Thursday December 28, 1871/ Death of Master Magrath


The excitement produced by the sudden death of Lord Lurgan's celebrated greyhound is very great and, in order to satisfy the public that no foul play had been resorted to, an examination took place on Tuesday evening, at the kennels Brownlow House, Lurgan.  It was conducted by the Rev. Dr. Houghton, of Dublin, secretary of the Royal Zoological Society of Ireland; and Mr. Bray V.S., of Lurgan.  They first received a statement regarding the symptoms which the animal exhibited from Friday, when it was first noticed that he was ill; after which they examined the medicines which were administered, all of which were proper prescriptions for a dog under the circumstances.  They stated that there was no reason to believe that other medicines had been used besides those mentioned by Walsh, the trainer.  Both gentlemen then made a post-mortem examination, when it was found that the cause of death, was tubercle and pneumonia affecting both lungs, the tubercle being of some standing-probably from one to two years.  The immediate cause of death was double pneumonia, affecting both lungs.  In this diseased condition the heart was hypertrophied, being double the size of that of a dog of Master Magrath's weight.  A sculptor took a cast of the greyhound. 
The Pall Mall Gazette says:  Master Magrath will find mourners, irrespective of race and creed, in an extensive circle of affectionate admirers.  He was, indeed, no ordinary Irishman-we may be pardoned for perpetrating a bull when paying a tribute to Irish departed worth.  Although : the gentleman that owned him: was a lord-in-waiting and a Protestant to boot, Master Magrath was the champion of the nation.  The great Irish heart, from the Cove of Cork to the Giant's Causeway, throbbed in him.  His triumphs were hailed as national ones, alike by Ribbonmen and Orangemen, the Fenians, home rule partisans, and the Scotch colonists of Ulster.  No wonder.  Although he brought us a message of peace, and punctually carried a response home with him, he characteristically came over from purposes of strife.  On the strength of his unbounded popularity he could risk compromising it like no other of his countrymen.  He was welcomed as an honoured guest in the halls of Windsor, broke bread under the royal table, and was feted and caressed by the princes and princesses of the Saxon line.  Yet we never heard that his welcome was less hearty when he returned to his native shores.  Caps were cast in the air, and potheen flowed by onces in peaceful streams to greet his landing.  Even the greenest national journals had not one word of calumny to breathe against his spotless character.  Peace be to his ashes!  His tomb may be the Bedgelert of Ireland - a place of pilgrimage for future generations, sacred in its way as Loughdearg.