Fly & photo...Peter Dunne.

The only information about this fly is to be found in Blacker's magnificent tome, "The Art of Fly Making" 1855. Here we read that the Killarney & Tay was a fly recommended for the river Tay. Blacker writes; At the town of Dunkeld there is famous fishing in the Spring and Autumn. From Dundee to Perth and Dunkeld, through the "Carse of Gowrie," the Valley of the Tay is one of the most beautiful parts of all Scotland, in my estimation; at both sides of the river it is interspersed with excellent gentlemen's seats, and beautiful grounds.
There is a fishery a little above the bridge of Perth, which is very productive. The flies to suit this fine river are:-
Blacker then goes on to describe these 5 flies, one of which is the Killarney & Tay. However, anyone reading the dressing description for this fly on page 172 will notice that there is no mention of a tail on the fly; this is quite confusing because the picture of this very fly engraved on one of the fly plates shows what appears to be a tail of barred summer duck. This type of confusion continues throughout the book where fly dressing descriptions and methods are described.


The Dressing: (Blacker)

Tag: Silver twist.
Tail: A strip of Barred Summer Duck (visible on engraving)
Butt: Black Ostrich herl.
Body: Brown Mohair..
Ribs: Silver tinsel (assumed from engraving)
Hackle: A long red-brown spotted grouse hackle
Wings: A mixture of Mallard, brown Turkey, and a little hen Pheasant tail.
Horns: Blue Macaw (assumed from engraving).
Head: Black Ostrich herl or wool.