(Paddy & William McManus)
Croft Loft's, Ahoghill, Northern Ireland
A loft that I admire is the top racing and breeding loft's of Paddy & William McManus of Ahoghill, County Antrim. Countless Mid Antrim Combine and Section B wins over the years and a number of 1st Open NIPA winners and breeders of this years INFC Penzance Young Bird National winner for Martin Graham of Ballymena.
Starting Out
It all began for Paddy McManus in 1956 when at the age of 7 he was gifted his first pigeon's, 'two rollers' by a family friend the late Dick Gordon. Paddy kept these rollers in an old tea chest on Alexander Street in the Ballymena Town where he was reared. Later the family moved to Balmoral Avenue, just off Princess Street and Paddy upgraded to a small loft which he built himself from bits and pieces of old wood. The first racing pigeon he owned was obtained from the late Rabbie Kerr from the Kerr & Simpson partnership and was of the old Silver Dawn strain of birds. One of Ballymena & District's top pigeon men Crawford McClintock a former French OB Derby winner with the Nipa lived just over the road in Princess Street and Paddy spent most days there as a young boy, cleaning out and observing Crawford's methods. Many happy days (and night!) were spent in old derelict houses and buildings around town, trying to catch 'strags' risking life and limb at great height in search of a good one. Paddy married into a family of pigeon fanciers (the Youngs) when he tied the knot with Rosie in 1971 and moved to Ahoghill where he built his first real racing loft in his father in laws (Major) back garden at ‘The Croft’ housing estate. He joined Ahoghill Flying Club in 1972 and raced in partnership with Major, as Young & McManus. His brother in law, the late Albert Young, a top pigeonman, raced from the same garden to a different loft. William came along in 1973 and his brother Paul in 1975. They actually joined Ahoghill in 1983 and raced to a small Gallagher box as McManus Bros for a couple of years, winning the very first race they ever entered, a young bird race from the Scottish route! After a couple of house moves, but always staying within the Ahoghill boundary, the partnership continued to race in Ahoghill. When Major died in 1996 they still raced as Young & McManus, in his memory, and a couple of years later added the ‘Sons’ to the partnership. Paul lost all interest in the pigeons but William was always very keen and enjoyed the day to day activities in and around the loft. Eventually, after William's grandmother Katie died, they moved back to where it all started, number 7 The Croft. New lofts were erected and it was almost like a fresh start.
Stock
The partnership's first love in pigeon racing has always been the 'up Ireland' races through to Rosscarbery. With this in mind they scoured Belgium and Holland looking for reinforcements that were made for the job. William made contact with some top fanciers including Luc van Mechelen and Eddy Jannsens and were able to purchase from their very best. These birds produced many top pigeons for themselves and many others. In 2014 Paddy & William bought a round of youngsters from a man called Louis Thijs from Hulshout in Belgium and to say that his birds enhanced their results is an understatement. From the word go the children from these birds began winning out of turn with many Club, Combine and Section winners and 1st Open NIPA Roscrea against 14747 birds. That same year they bought in six birds from Karel Laenen, including a son of his ‘Pitbull’. From these six birds one chequer cock turned into a real top breeder for them. Every year without fail, he bred winners in every nest, right down to Rosscarbery. He breeds winners and even better, his children breed winners. Another top line in their loft is the birds of the Jager brothers of Blijham. These men have the best of the Van Den Brande pigeons and they were fortunate enough to purchase birds not only from Jager brothers but also 6 direct from the Van Den Brande brothers themselves. These birds proved to be the perfect cross for their Louis Thijs pigeons, churning out winners year after year, for themselves and other fanciers. Not forgetting Danny Dixon's Heartbreaker line, which have also had a brilliant influence in their lofts and can be found in some of their top racers.
Success
Some of the top performance's achieved by Paddy & William over recent times -
1st, 2nd & 3rd Mid Antrim Combine, 1st, 2nd & 3rd Section & 3rd, 4th & 5th Open Nipa Bude 5798 birds.
1st Combine, 1st Section & 16th Open Nipa Penzance 3904 birds.
5th Open INFC Penzance YB National 2318 birds.
1st Combine, 1st Section & 10th Open Penzance OB Classic 1697 birds
25th Open INFC Penzance YB national 2070 birds.
1st Section & 17th Open Nipa Bude 7060 birds
4th, 6th & 8th Section & 7th, 11th & 15th Open Nipa Rosscarbery Yearling Hens National.
19th Open INFC Penzance Yearling National.
2nd ,3rd & 5th Section Nipa Rosscarbery YB National.
1st Section & 19th Open Nipa Bude 8754 birds.
3rd Section & 12th Open Nipa Rosscarbery OB Inland National 6681 birds.
4th Open Nipa St Malo OB National 1904 birds
2nd, 6th & 9th Section & 8th Open Nipa Skibbereen Yearling National 2954 birds.
3rd & 6th Section Skibbereen Yearling National (2 entries).
1st Section & 1st Open Nipa Roscrea OB 14747 birds.
1st Section & 5th Open Fermoy OB 5 bird 2065 birds.
2nd Section & 4th Open Roscrea OB 18761 birds.
1st, 2nd & 3rd Section, 5th & 6th Open Fermoy OB 15911 birds.
1st Section & 130th Open Roscrea OB 12343 birds.
1st Section & 150th Open Talbenny OB 10476 birds.
1st & 4th Open Nipa Mullingar YB 3152 birds.
1st Section & 88th Open Roscrea OB 30000 birds
1st & 2nd Section Fermoy OB 4032 birds.
1st Section & 24th Open Clonmel OB 26870 birds.
1st Section & 19th Open Fermoy OB 17067 birds.
The partnership have bred countless Fed, Combine and Open winners for many fanciers in sprint and channel racing. Wendal Scott of Cullybackey won 2nd North Section & 4th Open INFC Kings Cup St Allouestre 506 miles winning £5500 with "Heather's Delight" The sire of the yearling chequer hen came from Paddy and William.
The dam of Bertie Blair's 1st Open Nipa Talbenny YB National winner "Faith" again came from Paddy and William, as did the sire of Bertie's 2nd Open INFC Penzance YB National bird of 2011.
Sean O'Driscoll from Donnycarney in Ireland got a red pied cock from Paddy and William and it bred him "Paddy" 1st Open Irish South Road Fed Pilmore Beach 9500 birds.
Jim Smith from Prestwick in Scotland got six young birds from Paddy and William this season and entered them in the Scottish One Loft Race. The birds performed brilliantly in the hotspots winning 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd & 4th and scooped Jim a total of £7000.
Motivation
The partnership's system can vary each season, some years they race widowhood, some years double window (roundabout) and other years all birds are raced completely natural. They have found it doesn’t matter, as good pigeons will always come to the fore, if managed correctly.
Treatments
They try and keep medication to a minimum. Birds receive their annual PMV vaccination, the stock are done for canker when sitting eggs, the racers are done 2 weeks before racing. All birds are treated as a preventative with a broad spectrum antibiotic for 10 days in October and the 7 days with probiotics and vitamins afterwards.
In William's Words
When I pick up a pigeon, I get a general impression before I look at the eyes or open the wing. The first impression is often the best. In particular, I pay attention to the balance. In my opinion, a pigeon must feel balanced in your hand. I like the vent bones to feel firm and as close to the end of the keel as possible. A short back wing is also preferred. I like a pigeon to have thick feathering, silky soft, not dry. I like the end flights to be evenly spaced, flexible, and well shaped. Regarding eyesign, I don't know much about it, to be honest, yet I do look at them. Not for their colour or 'sign'. I just like to see a nice, bright, expressive eye that reacts well to brighter light. Again, everyone has their own opinion on these things, but at the end of the day, the true test is the hamper.
Everyone has their own ideas about feeding, training, etc. ask 5 men and you’ll probably get 5 different answers! We try to keep it as simple as possible. Good pigeons are priority, keep them fit, healthy and motivated and you won’t go far wrong.
Training and feeding for me is basically common sense. What I mean is that a pigeon that trains hard needs properly fed, and a pigeon that is properly fed will train hard! Over the years, we have tried everything regarding feeding. Breaking down and building up, different brands of feed, etc. What I have found is that birds that are fed the same food every day tend to remain in form easier. 'Up Ireland, it's the same food daily, not too heavy. We've had good results right through to Penzance like this, including section wins.
Training, again, common sense. Whether it be round the loft or up the road, it's all about getting the balance right. Observation is key. Your birds will show you when they are 'right'. It's easy to over complicate things. We try and keep it as simple as possible, but at the end of the day, good pigeons are a must.
Breeding is the part of the sport I enjoy best. My thoughts on this are that 'crossings' from totally unrelated pigeons make the best racers. We occasionally pair related pigeons for future stock purposes, but the inbred offspring from these birds will be 'outcrossed' to something totally unrelated. The pigeon sport is full of 'theories', and until you can prove these theories for yourself, that is all they will remain. 'theories' I suppose that's part of the fun of it all!
Over the years, we've taken much pleasure supplying good pigeons to others. I'm not saying that every bird that leaves here is a good one, far from it, but if we can breed a good one in every batch that leaves here, then we are delighted. The icing on the cake was when Martin Graham won this year’s Young Bird National with a bird bred here at Croft Lofts. The saying that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree was true in this case as the sire of Martins winning hen "Sammy's Girl" is our Penzance Classic winning cock in 2022. He is a self bred Louis Thijs cock. The dam of Martin's National winner is a lovely direct Van Den Brande hen. We’d just like to congratulate Martin once again on his wonderful performances this year, truly outstanding.
Concluding
Paddy & William are two honest and genuine lads who house some of the best stock in the Country. Their record speaks for itself, and for countless others. There isn't a week goes by during the racing season when the phone doesn't ring and another winner is reported. For them to breed this years Penzance YB National winner for Martin Graham was something special. I would like to thank William for all the details and wish him and Paddy all the best for future seasons. Mervyn Eagleson.
William (L) and Paddy McManus of Croft Loft's Ahoghill holding the parents of
"Sammy's Girl" 1st Open INFC Penzance YB National 2023.
Breeding loft's of Paddy & William McManus.
Racing loft's of Paddy & William McManus.
Mid Antrim Combine Bird of the Year 2021.
Winner of 2 x 1st NIPA Section B
The dam of Sammy's Girl, 1st INFC Penzance YB Grand Nat for M Graham.
The sire of Sammy's Girl, 1st INFC Penzance YB Grand Nat for M Graham.
Winner of 1st Sect & 3rd Open Bude etc.
Winner of 1st Sect & 5th Open Fermoy etc.
Winner 9 x 1st Club, 2 x 1st Sect, 3 x 1st Mid Antrim Comb etc.
Winner 1st Sect & 1st Open NIPA Roscrea.