Obituary - Stuart Greaves

From a little boy, all Stuart dreamed of was to be was a gamekeeper, as long as he could remember, that’s all he wanted. He never considered any other occupation, and to that end, Stuart attended Sparsholt College, in Hampshire, U. K. where he studied Game Wildlife Habitat Management with an emphasis on Gamekeeping and Game Bird rearing.

From 1992 to 1993, after completing his education at Sparsholt College, Stuart went to Half-Way Hatchery, Co. Roscommon, where he was responsible for rearing day-old pheasants and both English and French Partridges, caring for their feed, water, and health in every way, until the birds were sold out to various Shooting Estates, Syndicates, and Shooting Clubs for both walked-up and traditional driven shooting.

From 1993 until 2001, Stuart was an under keeper at Dromoland Castle Estate, Co. Clare, Ireland.

From 2001 to 2015, Stuart was the singlehanded Gamekeeper at Annes Grove Estate, Co. Cork, rearing and supplying all of the birds, managing the release and care of them after release, designing layouts, expanding, and operating the estate’s traditional driven shooting. He was also in charge of beating crew and pickers-up. As the Annes Grove Gamekeeper, the shooting return on the birds was 40%, with 20 shooting days. Stuart left Annes Grove when the owners of the estate made an agreement with the Irish Office of Public Works to manage the estate for nonshooting tourism.

From 2001 until his passing in 2022, each year Stuart reared 25,000 - 50,000 day-old pheasants, partridges, and ducks for various Shooting Estates, Shooting Syndicates, and Sporting Clubs throughout Ireland, as well as his own game birds, all cared for personally by him at his own facility. This entailed complete management of the health and wellbeing of the birds, including recognising potential disease, consulting veterinarians, medicating properly, providing clean fresh water, food, heat, bedding, and maintaining a totally clean and safe environment for the game birds. Stuart had between 90% - 95% rearing return on his game birds.

From 2015 until his passing, Stuart managed and operated Awbeg Sports, LTD. Awbeg was his own driven shoot, encompassing over 1,500 acres on which he released 5,000 game birds (pheasants and partridge) reared by himself in his own nearby facility, for traditional driven shooting. He had a 40% shooting return on birds, with 25 shooting days. (The photo above shows Stuart on the Awbeg Shoot).

In 2020 Stuart took on the Gamekeeping position at Ballyvolane House Estate, Co. Cork, rearing and supplying the pheasants, managing the release and maintaining care of the birds after release, designing the layouts and operating the traditional driven shoots offered to clients by Ballyvolane House Estate, and additionally in charge of the beating crew and pickers-up. Under his management, the shooting return on birds increased from 18% to 35%, with 10 shooting days. He was to continue with Ballyvolane House Estate for the 2022 season.

Stuart was quite active in the gundog world, having facilitated the 2008 Irish Spaniel Championship when he was Gamekeeper at Annes Grove Estate, about which the organisers of the Championship made this comment: “As head keeper, Stuart made a magnificent job of preparing the ground for 19 bitches, 8 dogs and 1 cocker with an excellent supply of game.” Stuart also facilitated the 2016 Irish Spaniel Championship on his Awbeg Sports ground in North Cork, as well as many spaniel trials.

Many people in the shooting and dog world consider Stuart to be one of Ireland’s great sportsmen, a man of strong character, genuine, honest and one who was particularly kind to the elderly when they were shooting. While he excelled in shooting, during the season he would walk endlessly with his dogs in search of game, and never came back empty-handed, fly fishing was his greatest passion. Every chance he had, Stuart would be in the water, casting his fly rod on the Blackwater, the Nore, the Suir, as well as many other rivers throughout Ireland and the U.K. Stuart loved to tie his own flies, and never used a spinning rod. He particularly enjoyed the challenge of fishing for steelhead in the Pacific Northwest, and was the subject of an article for this magazine. He said these words about his passion: “It’s an addiction, an obsession, the desire to connect with this fish, to feel the sharp, powerful grab of the fly, the reel singing as the fish runs, the cold blue water swirling around me, the fish and I sharing the same world. It’s a feeling like no other. I will chase the steelhead forever.” Stuart fished in the Pacific Northwest for the last time February-March 2022.

Stuart Greaves sadly passed away on 29th May 2022.

While we mourn greatly for Stuart’s tragic passing, a life cut way too short, with much more game to shoot, more countryside to walk, more rivers to fish, we must remember, and be comforted by, the extraordinary life that Stuart did have. For when a little boy dreams of being a gamekeeper, how fortunate is he to have fulfilled that dream, to have been successful, respected, admired, and most importantly, to have been much loved.

Editor’s Note: We are grateful to his partner, Jan D Evans, for the text and photographs which we are publishing as a tribute to this fine country sportsman and we offer our sincere condolences on her loss.