for this breed includes an addendum (List of Points in Order of
Merit) which may not be included by the F.C.I. OF ORIGIN:
Ireland. OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD: Up to
the end of the17th century, Irish Wolfhounds were used for
hunting wolves and deer in Ireland. They were also used for
hunting the wolves that infested large areas of Europe before
the forests were cleared. FCI: Group 10 (sighthounds) Section 2
(rough-coated sighthounds) Without working trial. IRELAND: Hound
Group. HISTORICAL SUMMARY: We know the continental Celts kept a
greyhound probably descended from the greyhound first depicted
in Egyptian paintings. Like their continental cousins, the Irish
Celts were interested in breeding large hounds. These large
Irish hounds could have had smooth or rough coats, but in later
times, the rough coat predominated possibly because of the Irish
climate. The first written account of these dogs was by a Roman
Consul 391 A.D. but they were already established in Ireland in
the first century A.D