RE: Irish Setters:Are they any good?
If I were serious about getting a field bred Irish Setter I'd go straight to the source. I'm sure there are number of breeders in Ireland who could set you up. Thanks to the internet it shouldn't be that hard.
As far as Irish Setters here in the states goes, I've never seen one in the field, but according to the posts here they do still exist. I personally would be wary, and would want to see the pups parents working. Only because I've heard of a lot of dogs, both popular, and obscure breeds, whose owners have said they hunt well, but then upon accepting an invite to hunt with them I found I was better served kicking up birds on my own. In my own short sighted way, I beleive this would more likely be the case with an obscure breed. Anyway, no offense meant to any Irish Setter owners present.
As far as Red Setters go. I have seen them on a number of occassions, and have been impressed. You might take a look there.
Finding a classy dog to have at your side shouldn't be too terribly difficult whether you decide on an Irish, Red, or many other breed of dog. There are so many. Keep in mind that the AKC doesn't mean too much in the reality of the hunting dog world, and that you might just find a dog to your liking with the American Field tag on it. There are also many breeds availablein Europe that aren't here yet. Though that can turn into quite an adventure should you decide to go that route.
On the subject of over breeding, and Labs; one thing which has worked for the Labs is it's overwhelming popularity. There are just too many Labs, and too many backyardsoccer mombreedersto completely breed the hunting and retreiving instinct out of it. It's actually a bit hard to fathom that soccer mom, and yuppy breeders might actually be helping the breed.
Anyway