The kennels would be running between 15 and 20 hounds at any one time. Bill Siggers found that breeding Irish wolfhounds was a lot more difficult than breeding Great Danes. They had difficulties with the wolfhounds mating naturally, all kinds of problems with whelping, such as uterine inertia, and lots of fading puppies. They also lost many puppies and, indeed, whole litters, with distemper, the scourge of breeding kennels.
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| Patsy Rank and wolfhounds |
Moran of Ouborough was born May 5, 1936, by Ch. Killarney of Ouborough ex Einagh of Ouborough. He became a champion in the U.K., was exported to America (in 1939), became an American Champion, and was much photographed.
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| Eng. & Am. Ch. Moran of Ouborough | |
Moia of Ouborough was littersister to Moran.
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| Moia of Ouborough |
Clonboy of Ouborough, born in 1939 by Ch. Chulainn Casey ex Maynooth of Ouborough, was sold to Elsie James of Boroughbury in 1942 and he was almost the sole stud used during and immediately after the war.
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Clonboy of Ouborough |
The Second World War made life very difficult. Many breeders, afraid of food shortages, had their dogs destroyed. Ouborough did not destroy any of their dogs but they did not emerge from the war unscathed. Canadian troops had moved into the kennels at Ouborough, the dogs having been moved into the stables, and, when they left, the Royal Air Force moved in to set up a barrage balloon station and brought with them a mongrel dog mascot which infected the Ouborough dogs with hardpad. Three-quarters of the Ouborough dogs died and Ouborough never really recovered, although a few more litters were born.
Very few litters were bred during the war, but in November, 1943 Ouborough took on three puppies from Mrs. James' litter (Boroughbury), by Clonboy ex Tara of Bradfield and whelped April 10, 1943. This litter included Tara of Ouborough. She went back to Elsie James and became the dam of J.V. Rank's (later Mr. B. Jackson's) Ch. Ouborough Tara of Boroughbury, and Ch. Kerryman of Boroughbury, sire of Ch. Rippingdon Rathgelert and Ch. Mavourneen of Bradfield.
January 30, 1944 Killala of Ouborough had a litter by Clonboy, from which came Casbah of Ouborough. She went to Mrs. James at Boroughbury and then to the Sanctuary Kennel of the Misses Harrison and Atfield. On February 6th, 1944 a litter was born at Ouborough, by Clonboy ex Kevin of Ouborough.
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| Casbah of Ouborough |
The Ouborough Kennel produced twenty Irish Wolfhound champions between 1925 and 1947. In 1929 J.V.Rank won outright the K.C. Challenge Bowl and the Irish Bowl which were both given at the Club Show. He replaced both the following year. Ch. Cloghran of Ouborough was a multiple BIS winner, as was Ch. Fethard of Ouborough, and the Ouborough hounds won the all breeds Brace and Team classes at Crufts in 1938.
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| The winners of the Graham Shield in 1925, 1928, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1934, 1936, 1937 |
At one time J.V. Rank and Bill Siggers had another kennel breeding Irish wolfhounds in Ireland and many puppies were sold direct from this kennel in Limerick.
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| Patsy Rank |
Ouborough Tara of Boroughbury (a daughter of Tara of Ouborough) had a litter by Ouborough McCarthy of Boroughbury on August 12, 1949. From this litter came Kilfenora of Ouborough who, after J.V. Rank's death went to the Sanctuary Kennels and was later given to Ruth Jenkins of the Eaglescrag Kennel, in whelp to the American import, Rory of Kihone, and the puppies from this litter moved three kennels - Nendrum, Eaglescrag, and Sanctuary - into the big time.
The following pictures are from Christmas cards sent out by Mr. & Mrs. Rank from 1948 to 1952 and depicting various views of Ouborough and what went on in the estate. My grateful thanks to Graham Evans for these cards.
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Another litter from Ouborough Tara of Boroughbury was born on August 14th, 1951, this time by Kilmirny of Ouborough. This was the last Ouborough litter.
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| Patsy Rank with Chs. Galleon and Erin of Ouborough,
Ch. Iduna of Hindhead, and Lindley Saint |
In 1952, James Voase Rank died, the estate was sold and the remaining hounds disposed of by the estate trustees. Bill Siggers died on August 31st,1984. He did not own the kennel but he certainly made it what it was. It was his knowledge and expertise that produced so many winners. In the just over thirty years that the Ouborough kennel existed, it had had a huge effect on the breed and Ouborough breeding lines were going to continue in other kennels, especially Boroughbury and Eaglescrag in the U.K.
Patsy Rank died in November, 1954. On May 13th, 2004 a portrait of her by Sir John Lavery, commissioned by J.V. two years after their marriage, sold at Sotheby's for £84,000 ($146,160.00).
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| Sir John Lavery's portrait of Patsy Rank |
For more details on the Ouborough Kennel, read Robert E. Heal's book on the life of Bill Siggers, entitled He Whacked the Bloody Lot.
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Updated March 9th, 2012