1847 Grand National - Aftermath

Aftermath

The win has gone down in history as being a hugely popular one among the Irish, bearing in mind that this was at the height of the potato famine in the country. In truth the Irish press largely ignored the race in those days and it was only the wealthy friends of Mr John Courtenay in and around the County Cork area who benefited from the victory. In actuality Courtenay was considered among the most ruthless of the landowners who were, at this time forcibly evicting their tenants for being unable to meet their rent and as a result the rank and file Irishmen had placed heir support with another Irish entrant Brunette.

Much of the early history of the Grand National was told many years after the events and often from memory with the result that the winner, Mathew appears on the winners board at Aintree carrying the modern spelling of Matthew. The sixth horse The False Heir is often recorded as a non finisher while the favourite The Roarer, along with Young Lottery are not recorded as having taken part at all. As a result many modern books and websites state six finishers in a field of twenty-six runners instead of the seven from twenty-eight recorded by the press of the time.