g them being Mr. D.
O'Connell's Slasher, a very good-looking wire-coated working terrier,
who is said to have excelled as a field and water dog. Slasher was
lint white in colour, and reputed to be descended from a pure white
strain. Two other terriers of the time were Mr. Morton's Fly (the
first Irish Terrier to gain a championship) and Mr. George Jamison's
Sport.

The prominent Irish Terriers of the 'seventies varied considerably
in type. Stinger, who won the first prize at Lisburn in 1875, was
long-backed and short-legged, with a "dark blue grizzle coloured back,
tan legs, and white turned-out feet." The dam of Mr. Burke's Killeney
Boy was a rough black and tan, a combination of colours which was
believed to accompany the best class of coats. Brindles were not
uncommon. Some were tall on the leg, some short; some were lanky and
others cobby; many were very small. There were classes given at a
Dublin show in 1874 for Irish Terriers under 9 lb. weight.

Jamison's Sport is an important dog historically, for various reasons.
He was undoubtedly more akin to our present type than any other Irish
Terrier of his time of which there is record. His dark ears were
uncropped at a period when cropping was general; his weight
approximated to our modern average. He was an all coloured red, and
his legs were of a length that would not now be seriously objected
to. But in his day he was not accepted as typical, and he was not
particularly successful in the show ring. The distinguished terrier
of his era was Burke's Killeney Boy, to whom, and to Mr. W. Graham's
bitch Erin, with whom he was mated, nearly all the pedigrees of the
best Irish Terriers of to-day date back. Erin was said to be superior
in all respects to any of her breed previous to 1880. In her first
litter by Killeney Boy were Play Boy, Pretty Lass, Poppy, Gerald,
Pagan II., and Peggy, every one of whom became famous. More than one
of these showed the black markings of their granddam, and their
progeny for several generations were apt to throw back to the
black-and-tan, grey, or brindle colouring. Play Boy and Poppy were
the best of Erin's first litter. The dog's beautiful ears, which were
left as Nature made them, were transmitted to his son Bogie Rattler,
who was sire of Bachelor and Benedict, the latter the most successful
stud dog of his time. Poppy had a rich red coat, and this colour
recurred with fair regularity in her descendants. Red, which had not
at first bee