Irving Brothers of Annan

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J.S Irving Brydekirk

Thanks again to the main man, WP....quality as per.

Brothers Scott and Peter Irving entered the pigeon hobby as schoolboys.   Their father shared a close friendship with Dode Lupton who gave the schoolboys a pair of pigeons, which they kept in a modified rabbit hutch.   In time a small loft was erected in the garden at the rear of the family home and the two boys joined the strong Annan Club under the loft title ‘Irving Brothers’.   In those early years the brothers obtained every encouragement from their mother, who became as keen on the pigeons as the boys.   As they assembled their team the young fanciers obtained stock from a number of local fanciers including James Dalgliesh, Matt Jamieson and Dode Lupton.    Not only did Dode assist them with stock but he provided valuable advice and this advice formed the basis of their future management regime.   It should be understood that Dode was in fact the uncle of John and Matt Jamieson and was a good fancier in his own right as he won the Rennes National in 1950 with 2 y.o. Blue White Flight hen ‘Southern Queen’ that was actually bred by Matt Jamieson.  In time Scott and Peter married and formed their own homes.   Whilst Peter continued to live in Annan, Scott moved to the village of Brydekirk, which enabled him to compete in the very competitive pigeon club in the village and further enabled him to pursue his second interest, which was salmon fishing.
Scott shared a friendship with Annan fanciers Alex Graham and Adam Donaldson who had a number of friends in West Cumbria and on one occasion when Alex and Adam were visiting West Cumbria they took Scott with them.   One of the loft’s which they visited that day was that of Johnny Mossop and Billy Moore at Distington.   This was a famous name as Johnny Mossop’s father was an exceptional fancier who competed under the loft title of Mossop & Mackie and in 1965 won the Vaux Usher International race from Nantes with Champion ‘M’s Pride’, competing against the Cumberland Combine, S.N.F.C. and the mighty Up North Combine.    I read on a number occasions about the great Walkinshaw family in Ireland and was told that the family was based on introductions from West Cumbria and when talking to friend Bob McAvoy I learned that pigeons that went to Ireland were indeed from the loft of Johnnie Mossop and Billy Mackie, being sent across the Irish Sea on coal boats that sailed out of Whitehaven Harbour.    Johnnie Mossop and Billy Mackie were in fact father in law and son in law.   Johnnie had worked in the Mines whilst Billy had a responsible position at the Docks at Whitehaven.   In addition to having a pigeon interest, Johnnie played Rugby in his youth and was an accomplished snooker player.   Billy meanwhile played professional football for Workington ‘Reds’.   He was also involved in the administration side of our sport being Assistant Secretary and Vice President of West Cumberland Federation and represented the Federation on Region and Cumberland Combine Committees.   It should be noted also that West Cumberland was a very strong competitive Federation at that time comprising eighteen Clubs, which included a number of exceptionally good fanciers.  The great pigeon ‘M’s Pride took its name from Mossop, Mackie and Moresby Parks where the partners resided.   The winning pigeon was a 1961 Blue hen that went through the programme as a youngster and competed from Nantes as a yearling.   In 1963, as a 2 y.o. she raced from St. Malo and then, two weeks later, went to Nantes and was 2nd Club 22nd Federation having been  on the wing for 15 hours.   The following season, she was 2nd Club from the first race of the season and was thereafter 3rd Club Cheltenham.   She then went to Nantes and whilst she was timed she was beaten by two loft mates that were 1st and 4th Club, 10th and 22nd Federation.   When it was known that the Usher Vaux race was to be flown from Nantes in 1965, concentration was on getting her right for the Classic.   Johnnie Mossop had a wealth of experience in our sport, having been involved in the pigeon hobby for well over forty years.    His original family contained Vandevelde x Barker x Gits bloodlines supplement in later years with the introduction of four Gits from W. Gilks from Nottingham and three Barkers from Irving and Lunt from Accrington.   Through these lines emerged a Blue White Flight hen, which the partners described as the ‘The Mother of the Loft’ as she left a host of winners.   She, herself, was 1st West Cumberland Fed. St Malo.    A number of well-known fanciers worked successfully with Mossop and Mackie lines, including several fanciers in the Solway area.  I once chaired a Quiz at Annan when Eddie Newcombe was on the Panel and he said that in his opinion the best 500 mile birds in the country were in West Cumbria and unfortunately didn’t get the recognition they deserved.   Having made reference to Mossop and Mackie it should be understood that the Mossop and Moore pigeons were successful in their own right.   The team contained an influence of the Mossop & Mackie family and importantly, ‘M’s Pride’.  On assembling their family of birds Johnny Mossop and Billy Moore used further lines including Gits, Barker, Ameel, Kirkpatrick, Osman, Bricioux and Busschaert.   Scott Irving was much impressed when he visited the loft at Distington with Alex Graham and Adam Donaldson and immediately purchased three pigeons.   One of these was a Mealy cock that broke his wing and as a consequence he was put to stock.   He immediately proved his worth, with the first pigeon of note that he produced at Brydekirk being 10th Open S.N.F.C. Rennes in 1980.   Importantly a friendship was formed with further birds being introduced from Distington on an ongoing basis.           
Scott’s son, Scott Junior, had taken an interest in his father’s pigeons from when he was a wee lad and in time entered partnership with his father.   In 1989 the partners were 5th Section 19th Open Rennes and one week later timed two pigeons from Niort to be 3rd Section 8th Open and 6th Section 19th Open.   It was a Mealy cock that was 8th Open Niort and he subsequently proved to be a fine breeder, leaving several pigeons to win in the Club and score from the channel.   1989 was in fact the first time the members of the Scottish National competed from Niort. One year down the road the partners were 4th Open Rennes and 10th Section 38th Open Niort.   Season 1991 proved extra special for the loft.   They were 36th Section 50th Open from the first National of the season from Sartilly and were then 9th Section 22nd Open from the Gold Cup race from Rennes with a Grizzle hen bred direct from the hen that was 4th Open Rennes the year previous.   Having scored from the previous two Niort races, Scott Irving prepared 16 pigeons for the 1991 Niort Classic.   The convoy was liberated at 7.05am and the partners timed a 2 y.o. Blue cock at 5.51 to win the Classic recording a velocity of 1529ypm from 600+ miles and headed the result by 100ypm.    They then timed two further pigeons at 8.31pm and 6.07am to be 3rd Section 4th Open and 14th Section 16th Open.   On the day of the race the Scottish contingent was liberated with birds from several North of England organisations and the Scottish National winner was right up with the leading pigeons competing into Cheshire, Lancashire and Yorkshire.  Sire of the winner was bred by Johnny Mossop and Billy Moore whilst the Dam was bred by Scott’s brother, Peter, from two late bred pigeons that he obtained from the same Mossop & Moore.   The fourth National of the 1991 season was flown from Sartilly (2) and the partners were 35th Section 169th Open.   At the 1991 S.N.F.C. presentation, Scott Irving stepped forward to receive a number of the prestige trophies of the Club including The Robert Telfer Trophy for the best average from all five National races.   As the years passed the partners scored from the Classics on an on-going basis, consider for example that they were 1st Section 6th Open Sartilly (1) 1992.   In 1997 Scott and his son won their second National from Sartilly with a yearling Blue Chequer cock and it was Scott Junior who timed the winner.   In addition to being a gifted fancier, Scott senior was a very able angler and on the night of the race, he was on the Annan river assisting to police a National trout fishing competition with Scott junior being left ‘in charge’ at the loft.   The convoy was liberated at 6.30am into a NNW wind with Scott timing the winner at 9.15pm.   It was the only arrival into Scotland on the day of liberation, recording a velocity of 873ypm, which was appreciably different from the velocity of their Niort winner.   Whilst the Niort winner was home bred from Mossop and Moore stock, the Sartilly winner was actually bred by Johnny Mossop and Billy Moore.  
In time, Scott Junior acquired his own property in Annan and formed his own loft remaining a member of Brydekirk Club.   Scott Senior continued to race into the original loft under his own name.    The months and years moved forward and eventually Scott senior chose to part with his pigeons due to health reasons and for several years the loft sat empty at Brydekirk.   In time however, Scott junior began to race birds into his own loft at Annan and additionally race a team to the Loft at Brydekirk with the two sheds being numbered Loft 1 and Loft 2.   Importantly, this enabled his father to be once more physically involved assisting his son to care for the team at Brydekirk.   In 2018 the members of the S.N.F.C. competed from Liege for the Gold Cup race with Scott being 2nd Section and Open competing into the loft at Brydekirk.     With knowledge it had been a long held ambition of Scott senior to time a real good one from the Gold Cup race, Scott junior named the pigeon ‘Dad’s Dream’.           
Let us now consider next generation pigeons …  I explained that Scott was 3rd Section 8th Open Niort 1989 and 4th Open Rennes in 1990.   The 8th Open Niort was a Mealy cock, which proved to be a fine breeder, leaving several birds to win in the Club and score from the channel.   The 4th Open Rennes was a beautiful Grizzle hen, with both these birds containing the lines of Mossop and Moore.   The hands on the clock moved forward and Scott gifted a young Grizzle hen to Crombie and Mechan from Annan that was bred from the Grizzle hen and the Mealy cock.   This hen left a number of birds of note for Crombie & Mechan including ‘Shawhill Prince’ that was 7th Section Lille as a yearling, 1st Section 2nd Open from the S.N.F.C. Blue Riband event from Liege as a 2 y.o. and 3rd Section 5th Open from the equivalent event from Reims when 3 y.o.   On that occasion he was entered in the Joe Murphy Sporting Challenge, which he won.    Such was the quality of this pigeon that Jim Crombie and John Mechan were offered a ‘blank cheque’ by a fancier in Germany to purchase the pigeon but declined the offer.   In 2006 Jim and John were once more 2nd Open from the S.N.F.C. Gold Cup race, which on this occasion was flown from Alencon.   Their winning pigeon a 4 y.o. Grizzle hen that had scored previously from the 2004 Gold Cup Classic from Le Ferte Bernard,   Sire was a full brother of ‘Shawhill Prince’ whilst the Dam was a direct daughter of the same ‘Shawhill Prince’. 
As previously explained Scott Irving senior chose to part with his original team of pigeons due to health issues; with his health not improving and the passage of time he regrettably passed away some months ago.   He was an able fancier with a really good team of birds and will be remembered as a further fancier of note to have successfully competed into the magical village of Brydekirk. 
We publish several photos with this article.  (a) Blue Cock ‘Ellen’s Wee Cracker’ 1st Open S.N.F.C. Niort, (b) Dark Chequer cock ‘Mossop’s Glory’ 1st Open S.N.F.C. Sartilly, (c) Dark Chequer hen ‘Dad’s Dream’ 2ND Open S.N.F.C. Liege, (d) Grizzl e Cock ‘Shawhill Prince’ (see text), ( e) Mossop and Mackie’s M’s Pride 1st Open Vaux Usher International from Nantes, (f) Johnnie Mossop and Billy Mackie and (g) Scott Irving (centre) photographed with Johnny Mossop and Billy Moore.