DAISIES FOR THE BANDSMEN

Lord Lurgan now in his Fifty Fifth year is keen on sport, shoots well and is one of the best Bridge and Croquet players in England. He at one time acted as State Steward to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. In 1893 he married Lady Emily Cadogan, elder daughter to the Earl of Cadogan, who was known to her friends as 'Tiny'. She was a smart woman and friend of Royalty, and died after a long and painful illness in 1910. Her only child, Lord Lurgan's son and heir, is a boy of nearly ten.

An amusing story has been told of this boy when he was a few years younger. He was extremely devoted to Soldiers. Once at a garden party at Buckingham Palace, he employed his time in picking Daisies and presenting them to the Bandsmen. The Royal hostess, Queen Alexandra enquired if he had a Daisy to give her. But her majesty, not being a soldier, the youngster replied: “No. Grass for you!” and thrust into her white gloved hand a small bunch of grass, to the Queen's intense amusement.

Lord Lurgan has his home in Ireland, but is related to the English Brownlows. His father, the late peer, was Lord-in-waiting to Queen Victoria. He also liked coursing, was a noted breeder of Greyhounds and had been the owner, among many other dogs, of the famous Master McGrath, who won the Waterloo Cup, three times over.

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