The Long, Uphill Climb (To Recognition)

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88 – August, 2024

By Gay Dunlap

The very first Soft Coated Wheaten Terriers, two of them, arrived here from Ireland in 1946. Interest in the breed was not forthcoming however, and, although they were shown the following year at Westminster, early efforts to earn breed recognition met with defeat.

About 10 years later, when Margaret O’Connor along with her brother, Tom O’Connor (a Jesuit priest) and mother, Cecelia, became involved, things began to move along at a brisker clip. It seems Margaret had happened upon a picture of one of the early imports and, contacting the owner, she ultimately was put in touch with Ireland’s Wheaten Terrier matriarch, Maureen Holmes. The result was that, in 1957, a Wheaten Terrier bitch named Holmenocks Gramachree “Irish”, entered their lives.

Then, in 1961, Margaret decided to enter “Irish” at the Staten Island Kennel Club show. Naturally, the show bug bit her and Margaret, needing some competition, began searching for other Wheaten owners. In her enthusiasm (she could be most persuasive), Margaret convinced Charles and Eileen Arnold (Kennel name, Cobalt and later Sunset Hills) to join her in working toward AKC recognition. Their mutual enthusiasm was contagious, and as a result, a small group of 12 or so Wheaten owners was brought together. Quite appropriately, on St. Patrick’s Day (March 17) of 1962, they met at the home of Margaret and Fr. Tom’s cousin, Ida Mallory, in Brooklyn NY, to form the Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier Club of America. The group set as its goal the preservation and protection of the breed in the United States.

Click here to read the complete article
88 – August, 2024

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