Meet the Committee

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I have been involved with dogs for most of my life but around 14 years ago my wife and I fell in love with the Irish Water Spaniels and were advised to get in touch with David & Ursula Wilcox, which we did.  We got our foundation bitch from them in 2011, Fendrake Isla at Islacairn. As a result of Isla, we now have another 9 Irishers, 7 home bred and 2 that we have brought in from reputable breeders. I am actively out picking up on shoots every season with several of our IWS and have been a member of the SIWSC since the beginning of our IWS journey. My wife and I have plenty of experience with the breed and do our best to promote it at all times here in N.E. Scotland. 

 Bally and I live in North Norfolk, and we can usually be found on Blickling Estate enjoying a walk together. If you visit, we’ll be easy to spot, he’s the Irish Water Spaniel and I will be wearing pink wellingtons. I’m a ‘new’ Irish Water Spaniel owner with Bally coming into my life at the end of 2020 being bred by the lovely Jackie and Ian Hill, to whom I am forever grateful to for entrusting this looney boy to me. New to the breed and even newer to the sporting/ working world having only begun in early 2023 with the kind help of new friends. Bally is great fun, like all IWS has great hair and an even greater love for life; I’m looking forward to Bally and my sporting and lifelong journey together 

I was introduced Irish Water Spaniels at the Midland Game Fair over 15years ago by David and Ursula Wilcox and Melvyn and Denise Hurst. After attending an event at Chillington and talking to others within the club I fell in love with the breed. Over the years my husband and I visited Melvyn and Denise in Sheffield many times and met their dogs, helped to dry off 11 puppies and enjoy their hospitality.  This was much to my family’s surprise as I was always afraid of dogs when I was younger, but these beautiful dogs have won my heart hook line and sinker. 

We initially put our name down for one of David and Ursula’s puppies but unfortunately it just was not the right time for us. We waited and eventually met Yeates who we loved and knew at some point we would have one of his puppies. Well that time came after meeting Roisin owned by Carol Jackson and in 2015 we got our very own IWS , Fenwick (Lachanstrand’s Dubhlainn at Janbry). My husband and I are both members of the Newcastle Wildfowlers Association where Nichol takes Fenwick to shoots and where he enjoys entertaining everyone on the beating lines. I have enjoyed helping with training Fenwick and myself (I need a lot of help) in sporting activities. In 2019 Fenwick became a father for the first time when he mated Melvyn and Denise’s bitch Dee Dee and we got our second IWS Gefrin (Kirkmarsh Ferryman at Janbry). Being committed to the breed Fenwick was mated with Cally, owned by Kerry Finch in 2019 and he became a father for the second time.  

We live in Northumberland where there are not many of the breed around but hopefully this may change in the future as I am passionate in preserving and promoting this amazing breed and the club.

 Irish water spaniels have been of interest to me for the last two decades; following the SIWSC at events and fairs, and making great friends along the way.  We managed to fit our own Irish Water Spaniel, Fenwick (Lachanstrand’s Dubhlainn at Janbry), into our lives in 2015, looking for a brilliant multipurpose dog, something he is enjoying growing into.  I am currently involved in a couple of beating lines, a member of Newcastle Wildfowler’s Association, and enjoy other sporting opportunities that Fenwick and I can get involved in.  We hope that we continue along this path with Fenwick’s son, Gefrin (Kirkmarsh’s Ferryman). I am strong supporter of making the best of the breed in in all environments, and making this a platform for getting better – whether this is being active with a single dog, or working a large team.  I have thoroughly enjoyed helping at breed confined tests and publicising at fairs, and look forward to a committed and productive association with the SIWSC.   

I've been involved with the breed since 2011 when we got our first IWS, Fendrake Isla (Isla), from David & Ursula Wilcox.  We now have seven, all of whom I adore.  Our dogs are worked regularly in the shooting season and they draw a lot of attention and interest.  I live in NE Scotland and one of my aims is to promote this breed to the best of my ability so as to hopefully help increase their numbers in the working field. 

I am new to the Committee but also to the breed. Macollamh is not only my first Spáinnéar Uisce (Water Spaniel), but also my first ever dog! I was a reluctant dog owner but in December 2018 I was converted, and would not have any other breed. The IWS is known to be a difficult dog for a first-timer, so I have embraced every opportunity we could get to know the breed, each other and found the SIWSC. The SIWSC has been great at accepting two idiots and so too has the wider IWS community. The enthusiasm of the other IWS owners is contagious, and there is nothing better than seeing a splosh (my collective noun for IWSs) of IWSs enjoying each other’s company during a mingle or any IWS gathering. As a family, we also show Macollamh and his stage name is ‘Tiger Tail’. I have a research background and have been fascinated by the history and myth behind the breed. With David Wilcox’s help, Macollamh’s ancestry has been traced back to the famous ‘Boatswain’ from the 1860s that was owned by a fellow Dubliner, and often reputed founder of the modern breed, Justin McCarthy. I am concerned about the vulnerability of the breed and do what I can to promote the IWS and have shown Macollamh at Discover Dogs in London and Birmingham. Macollamh is a great companion but we do not share the same interest in mucky water! Spáinnéar Uisce go brách! Macollamh go brách! Irish Water Spaniel forever! Macollamh forever!