There is no true official dog of Ireland, but there are two that are often claimed to be the official dogs of that country. One is the Irish wolfhound, a dog that is a recreation of a great wolf-coursing sighthound-mastiff that is often credited for ridding Ireland of its wolves.
The other is one more traditional dog of the Irish Republicans is the Irish blue terrier. Note that I said “Irish blue terrier.” We have long called this breed the Kerry blue terrier, but the breed’s origins, while in the southwest of Ireland, are in County Tipperary in the town of Carrick-on-Suir. Some English dog fancier misheard the name “Carrick” as “Kerry,” and thus, the breed got this name.
Michael Collins had a famous Irish blue named “Convict 224,” and many Republicans had this same breed, many with radical names as befitting that time in history.
Collins introduced a bill that would have made the Irish blue terrier the official breed, but Collins was killed in an ambush before the bill could ever be enacted.
The Irish wolfhound is still bandied about as the official breed of Ireland, but the official dog of the Irish Republic is the Irish blue terrier.
I’m not a big terrier fan, but I think Kerry Blues are very pretty. =)