We had a lady with an Irish accent visit us one day and ask if we had anything with an Irish Red & White Setter. She was most insistent that it should be the Red and White variety and we did indeed manage to find some things to sell to her. We got into conversation and she related to us the story that she had entered her Irish Red & White Setter at the Crufts, but that the KC had lumped her in with all the 'normal' Irish Setters. It apparently took her a long time to explain to the Crufts office that this was a completely different breed and had to be in the Any Variety Gundog classes. Apparently they had never ever heard of the Irish Red & White Setter. That lady was Ann Gormley and subsequently she became a friend and a good customer too! Then, when we began showing Dandies in the mid 1980s, our local ringcraft class was run by Pat Brigden of Autumnwood Irish Red & White Setters and lots of her puppies used to attend classes, including one owned by a young Suzie Roffey, who went on to win the Junior Handler of the Year. So I do have a bit of a soft spot for this beautiful and underappreciated breed.

The position as I see it with this breed is rather different from most of the other low registration British Heritage Breeds, insomuch as the Irish Red & White Setter was only recognised as a breed by the Kennel Club relatively recently and they have been building up their registrations since then. They peaked registration-wise in 1995 with 211 and since then have been slipping back little by little to about the 120 mark a year with a low in 2007 of 93 pups registered. So far for the first six months of 2009 there have been just three puppies registered, but I do understand that the last half of the year will see the numbers increase to a more 'normal' total.

I do hope so as this is a lovely breed with an enthusiastic and dedicated following. The Chairman of the Irish Red & White Setter Club of Great Britain, Bob Knapton, took part in the Historic Handlers Parade at Crufts in 2008 as Lord Rossmore. The Rossmore family had bred the Red & White Setter variety from the mid eighteenth century and continued well into the twentieth century. Indeed in some parts of Ireland the breed is still known as the Rossmore Setter. Many breed historians believe that the Red and White was the original Setter breed, predating all other Setters, but they are now our rarest native Setter breed.

When the Irish Post Office issued a set of five postage stamps in 1983 showing Irish Breeds, the top value .44p stamp showed both the Irish Red and the Red & White Setters on the same stamp. Such is the affection for these breeds in their native country.

The Breed Club recently celebrated their Silver Anniversary (25th) with a special event, Festival 25, held at Uttoxeter Race Course. On the first day the club hosted an International Conference on the breed, whilst on the Sunday, they held their Championship Show. And the judge for this special anniversary show? Why none other than Ann Gormley!