Efficient ratters, they controlled vermin in buildings, were used to bolt fox and otter, and hunted rabbit for food and for the sport of rabbit coursing.į.M. Appealing to people of all classes, the black and tan Terrier grew in popularity in the 19th century as a working dog. The Irish Terrier, from Stonehenge’s The Dog, Fourth Edition, 1887.Ī generally accepted theory traces the origins of the breed to the wire-haired black and tan Terriers that existed in Great Britain more than 300 years ago. Ridgway, a founder of the first Irish Terrier Club, provided a breed description and stated that the Irish Terrier was a purebred widely known and remembered since the early 1800s. The first reference to the breed is an article authored by Richard Ridgway in the 1878 Edition of Stonehenge’s Dogs of the British Isles. As a result, the origin of the Irish Terrier is subject to conjecture. The Baerla laws, recorded in the first centuries of the Christian era, included detailed provisions for the control and responsibility of hunting hounds, shepherd’s dogs, earthdogs, vermin killers, and watchdogs.Įarly Irishmen did not keep accurate breeding records. One old Irish writer refers to these dogs as the “poor man’s sentinel, the farmers friend, and the gentleman’s favorite.” Dogs were an important part of life in ancient Ireland. The existence for centuries of an Irish sporting Terrier is referenced in ancient manuscripts archived in Dublin Museum.

The Red Book by Jerry O'Callaghan