Darragh Brennan is the owner of Falconry Ireland which offers individuals and corporate customers a unique opportunity to engage in the ancient field sport of falconry. The falconry is situated in the magnificent surrounding of Woodenbridge, deep in the Garden of Ireland.

For a day out with a difference, a visit to the falconry and bird of prey centre simply can’t be beaten.

Visit Falconry Ireland on the website at http://www.falconryofireland.com

Email : falconry@ireland.com

Tel : +353(0)402–35028

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1. A brief history of Falconry of Ireland….
I returned to Ireland in 2001 after operating falconry of Kenya for 20 years. This business comprised of a falconry centre in Malindi, on the north coast of Kenya, together with a bar and restaurant, a safari operation and a 12 bed adventure camp in the bush on the banks of the Sabaki river. Running this business provided me a modest salary but a fantastic lifestyle for 20 years.

However, nothing is permanent and everything unravelled when one of our directors contrived to buy the business. I was asked to stay on as manager,which was fine! However,not surprisingly I expected to get paid for my shares in the company. This proved wishful thinking and after all the jigs and reels I was forced to leave Kenya in a hurry and arrived at my brothers door in London with just $10 in my pocket. Not much after 20 years work!!

I then teamed up with the Valley Hotel in Woodenbridge, with a view to opening a falconry centre on their spare land as a tourist attraction. We then imported our stock of birds of prey from U.K. and prepared for opening. This proved to be a move out of the frying pan into the fire as the Valley was sold and the new owners seemed to want to get rid of us.

My luck changed and a small farmhouse and yard became available on my old friend Sean Killoran’s dairy farm in Killahurler and we moved myself and our birds there and thankfully are still in situ and operating as a small hands-on centre providing falconry in the field to private bookings only

2. If you were placing an advertisement for staff for the Falconry, how would the ad read?
Trainee, any age, wishing to learn falconry as a sport or career wanted. 4 hours per day, 5 days per week. Salary to be negotiated. No experience needed.

3. What benefits will corporate customers get from choosing a day at the Falconry as a team day out?
Small corporate groups can actively partake in the oldest of country sports in a hands-on way. After a briefing, which outlines the history of falconry  and sets out to de-mystify the sport and explains basically how falconry works, groups will individually fly a trained hawk and recall it to the gloved fist. They will also be shown a falcon stooping to the lure and can be photographed holding an Eagle Owl. All this is very photo friendly and really good pictures can be set up. This activity is very interactive and a very memorable day out.

4. What is the best thing about the job - and the worst?
The best thing about this job is the satisfaction of being able to persuade a top of the line predator to join me in an enduring partnership of mutual understanding between man and hawk. The worst part in Ireland is the weather, as on a daily basis, some aspect of Irish weather will screw up your plans and make the job more difficult than it already is!

5. What Birds of Prey can people spot when out and about in County Wicklow and where are the best places to spot them?
The birds of prey most likely seen in Co. Wicklow would be Peregrine Falcons, Common Buzzards, Kestrels and Sparrow hawks. Merlins can rarely be spotted along with seasonal visitors such as Ospreys, Harriers and Hobbies. Presumably, Golden Eagles can now be seen in the northwest as they have recently been introduced. Anything else would probably be lost falconers birds.

Birds of prey do not flit around like berry feeders which one sees throughout the day popping from bush to bush. Birds of prey feed only once per day or less, so after killing and eating they must spend some time processing their food until they regurgitate the non-digestible content of the kill through the mouth in the form of a pellet. During this procedure they do not fly so the time they spend on the wing is quite small.

Mostly people keep their eyes on the ground and are not looking up to the sky or into trees, if they were they would see a lot more raptors than they normally would. Birds of prey can be seen anywhere in the country if one is observant and sometimes in the most unusual of places. Just keep your eyes open!

6. If someone wanted to take up Falconry as a sport, how would they go about it?
Anyone wishing to take up falconry as a sport should contact The Irish Hawking Club and they would be able to advise a new member of their closest practicing falconer. This person could be contacted and asked if he or she would agree to offer advice and some tuition. It would also mean you would have someone to turn to when problems arise, as they will

A beginner should read up on falconry before he gets his first hawk. A complete range of books on falconry is available from Coch-y-Bonddu Books online. These range from books written in the 12th. century up to works published in 2007.
Falconry Ireland would be happy to advise any aspiring falconer wishing to take up the sport.

7. If I wasn’t doing the job I do now, I would be …..
Back in Kenya operating a tented adventure camp and driving safaris.!

8. What is your definition of a rich person?
Having lived in the third world for 23 years one’s attitude to what constitutes riches is very different than what is perceived as wealth and riches in modern Ireland, nor do I understand why people in this country automatically assume that their way of life is far better than those who live in the so called under developed countries just because they possess more money and worldly goods.

I suppose a person is indeed rich if he has excellent health which will enable him to function actively for a greater number of years than is normally expected.

9. Not a lot of people know this, but I’m very good at…
Avoiding answering tricky questions like this!

10. In a nutshell, my philosophy in life is this…
My personal philosophy is to treat time as the most valuable commodity available to man and not to waste it or allow it to flitter away uselessly. I believe each day should be planned and budgeted for and the time available to us should be used in the most useful way possible.We should at all times avoid dithering and drifting from day to day. The most unforgivable sin is killing time!