Luck brought Seamus to us: Irish Guards praise regimental mascot as they turn 125
Irish Guards mascot Seamus has been honoured with a statue – aiming to capture what the regiment believes is his ever-so-slightly superior sense of character and humour.
The Irish wolfhound, officially named Turlough Mór, is the 17th regimental mascot of the Irish Guards, which is celebrating its 125th anniversary.
Seamus was acquired in October 2020, and Drummer Joseph Aldridge is the Regimental Dog Handler - the two go everywhere together.
"It's a lot of responsibility because you are the face - wherever he goes there's always cameras or obviously the social media that you have these days," he said.
Seamus's day-to-day duties can include leading the regimental band to Buckingham Palace and St James's Palace for Changing of the Guard.
He also leads from the front in Windsor and attends special visits to hospitals, homes, schools and trips abroad.
The dog shares the same sense of humour as the Irish Guards regiment, we learned.
Playful - and sometimes lacking in discipline!
"He's very playful, very energetic. When he's excited he doesn't tend to listen to his handler," joked Drummer Aldridge.
Every mascot is given a different name and usually completes at least seven years in the role.
Normally an association handpicks the mascots, but during the Covid pandemic in 2020 they didn't have any on offer.
"We went up to northern Yorkshire where we luckily found him," explained the handler.
Seamus was running around a field, living a dog's life and chasing animals before becoming one of the world's most famous dogs.
But his owner hadn't realised how big a wolfhound would grow – so now the regiment is his outright owner.
"It was luck, really, that brought Seamus to us," Drummer Aldridge said.
A bronze statue of the wolfhound was unveiled at the 125th anniversary event at Wellington Barracks in London.
Sculptor Zoe Carmichael said she spent time with the hound to accurately capture his personality – similarly to how an actor would study a person before portraying them on screen.
"His personality is amazing so I wanted that to shine through," she said, adding that Seamus's uniform details took a lot of time and attention to translate.
"We began with lots of photos and measurements, and then I came back in and did sculpting from life," she explained.
"I would spend hours at a time with him. But then he'd also just lie completely flat out asleep!"
A big personality
Seamus' personality is shared throughout the regiment.
"What stands out for me is the character of the regiment hasn't changed. We still have those cheeky Irishmen," said Major Steve McMichael, Company Commander 1st Battalion Irish Guards.
"As an Irish regiment we are renowned for having that little bit more character than maybe other regiments," he joked.
Lieutenant Colonel Ben Irwin-Clark, Commanding Officer 1st Battalion Irish Guards, said of Seamus: "He's clearly got a sense of humour.
"He's patient and he's still on parades - but he's definitely also got a little twinkle in his eye and I think that suits the regiment's character perfectly."
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