernethy. From these two tosses she was let back into her cock for about ten minutes and then shown her cock for half an hour before basketing for the Yearling National. Robert and Ashley were second club in the 3races before the National from Skibbereen and Talbenny (twice) and followed up their 2nd North section here with another 2nd club from Rosscarbery.
Robert & Ashley Gore of Lagan Valley in Lisburn, 2nd North Sect & 4th Open.
3rd South section, 5th Open Jerry Walsh Cork South Rd, Vel 1020, flying 175 miles, winning £211
We go back to Cork for 3rd South section, 8th Open to the lofts of Jerry Walsh of the Cork South Road club, a club with 50 members so it’s very hard to get in to the results. Jerry is a relative newcomer to the sport having just taken up the sport in 2012 when he was made redundant. Jerry had pigeons when he was younger but his father’s interests lay with small birds and Jerry followed him into that and he showed canaries all over Ireland. In 2012 he decided he wanted a new challenge and took up pigeon racing. He very quickly got the hang of pigeon racing and won five races in the club last year. The pigeon timed here is a black Busschaert hen that has always been a consistent racer. She was just given a few races this year with this race in mind. Again she was consistent without taking any prizes. When Jerry was starting up his friend Paul Weems from Chippenham sent him over some Busschaerts and they have done very well for him. Jerry trains hard, maybe three or four times a week from 40/50 miles. Jerry likes to mix his own feeding and buys a couple of different brands to which he likes to add some Homoform. Jerry is grateful to his son Gerard for all his help with the pigeons.
Gerry Walsh of Cork South Road, 3rd South Sect & 5th Open with his son Gerard.
3rd North section 6th Open M Robinson Bondhill, Vel 1009, flying 303 miles, winning £777
We go back North to the established National loft of Malcolm Robinson, Bondhill. Malcolm won a Hall of Fame in 2013 with a hen that was twice 62nd Open King’s Cup with a 27th Open in between. Malcolm has had numerous other prizes in National races particularly from the French races. Malcolm had a great race here with three other birds in the result at 39th, 172nd and 280th Open. The pigeon at 6th Open is a blue pied cock from pigeons obtained from Davy Strain, Ballyclare in 2011. The sire is pure Brugermann while the dam is a Brugermann x Kuyper Vanroys cross. These pigeons have bred good birds for Malcolm every year. Incidentally Malcolm’s second pigeon is a granddaughter of the Hall of Fame bird and also a grandson of John Greenaway’s Gold medal winner – breeding doesn’t come much better than that. The 6th Open bird was a Natural Young Bird and had just three or four races. This year he was again raced on a Natural system and was sent sitting 12 days. He had all races up to Talbenny this year. The birds are flown an hour morning and evening as they aren’t tossed during the week. Feeding is Bucktons Irish mix.
Malcolm Robinson of Bondhill, 3rd North Sect & 6th Open.
4th North section, 7th Open N Black & Son Dromara, vel 1007, flying 299 miles, winning £384
7th Open goes to N Black & Son Dromara. This loft needs no introduction as they have been leading the way in National races over the past few years, as previous King’s Cup winners, double National Champions, Gold Medal winners, 3 x Hall of Fames, and 17 times in the top ten of the King’s Cup. Last year saw them take 10th Open in the King’s Cup and 1st North section, 3rd Open Young Bird Penzance. The pigeon timed is a blue cheq cock sent sitting on a one day old youngster. This is the exact same nesting condition that their bird that was 10th Open in last year’s King’s Cup. Raced on the darkness as a young bird he had only four inland races last year. This year he again had four inland races plus Talbenny. His sire is a son of ‘Rocky’, 5th and 8th Open King’s Cup, while his dam is a daughter of ‘Big Darren’ their Gold Medal winner, when he was paired to ‘Andy’s Hen’, a Triple Award winner for three tiles in the Open result from the Friendship National.
Alan & David Black from Dromara, 4th North Sect & 7th Open.
5th North section, 8th Open M Hughes Edgarstown, vel 1002, flying 302 miles, winning £139
8th Open goes to Mark Hughes of the Edgarstown club, just outside Portadown. Mark is another prolific national racer and among his best results was winning the Henry Beattie & Son Trophy for the best two bird average in the Friendship National in 2008. He had a great hen ‘Lady Endurance’ who was 31st Open Yearling National, 15th Open NIPA St Malo and 7th Open National from Picauville. The pigeon timed here is a black hen racing roundabout. The sire is a violet eyed cock P & C Swindell, Newry City and has bred nine pigeons to fly France. The dam is a lovely golden eyed hen from Jeff Greenaway, Dromore. Mark pays close attention to the pigeon’s eyes for breeding purposes and it was the match of the eyes that led to this pairing. This black hen was unraced as a young bird but had eleven tosses from Balbriggan with Ronnie Williamson. This year she had three Inland races and was in Talbenny prior to the Yearling National. Mark said that as she was in such good form when she arrived from Sennen Cove that she is now being prepared for the King’s Cup. Mark feeds Frazers mixed grain until they reach Talbenny then they are given Beattie’s Champion Supreme with a high energy mix in the evenings. Mark asked me to thank Ronnie Williamson for his help with training the birds as without this he just could not manage.
Mark Hughes of Edgarstown, 5th North Sect & 8th Open.
6th North section, 9th Open Reid Bros & H McCloy Cullybackey, vel 989, flying 335 miles, winning £129
9th Open are Reid Bros and H McCloy of Cullybackey and what a bitter sweet week this turned out for Harry as three nights after this race he had his lofts broken into and 50 of his best birds stolen. Obviously devastated by the theft of his birds Harry was considering packing the sport in altogether but has been so heartened by the wealth of telephone calls and messages of support from right across the country that he has thankfully reconsidered his position.
While Reid Bros are now deceased Harry decided to retain the name of the partnership. The pigeon timed here is a blue pied cock racing Natural and sent sitting 14 days. The sire is from the old Reid Bros stock and has bred many prizewinners. The dam is a hen that Geoff Kirkland presented to the Doagh Moot two years ago. As a young bird this blue pied cock was Harry’s first bird home from Talbenny. This year he had most races including Talbenny. Harry trains the birds up to the first race and then they are given an open hole 24 hours a day. Feeding is Van Pilburgs Breeding Duo from Henry McLoughlin. Harry had a great race here with 4 other birds in the result at 18th, 232nd, 263rd and 322nd Open and is the likely winner of the Sam Buckley Memorial Cup for the best two bird average in this race.
Harry McCloy of Reid Bros & McCloy Cullybackey, 1st MAC, 6th North Sect & 9th Open.
7th North section, 10th Open G & R Lawrie Ballyclare, vel 987, flying 323 miles, winning £256 and the Charles Ingle Memorial Trophy for 10th Open Yearling National
We go back to the Ballyclare club for 7th North section, 10th Open to the lofts of George and Richard Lawrie. George and Richard were 6th in this race ten years ago and it’s good to see them back in the top ten and winning a coveted trophy in an Irish National Flying Club race. The pigeon timed here is a blue cock racing roundabout. All their pigeons are from Wayne Doonan’s ‘Cock Crow Breeding Lofts’. Wayne of course, was a winner of the Yearling National himself in 1994. The breeding of this one is Van Loon with the sire being ‘The Patriot’ who is the father of the Lawrie’s loft. The blue cock was raced to Skibbereen as a young bird but this was his first time in the result. This year he had every race up to Roscarberry and 1st Talbenny. His cousin was 10th Open Talbenny NIPA Young Birds last year. All birds have four or five tosses before the first race and are then flown at home for an hour mornings and evenings. Feeding is super widowhood with barley added at the start of the week.
G & R Lawrie of Ballyclare & Dist, 7th North Sect & 10th Open.
I would like to thank Neil Crean for his help with the Cork pigeons and everybody who helped with photographs for this report and to all the fanciers who give me an insight to their birds and racing methods
Brendan McLoughlin
INFC Press Officer
The Irish National Flying Club’s Yearling National was held on Wednesday 10th June this year. Once again there was a huge entry for this very popular race in the racing calendar. I must say that it was one of the busiest afternoons that I have seen at the marking station in Lisburn with long queues for all the electronic systems.
In the end the overall entry was 852 members sending 5188 birds to compete for £35,530 in pools and prizes. This was much the same as the 2014 entry which saw 5243 birds entered. The birds were liberated in Sennen Cove at 7.45am in a light north easterly wind. While the clear winner of the race was Martin Shell in Mallow, followed up by David Nagle in Cork the majority of the early birds were in the North section with Mr. & Mrs. Colin Hayes of Ballyclare putting up another strong performance to finish 1st North section 3rd Open. The race was sponsored by Bucktons Quality Racing Pigeon Foods and we are very grateful to them for their continued sponsorship of the race.
1st South section, 1st Open Martin Shiell Mallow, Vel 1167, flying 196 miles, winning £1487 and the Nelson Corry Trophy
The winner of the Yearling National sponsored by Bucktons this year is Mallow’s Martin Shiells from an entry of just two birds. This is the first time that an Irish National Flying Club has been won in Mallow and is a great achievement for Martin. Unfortunately Martin missed the big occasion due to work commitments but his partner Joan was at hand to time the National winner. Martin is a chef and owns a mobile diner “Green Café” which is based on the Killarney Road. Martin only started to race pigeons just over 5 years ago, although he comes from a pigeon background as his father raced in Dublin in the 1950’s. When Martin joined the Mallow club they had only five members but Martin and the others have made a great effort to encourage new members to the extent that the club now boasts a membership of 16 and they now have their own clubrooms. Martin is also a dog man and enters his springers in trial competitions. Martin believes that his background with the dogs was a good foundation for the pigeons and many of the concepts are the same.
While this is only Martin’s fifth year racing he was 1st and 2nd club from Hamilton (355miles) last year. The pigeon timed here to win this year’s Yearling National is a chequer cock sent to the race sitting on a 10 day old youngster. The bird was obviously in form as it had been first club the previous week from Monaghan (165 miles). Unraced as a young bird the chequer cock has had only four races this year. Martin races some young birds but others are just trained from 30 miles regularly. The bird was actually a gift from clubmate Dan Rice and the breeding is Jan Arden x Delbar. Martin asked me to thank the officials at the clock station for being so helpful to Joan on the day of the race, Sheldon Leonard, Sid Collins and all those he met at Sheldon’s on Sunday for the photos and of course his partner Joan for all her help.
Martin Shiell and partner Joan from Mallow, 1st South Sect & 1st Open.
2nd South section, 2nd Open D Nagle Cork Southern, Vel 1038, flying 175miles, winning £542
2nd Open goes to David Nagle from the Cork Southern Pigeon Club. David’s father had pigeons in Mallow some 50 years ago. David later moved to Mitchelstown but as there was no club there he still kept some pigeons (mainly tumblers) as pets. However in 1989 having moved to Cork he decided to join a club there. David has previously been second Open in an Irish Homing Union National so it’s another near miss for him. David’s bird is a blue cheq hen of Boxford Busschaert lines with both parents being inbred to ‘Dark Dan’ and ‘Dark Princess’. These birds were bought from Louella Pigeon World. The cheq hen was sent to this race sitting on a three day old youngster, her first one ever. As a young bird she had just one race from Portlaw (50 miles). This year she had just three races, Rosslare (96 miles), Arklow (125 miles) and her last race prior to the National was Dundalk (171 miles), when she only returned on the second morning but Dave noticed that she was still quite fresh so set about preparing her for this race. Dave likes to train on the Federation transporter prior to racing and would usually have six tosses up to 50 miles, and then one toss from 40 miles, midweek when the racing starts.
1st North section, 3rd Open Mr & Mrs C Hayes Ballyclare, Vel 1027, flying 323 miles, winning £1462 and the James McGrugan Memorial Cup.
Dave Nagle from Cork Southern, 2nd South Sect & 2nd Open.
1st North sect 3rd Open goes to the lofts of Mr & Mrs Colin Hayes of Ballyclare. Colin and Pat are established names within the Irish National Flying Club having taken some top positions in recent years; including 2nd Open Young Bird National Penzance in 2013 and 9th Open in the same race in 2014.The pigeon timed is a Blue cock which was one of 16 spare cocks at the beginning of the year. He was 5th club Talbenny while still unpaired but by this stage Colin had his eye on him and he was given a hen the next day for 5 minutes and for 5 minutes every day following that until the day of basketing for the Yearling National. On this day another cock was put in the nest with the hen to help motivate this bird and it certainly worked. He wasn’t trained as a young bird but was trained to Moira, a distance of 20 miles. This year he had every race through to Talbenny with the exception of the third race. The breeding of this cock is Nevin Bros x Battenburg and is from Colin and Pat’s number one stock pair. Ronnie Nevin is a great friend of Colins and bred the sire as a gift for him. Feeding is Versele Laga super widowhood and training is as often as they can on the transporter as the birds are raced natural.
Colin Hayes racing as M/M Hayes Ballyclare & Sist, 1st North Sect & 3rd Open.
2nd North section, 4th Open R & A Gore Lagan Valley, Vel 1025, flying 306 miles, winning £433
2nd North section, 4th Open goes to the Lisburn lofts of Robert Gore and his father Ashley who race in the Lagan Valley club. The Gores first came to prominence in 2009 when they were 1st Open Ulster Federation Talbenny Young Bird Derby. They had a tremendous year in 2013 when they won six old bird races in a row and ended up winning nine out of ten races in a very competitive club. The pigeon timed here, a grizzle hen flown on the roundabout is from a pair of pigeons on loan from T & K Mawhinney, Donaghcloney. The dam is responsible for numerous winners including Mark Johnston’s Ulster Federation winner from Penzance. The birds are given two tosses before racing commences and then they are flown at home for an hour morning and evening. The grizzle hen known as ‘Champagne Fever’ had the first four races with the NIPA and Talbenny with the Ulster Fed. Following that she had 2 tosses from Castlebellingham with John Abernethy. From these two tosses she was let back into her cock for about ten minutes and then shown her cock for half an hour before basketing for the Yearling National. Robert and Ashley were second club in the 3races before the National from Skibbereen and Talbenny (twice) and followed up their 2nd North section here with another 2nd club from Rosscarbery.
Robert & Ashley Gore of Lagan Valley in Lisburn, 2nd North Sect & 4th Open.
3rd South section, 5th Open Jerry Walsh Cork South Rd, Vel 1020, flying 175 miles, winning £211
We go back to Cork for 3rd South section, 8th Open to the lofts of Jerry Walsh of the Cork South Road club, a club with 50 members so it’s very hard to get in to the results. Jerry is a relative newcomer to the sport having just taken up the sport in 2012 when he was made redundant. Jerry had pigeons when he was younger but his father’s interests lay with small birds and Jerry followed him into that and he showed canaries all over Ireland. In 2012 he decided he wanted a new challenge and took up pigeon racing. He very quickly got the hang of pigeon racing and won five races in the club last year. The pigeon timed here is a black Busschaert hen that has always been a consistent racer. She was just given a few races this year with this race in mind. Again she was consistent without taking any prizes. When Jerry was starting up his friend Paul Weems from Chippenham sent him over some Busschaerts and they have done very well for him. Jerry trains hard, maybe three or four times a week from 40/50 miles. Jerry likes to mix his own feeding and buys a couple of different brands to which he likes to add some Homoform. Jerry is grateful to his son Gerard for all his help with the pigeons.
Gerry Walsh of Cork South Road, 3rd South Sect & 5th Open with his son Gerard.
3rd North section 6th Open M Robinson Bondhill, Vel 1009, flying 303 miles, winning £777
We go back North to the established National loft of Malcolm Robinson, Bondhill. Malcolm won a Hall of Fame in 2013 with a hen that was twice 62nd Open King’s Cup with a 27th Open in between. Malcolm has had numerous other prizes in National races particularly from the French races. Malcolm had a great race here with three other birds in the result at 39th, 172nd and 280th Open. The pigeon at 6th Open is a blue pied cock from pigeons obtained from Davy Strain, Ballyclare in 2011. The sire is pure Brugermann while the dam is a Brugermann x Kuyper Vanroys cross. These pigeons have bred good birds for Malcolm every year. Incidentally Malcolm’s second pigeon is a granddaughter of the Hall of Fame bird and also a grandson of John Greenaway’s Gold medal winner – breeding doesn’t come much better than that. The 6th Open bird was a Natural Young Bird and had just three or four races. This year he was again raced on a Natural system and was sent sitting 12 days. He had all races up to Talbenny this year. The birds are flown an hour morning and evening as they aren’t tossed during the week. Feeding is Bucktons Irish mix.
Malcolm Robinson of Bondhill, 3rd North Sect & 6th Open.
4th North section, 7th Open N Black & Son Dromara, vel 1007, flying 299 miles, winning £384
7th Open goes to N Black & Son Dromara. This loft needs no introduction as they have been leading the way in National races over the past few years, as previous King’s Cup winners, double National Champions, Gold Medal winners, 3 x Hall of Fames, and 17 times in the top ten of the King’s Cup. Last year saw them take 10th Open in the King’s Cup and 1st North section, 3rd Open Young Bird Penzance. The pigeon timed is a blue cheq cock sent sitting on a one day old youngster. This is the exact same nesting condition that their bird that was 10th Open in last year’s King’s Cup. Raced on the darkness as a young bird he had only four inland races last year. This year he again had four inland races plus Talbenny. His sire is a son of ‘Rocky’, 5th and 8th Open King’s Cup, while his dam is a daughter of ‘Big Darren’ their Gold Medal winner, when he was paired to ‘Andy’s Hen’, a Triple Award winner for three tiles in the Open result from the Friendship National.
Alan & David Black from Dromara, 4th North Sect & 7th Open.
5th North section, 8th Open M Hughes Edgarstown, vel 1002, flying 302 miles, winning £139
8th Open goes to Mark Hughes of the Edgarstown club, just outside Portadown. Mark is another prolific national racer and among his best results was winning the Henry Beattie & Son Trophy for the best two bird average in the Friendship National in 2008. He had a great hen ‘Lady Endurance’ who was 31st Open Yearling National, 15th Open NIPA St Malo and 7th Open National from Picauville. The pigeon timed here is a black hen racing roundabout. The sire is a violet eyed cock P & C Swindell, Newry City and has bred nine pigeons to fly France. The dam is a lovely golden eyed hen from Jeff Greenaway, Dromore. Mark pays close attention to the pigeon’s eyes for breeding purposes and it was the match of the eyes that led to this pairing. This black hen was unraced as a young bird but had eleven tosses from Balbriggan with Ronnie Williamson. This year she had three Inland races and was in Talbenny prior to the Yearling National. Mark said that as she was in such good form when she arrived from Sennen Cove that she is now being prepared for the King’s Cup. Mark feeds Frazers mixed grain until they reach Talbenny then they are given Beattie’s Champion Supreme with a high energy mix in the evenings. Mark asked me to thank Ronnie Williamson for his help with training the birds as without this he just could not manage.
Mark Hughes of Edgarstown, 5th North Sect & 8th Open.
6th North section, 9th Open Reid Bros & H McCloy Cullybackey, vel 989, flying 335 miles, winning £129
9th Open are Reid Bros and H McCloy of Cullybackey and what a bitter sweet week this turned out for Harry as three nights after this race he had his lofts broken into and 50 of his best birds stolen. Obviously devastated by the theft of his birds Harry was considering packing the sport in altogether but has been so heartened by the wealth of telephone calls and messages of support from right across the country that he has thankfully reconsidered his position.
While Reid Bros are now deceased Harry decided to retain the name of the partnership. The pigeon timed here is a blue pied cock racing Natural and sent sitting 14 days. The sire is from the old Reid Bros stock and has bred many prizewinners. The dam is a hen that Geoff Kirkland presented to the Doagh Moot two years ago. As a young bird this blue pied cock was Harry’s first bird home from Talbenny. This year he had most races including Talbenny. Harry trains the birds up to the first race and then they are given an open hole 24 hours a day. Feeding is Van Pilburgs Breeding Duo from Henry McLoughlin. Harry had a great race here with 4 other birds in the result at 18th, 232nd, 263rd and 322nd Open and is the likely winner of the Sam Buckley Memorial Cup for the best two bird average in this race.
Harry McCloy of Reid Bros & McCloy Cullybackey, 1st MAC, 6th North Sect & 9th Open.
7th North section, 10th Open G & R Lawrie Ballyclare, vel 987, flying 323 miles, winning £256 and the Charles Ingle Memorial Trophy for 10th Open Yearling National
We go back to the Ballyclare club for 7th North section, 10th Open to the lofts of George and Richard Lawrie. George and Richard were 6th in this race ten years ago and it’s good to see them back in the top ten and winning a coveted trophy in an Irish National Flying Club race. The pigeon timed here is a blue cock racing roundabout. All their pigeons are from Wayne Doonan’s ‘Cock Crow Breeding Lofts’. Wayne of course, was a winner of the Yearling National himself in 1994. The breeding of this one is Van Loon with the sire being ‘The Patriot’ who is the father of the Lawrie’s loft. The blue cock was raced to Skibbereen as a young bird but this was his first time in the result. This year he had every race up to Roscarberry and 1st Talbenny. His cousin was 10th Open Talbenny NIPA Young Birds last year. All birds have four or five tosses before the first race and are then flown at home for an hour mornings and evenings. Feeding is super widowhood with barley added at the start of the week.
G & R Lawrie of Ballyclare & Dist, 7th North Sect & 10th Open.
I would like to thank Neil Crean for his help with the Cork pigeons and everybody who helped with photographs for this report and to all the fanciers who give me an insight to their birds and racing methods
Brendan McLoughlin
INFC Press Officer