History of The Club House Hotel
The Club House Hotel, an inn since the 1790's owes it's name to the fact that for almost a century it was the headquarters of the Kilkenny Hunt Club, whose explioits in the pursuit of foxes were rivalled only by the boisteriousness of their evening dinners in the hotel. Simon Morris, who was manager in the hotel. in the 1860's, recalled one evening during which John Courtnay of Ballyellis, Co. Cork drove his horse up ther stairs and jumped over a screen in the dining room. A description of the incident in Egan's Kilkenny Guide is suitably graphic.
A celebrated grey mare was the subject of discussion, the animal being the property of Mr, Courtenay, Ballyellis, Co. Cork. Two chairs set apart, a fire screen placed across them and a bet of 50.00 made by the owner of the grey mare that he would ride up the two flights of stairs, into the club room, and jump the grey mare over the screen.
Mr. Courtenay went to the stables and demanded the animal, which he started on his perilous escapade, then up one flight of stairs, turned the landing and faced the second. No faltering : an occasional slip of the Iron hoofs on the brass protectors of the stairs caused every eye to strain, every heart to beat wildly.
The door was reached and the whole assembly at the banquet, with gaping eyes, beheld their equine quest. All the voices of the room were raised to stop the foolhardy venture. The leap was placed so that he could jump from the doors to the front windows, on the street.
Only now the imminent danger became apparent. Would the animal first clear the screen, then rush through the window on to the street, at a distance of 60 feet below? Servants shrieked; the mare's own groom offered his last entreaty to stop his master. All to no purpose.
The course was clear - AWAY!! - and the house reverberated from the shock. The mare well jumped it - but the stake - it was not won; she touched the screen in passing. Again the screen was arranged; this time the position changed, so as to avoid the possibility of the animal bounding on to the street. The signal was given and with a noble jump, the grey mare cleared the screen greeted with the shouts of an alarmed audience.
The Kilkenny Hunt was founded in 1797 by Sir John Power of Kilfane, used the original Georgian building as a club house until it was converted into the Hibernian Hotel and Fox Hunting Club in 1817 to coincide with the construction of the new Cork road.
The Hunt still gathered in front of the hotel for its annual Opening Meet up to the 1960's when it had to be abandoned because of traffic disruption. The link between the Club House and the Hunt continues in the Hotel's Major Victor McCalmount, a former master of the Hunt and one time owner of the Mount Juliet Sporting Estate.
Adapted from "Hotels Of Ireland" by Frank Corr
