Irish Tipplermen And Their Tipplers
Thanks to Ross Morden of Ontario, Canada for these pictures of Irish Tipplermen and their Tipplers.
Recently, Ross, the immediate Past President and Secretary of the Canadian National Tippler Union and a member of the Flying Tippler Association, had the opportunity to visit with none other than Harry Shannon of Northern Ireland.
Mr. Shannon currently holds the World Flying Records for BOTH young and old birds at 19:40 and 22:05, respectively.
Ross penned a few words to share with us about his visit, which follow:
First, I would like to say that Harry Shannon is not only a world class tipplerman, but that he and his lovely wife Anne are world class hosts as well. During our two week stay at the Shannon’s, my wife Val and I were treated royally and were shown the sights of Ireland, which is truly one of the most beautiful countries in the world.
Harry and Bobby Dunseith (another great tipplerman and friend as well) introduced me to two Irish tippler clubs and more than a few fine Irish tipplermen – the nicest bunch of guys you ever met. A list of these men and their club affiliation appear below, I hope I haven’t left anyone out. I was also introduced to Byron, a feisty Jack Russell terrier, who tried to relieve me of my index finger (great hospital service in Ireland!). Although my camera was not working very well, I took some pictures of these men, their lofts, and their birds, which are presented here.
Two of the more significant observations I came away with (can’t tell you all of the "secrets" I learned) are presented for your consideration:
(i) All the Irish tipplermen "dark train" their birds. It was not unusual to visit a tipplerman, have a few Guinness, chat, and watch his birds fly - AT MIDNIGHT!!!
(ii) The flying tipplers and droppers are kept hungry. Fat tipplers can’t fly or be controlled (come to think of it, I never saw a fat guy win a marathon foot race either), and fat, stuffed droppers just sit on the loft. The Irish tipplermen believe that it is important to have the droppers go up and mix with the flying tipplers to bring them down, especially at night and especially when training the young birds to fly in the dark
By the way, they have a significant peregrine falcon problem in Ireland.
That’s it in a nutshell. Again, my sincerest thanks to the Shannons as well as the Dunseiths, and all the fine Irish tipplermen. I can’t wait to return the hospitality.