All Dog Breeds >>History of Irish Wolfhound
The breed is very old; there are suggestions it may have been brought to Ireland around 3500 BC by early settlers, further genetic testing may help clarify a point of origin. These dogs are mentioned, as cú (variously translated as hound, Irish hound, war dog, wolf dog, etc.) in Irish laws, which predate Christianity, and in Irish literature which dates from the 5th century or, in the case of the Sagas, from the old Irish period - AD 600-900. The word "Cu" often became an added respected prefix on the names of warriors as well as kings denoting that they were worthy of the respect and loyalty of a Cu.
Ancient wood cuts and writings have placed them in existence as a breed by 273 BC. However there is indication that they existed even as early as 600 BC when the Tectosages and Tolistobogii Celts sacked Delphi. Survivors left accounts of the fierce Celts and the huge dogs who fought with them and at their side. They were mentioned by Julius Caesar in his treatise, The Gallic Wars, and by 391 BC, they were written about by Roman Consul, Quintus Aurelius, who received seven of them as a gift to be used for fighting lions, bears, that in his words, "all Rome viewed with wonder." Bred as war dogs by the ancients, who called them Cú Faoil. The Irish continued to breed them for this purpose, as well as to guard their homes and protect their stock. Regular references of Irish wolfhounds being used in dog fights are found in many historical sagas—Culain's favourite dog, Luath, was slain by a southern chief's hound, Phorp. Cúchulain, a name which translates literally as "hound of Culain", gained his name when as a child, known then as Setanta, he slew the ferocious guard dog of Culain forcing him to offer himself as a replacement. Irish Guards' mascot in parade dress.
Wolf hunting with wolfhounds.While many modern texts state Irish wolfhounds were used for coursing deer, contemporary pre-revival accounts such as Animated Nature (1796) by Oliver Goldsmith are explicit that the original animal was a very poor coursing dog. Their astonishing size, speed, and intelligence made them ideal animals for both boar hunting and wolf hunting. They were perhaps too ideal, as the boar and wolf are now extinct in Ireland. Unlike the Russian wolfhound (Borzoi), who were bred to keep a wolf at bay until the hunter arrived, the Irish wolfhounds were bred not only to hunt the wolf down, but to go in for the kill. They killed wolves in the same way a cat kills a rat, by shaking it until its neck snapped.
The Irish wolfhound has been recorded as being exhibited in ancient Rome to some excitement, and mention is made that they so amazed and terrified the Romans that it was seen fit to only transport them in cages. During the English conquest of Ireland, wolfhounds were trained by the Irish for war; their job was to catch armoured knights on horseback and separate them from their horses.
Only kings and the nobility were allowed to own the great Irish hound, the numbers permitted depending on position. They were much coveted and were frequently given as gifts to important personages and foreign nobles. Like the nobility they served, the hounds were often bejeweled with chains and collars studded with precious gem stones and metals. Wolfhounds were the companions of the regal, and housed themselves alongside them.
King John of England, in about 1210 presented an Irish hound, Gelert to Llewellyn, a prince of Wales. The poet The Hon William Robert Spencer immortalised this hound in a poem.