The cornerstone sire of the Dublin Red Strain was Willie Delaney's dog "Brindle Devil" and the foundation dam owned by my uncles friend Eddie Byrnes red bitch, it was two puppies from this mating went to the USA to Al Brown and Pete Sparks, both men were 100% pit men and crossed pits over both irish imports Brindle Devil and Arrogant Resistance producing these little Irish red bull dogs as they called them and making a huge impact in the pit world....

One dog out of Arrogant Resistance was called Shanty of Dublin, a brindle dog owned by Al Brown and being that both men Al Brown and Pete sparks were so active in the pit fighting, the word traveled fast....because these little dogs were fighting every weekend and rolling with some of the finest APBT's of that time.

The two key dogs to start the Dublin Red Line in the USA
Shanty of Dublin - IKC 89028 and Arrogant Devil - IKC-88853 both dogs out of Willie Delaney's (Ch.Brindle Devil - IKC-83799) x Eddie Byrnes (Arrogant Resistance - IKC-7524)

Al Brown while visiting Trinity Collage Dublin, Al was checking out the college for his son back in the USA during his down time on his tour of Dublin decided to check out good badger dogs and was lead to Willie Delaney and both Al Brown and Willie Delaney went out the next day on a badger dig, Willie took out Brindle Devil and Brown was so impressed with his performance asked Willie did he have anything for sale that he wanted to take one of these bull dogs back to the USA to see how they went on wild boar, well at the time Willie had no puppies available but connected Al Brown to family friend Eddie Byrnes who at the time had just used Willies dog Brindle Devil on his bitch Arrogant Resistance.

It was about 4-5 years later Willie Delaney was given an old copy of the USA pit magazine, your friend and mine to look at, on the front cover was Al Brown and Shanty of Dublin, I guess the story of wanting to try the staffords on wild boar was a lie or maybe that was his original intentions but the fact was that these dogs were being run in the pits and rolling with APBT's and in many cases holding their own.

So that was the first real start for the Dublin Reds, you will read lots of different stories on the internet on how it was all started but I can assure you that what I'm telling you is the way it was really all started and "Brindle Devil" was the start of it all.

So being that it was legal to take badger and the IKC were giving out certifcations to good game dogs, the staford lads were going out every weekend on badger digs, I went on a few with Willie when I was a whipper snapper and remember lots of fun stuff, but being that the badgering was in and all the staff lads wanted to produce good game dogs and the fact that the boys in the USA were all over the pit magazines every month, it wasn't long before that word got back to Ireland that Willie Delaney's pups out of Brindle Devil were producing some real game dogs in the USA.

Quite a few of the lads back in Dublin used Brindle Devil one of the men to use Brindle Devil being Bobby Watts, mating his bitch Battling Beauty to Brindle Devil and produced both Battling Dutchess and Battling Devil... and that was the start of the Dublin Reds in Ireland.

Bobby Watts and Shamus McNutt, Tony Lee started producing some great badger dogs out of Brindle Devil and Al Brown and Pete Sparks producing great dogs in the USA... so the Dublin Red was born.

You had so many stafford lads breeding around half brothers and half sisters to Brindle Devil constantly producing dead game dogs in the field and pit and Tony Lee was another man to use Willies dogs, Tony being a very good family friend to the Delaney's as was all the stafford fancy Bobby Watts, Shamus McNutt etc...

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South Tipperary Canine Club - Major Terrier Trails - Dead Game Certificate, 1960
Willie Delaney's - Ch. The Great Roger - (Staffordshire Bull Terrier)
Raymond McEvoy's - Binglea Jokers name. - (Staffordshire Bull Terrier)
Judges: Mr G. Doyle, Mr W. Malone and Mr P. O'Neill

The Sporting Terrier Club - Teastas Mor Certificate, Hacketstown Co. Carlow, 14th of October 1961
Bobby Watts - Battling Devil - (Staffordshire Bull Terrier)
Judges: Mr. P. O'Neil and Mr. J. Ward.

The Sporting Terrier Club - Teastas Mor Certificate, Blessington, Co. Wicklow, 7th September 1958
Willie Delaney's - Ch. Brindle Devil - (Staffordshire Bull Terrier)
Willie Delaney's - Ch. Swing Clear - (Staffordshire Bull Terrier)
Eddy Byrne's - Arrogant Resistance - (Staffordshire Bull Terrier)
Bobby Watts - Battling Beauty - (Staffordshire Bull Terrier)
Frank Fallon's - Fearless Dan - (Glen of Imaal Terrier)
Judges: Mr. E.Casey, Mr.J.Carolan and Mr.J.Doyle.

The Irish Working Terrier Club Association - Certificate of Merit, Major Trials, Cork, September 1976
Fleville's - Wolf Island Boy - (Staffordshire Bull Terrier)

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Willie Delaney's Dog - (Ch.Brindle Devil) - Reg# IKC 83799 Sire of:
Shanty of Dublin
Arrogant Devil
Battling Devil - Bob Watts
Battling Duchess - Seamus Mc Nutt
Ch.The Great Roger - (Brindle Devil x Brindle Bonny) also Dead Game Certificate South Tipperary Canine Club 1960
Satan's Son - (Brindle Devil x Brindle Bonny)
Ch.Fawn and Fancy
Ch.Brindle Wee Lass
Ch.Bonnie MacGregor
Great Caesar

Ch.Brindle Devil's Grandchildren
Tony Lee's - Red Commando = Double Grandson (Brindle Devil)
Riycil's Devil's Maid
Frazer of Ireland

Ch.Brindle Devil's Great Grandchildren
Wolf Island Boy

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Article by
Ray Delaney

Terrier Network
www.terriernetwork.com