Connemara GAA
Old black-and-white photograph of a rugby team, in two rows, in striped jerseys Two old photographs side by side: a team of men in waistcoats and caps, and three young men in suits Collage of old team photographs, including Clifden 1977, Inishbofin v St Vincent's of Dublin, and the St Cáillín's (Ballyconneely) hurling team

What Do We Know About the Evolvement of the Connemara Pony?

What do we know about the evolvement of the Connemara Pony? 2022

Connemara Ponies are synonymous with Connemara since the 1800s. There are many suggestions/theories how this distinct name evolved from the small Irish pony that was widespread in Ireland at that time and not exclusive to Connemara. (Just for the record, archaeologists have discovered that the small Irish Pony existed based on excavations in Loughrea Co Galway in 2018 – online.)

The primary being that it evolved from an event within Connemara. The only potential evidence available at this time is that two Arab stallions swam ashore at Ballinaleama near Slyne Head after a Spanish cargo ship was shipwrecked and its sailors lost. The animals were discovered by Matthew Coneys and James Melia in approximately 1820. One of the stallions was retained locally and the other sold at Clifden/Errislannon (admiralty on behalf of the King in this instance received only 50% of the windfall – an Irish solution to an Irish problem). This animal was reportedly brought to Carna but there is no confirmation of that to date.

There was a further development in west Connemara in the latter parts of the 1860s. Mitchell Henry arrived and purchased the Kylemore (massive) estate. He almost immediately commenced the building of the current Castle/Abbey and commenced the reclamation of the primary estate from bog land to agricultural land. He also encouraged the tenant farmers on his estate to do likewise. It has been suggested that the stallions introduced by him on the main estate to increase the strength of the local ponies were Spanish. A relative of staff from the past confirmed the arrival of the stallions but was unable to confirm definitely the source (confirmed in Freemans Journal). We know for definite that the original estate prior to the arrival of Mitchell Henry was a haven for equines. This is confirmed by the name of the lake on the estate – Pollacapall comes from a legend and means “place of the horse” (another reason it’s understood - to increase the stability of the local pony was – all the Marble used in the building of the Castle was drawn by pony/horse and cart from the pier at Letterfrack to the castle a distance of three miles plus. When animal welfare was applied the ponies could only haul small amounts)

It is also interesting to note that Mitchell Henry was the main organiser/sponsor of the famous Kylemore Races, (held on the Estate) for example in 1873 he ran races for ponies under 13.5 hands. At this particular meeting there was a winner’s prize of £10 for one particular race. As the perceived gentry would have the best equines at that time; he also had race/s for the tenant owned ponies. He even had a covered stand erected presumably as the annual festival was held in March.

The horse drawn equines used by Bianconi in Connemara during the 1800s had slanting shoulders developed by the heredity harness trait. Although some were as small as 13 Hands it appears they had little impact on the native Connemara breed.

There is no record or reference/folklore available at this time in relation to Spanish equines in the 16th century at Inishbofin. At that time the Spaniards harassed the west coast of Ireland and one of their leaders, Alonzo Bosco, settled on Inishbofin and used it as his base.

Another interesting Stallion that was based in Ballyconneely in the late 1800s early 1900s was ‘Stail’ (gaelic word for stallion) Wickham. Apparently this stallion was known far and wide for his strength/agility. This stallion because of his liveliness would need three men to control him when servicing a mare. This stallion was quoted by many as being the best, for example when Josie Mongan Carna (TD) was making one of his many famous after mass church gate political speeches in 1927 at Ballyconneely, a regular reference to Stail Wickham: ‘In the old days when you wanted the best foal you brought your mare to Stail Wickham and now if you want the best politician to represent you – vote for Josie Mongan’. Locals believed that Stail Wickham was a ‘throwback’ from the afore mentioned original Arab stallion that landed near Slyne Head in 1820 approx.

The reference to the Spanish Armada and the suggestion that the Spanish ponies/horses swam ashore and bred with the local Irish ponies in Connemara; It’s well documented that the Spanish Armada was forced to dump all their ponies/horses overboard because of a lack of provisions especially water that is before they reached the outer Islands of Scotland. ‘The fleet commander, Medina Sidonia, ordered all the horses and mules to be thrown overboard to save the available rations’ especially water (there are records of this). So you can imagine when they reached the mid west coast of Ireland they had little food or water if any?

The decision of fleet commander should also be considered in a different light. It’s well documented that the human in an emergency can recycle their own urine to substitute for water. However the equine is very choosy in relation to water and will not even sip it, if there is the slightest contamination. Horses have been found fully dehydrated in the vicinity of slightly tainted water. So horses will not drink their own urine.

According to folklore the Spanish Armada ship that came ashore in Carna had no animals on board except for one very small terrier type dog which was claimed by a local farmer near Mace Head. The terrier type dog was used on the Spanish Armada ships to control vermin especially rats.

Although we know what happened to the terrier; what befell the Spanish sailors is rarely discussed with clarity?

The current Connemara Pony was created by cross breeding with bigger type ponies/horses so in essence it is now a hybrid breed. The small Irish Ponies especially on the western seaboard were used by tenant farmers. The Irish pony was small approx 11/12 Hands high and would be of little use for ploughing and drawing carts on the bigger estates but they were of immense value to the tenant farmer for everyday use, shopping transport etc. However tenant farmers because of sub division of holdings could no longer sustain a small pony and the Donkey became the norm for such holdings.

The creation/enactment of the land acts in the late 1800s which gave farmers ownership of sustainable land holdings for the first time placed a new emphasis on farming. The land holdings increased because of mass emigration/death commencing with the Great Famine. (An example, population of west Connemara from 1841 to 1911 decreased by 45%). It appears at this time pony owners believed that a stronger/bigger pony was required uniformly for farming purposes and initial organized cross breeding took place. It developed from there on and pony owners/breeders eventually formed a society to regulate the Connemara Pony, this happened in 1923/24. Since that date Connemara Pony Societies have been established Worldwide.

The main emphasis at the beginning for the Connemara Breeders Society was the regulation of breeding and displaying of the Ponies at the annual Pony show for in hand assessment. However this has changed especially in this century where there is now a special focus on the ridden/performance ponies.

The regulation has led to -for the first time ever proper identification through blood checking etc and it is generally accepted that the Society has now developed a true/absolute/undisputed Connemara Pony? (The loose criteria that applied up until the latter part of the last century has being consigned to the trash box)?

(see also From Rosmuc to London Michael O'Malley 1912)

Additional reading from the Archives from the Tuam Herald and Freemans Journal (search Connemara pony/ponies)

  1. Our Breed of Horses Friday Aug 28th
  2. Our Horses = Connemara Pony Sept Aug 11th 1888
  3. Commission on Horse Breeding Wed October 21st 1896
  4. Tuam Herald (Fairs) Aug 13th 1858
  5. See also (Fairs) Sat Sept 18th 1832
  6. Horse Breeding in Ireland 1893
Research John O'Malley