They were originally bred to hunt wolves (hence the name). They weren’t just bred to keep a wolf at bay but to actually go in for the kill. Yep, I’d raise up a pack of these wolfhounds with regular ‘coon hounds to protect them.
What’s really amazing about them is that even though they are fearless and can kill wolves they have a good enough personality to allow them around children.
Thanks for pointing this breed!
Great Wiki here on them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Wolfhound