seamus dubhghaill

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Tag Archives: Dublin Horse Show


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Birth of Iris Kellett, Show Jumper & Equestrian

Iris Kellett, international show jumper and equestrian, is born in Dublin on January 8, 1926.

Kellett is the only child of Harry and Dora Kellet. She is raised at Mespil Road, Dublin, where her father runs a riding school on the site of a former British Army cavalry stables, which he had purchased in 1924. Harry Kellett works as veterinary surgeon in the British Army, and passes his skills and ethos on the proper care of horses on to his daughter.

Kellett attends St. Margaret’s School, Mespil Road, and comes home each day to teach and help out at the stables. The Mespil Road stables are of such importance to her that she refuses an offer to study veterinary science at Trinity College, Dublin in order to fully commit herself to the school.

Kellett’s first appearance in equestrian competition is at the age of nine, when she wins ‘Best Girl Rider’ at the 1935 Dublin Horse Show and from then on she becomes a regular fixture in competition. She and her great horse Rusty compete as members of the first Irish all civilian Nations Cup team in 1947, and win the Princess Elizabeth Cup for the European Ladies Championship, at White City in 1949 and 1951. She proves the equal of top male riders, and is a fitting ambassador for the growing involvement of women in competitive show jumping.

A fall from a horse in 1952, resulting in a shattered ankle complicated by a bout of tetanus, puts a halt to Kellett’s show jumping career. It is almost ten years before she is back on top form, competing again for the Irish team in the Nations Cup during the 1960s and winning the European Ladies Championship, on Morning Light, at the Dublin Horse Show in 1969.

In 1969 Kellett retires from international competition to devote herself to teaching, training and breeding horses. In 1972 she sells the riding school on Mespil Road and moves to Kill in County Kildare. Here she goes on to train some of the greatest names in Irish show-jumping including Eddie Macken, Paul Darragh and Jack Doyle.

Kellett dies on March 11, 2011, leaving behind countless friends and a legacy as a competitor, teacher, and breeder that is unparalleled.

(From: “Iris Kellett Show Jumping Legend & Exhibition, Irish Horse Gateway (www.irishhorsegateway.ie), June 17, 2013, courtesy of RDS Archives)


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Founding of the Dublin Society for Improving Husbandry

royal-dublin-society-logoThe Dublin Society for Improving Husbandry (Cumann Ríoga Bhaile Átha Cliath) is founded on June 25, 1731 “to promote and develop agriculture, arts, industry, and science in Ireland.” On June 25, 1820, the name is changed to Royal Dublin Society (RDS) and is commonly known as the “Dublin Society.”

The society is originally founded by members of the Dublin Philosophical Society, chiefly Thomas Prior and Samuel Madden, as the “Dublin Society for improving Husbandry, Manufactures and other Useful Arts.” On July 8, 1731, a couple of weeks after initial foundation, the designation “and Sciences” is added to the end of its name.

The stated aim of the “Dublin Society” is therefore to promote the development of arts, agriculture, industry, and science in Ireland. In 1792 the Society purchases the Leskean Cabinet to further this ambition. The “Royal” prefix is adopted in 1820 when George IV becomes Society patron.

The society purchases Leinster House, home of the Duke of Leinster, in 1815 and founds a natural history museum there. The society acquires its current premises at Ballsbridge in 1879, and has since increased from the original fifteen acre site to forty acres. The premises consist of a number of exhibition halls, a stadium, meeting rooms, bars, restaurants, and a multi purpose venue named RDS Simmonscourt Pavilion.

The RDS Main Hall is a major centre for exhibitions, concerts, and other cultural events in Dublin. It hosts, for example, the Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition each January.

The Simmonscourt Pavilion has a capacity of approximately 7,000, and hosted the Meteor Music Awards in February 2008, as well as a number of concerts including The Smashing Pumpkins and My Chemical Romance, and two Eurovision Song Contests, in 1981 and 1988. Simmonscourt is where the show jumping horses are stabled during Dublin Horse Show week.