ABSTRACT
Rifle-shooting previous to the Volunteer movement had been the pursuit exclusively of the deerstalker and of a few enthusiasts whose prowess was wholly unknown to the general public. One such formed a noteworthy link between the past and future of rifle-shooting. Thirty years before the Volunteer movement few names had been more conspicuous in the world of sport than that of Captain Horatio Ross. The absence of Volunteers in Ireland, and consequently the small number of those who turned their attention to rifle-shooting, seemed at first likely to be fatal hindrances to success. No one who has the interest of the Volunteer movement at heart can but regret that neither the National Rifle Association nor any other influence has succeeded in giving rifle-shooting a higher place among the recognised athletic pursuits of the country. Our Universities have never been the homes of rifle-shooting that they might be expected to be.
