I was about 8 years of age. The various stalls in the field next to the racecourse were doing a roaring trade. A bit bored, curious, I wandered around to the back of a tent and pushed back a flap to peak in. Immediately there was a stinging slap across my earhole and a mouthful of unintelligible words from the gypsy woman. Crying, I ran to tell my Dad. ‘Well, you must have deserved it so,’ was his comment.
Ballabuidhe 2014
The Ballabuidhe (Bal-a-bwee) Races have been held from at least 1615 when King James I granted a charter to Randal Og Hurley to hold Ballabuidhe Fair in Dunmanway, west Cork in Ireland. The 414th edition has just ended and the pubs are counting their takings. For in every fair and festival to be held in Ireland during the summer, horses and drinking are the main distinguishing features. By day there is music, dancing, beauty competitions. Then there is horse trading, especially among the travelling community. Exiles from all over the world come back for the Gathering. And the bars serve non-stop with no one appearing to bother with licence restrictions and all that. No need even for the traditional ‘lock-in’ when the Gardai cruise past after closing time to make sure that the pubs ‘appear’ closed.
Ballabuidhe (skibbereeneagle.ie)
After Ballabuidhe the travellers and their horses might head westwards to Killorglin and Puck Fair. Their charter dates from 1613. There the only difference is that a wild goat is crowned King Puck and presides over the messy festivities.
Puck Fair (irishamerica.com)
And all over Ireland there are horse racing festivals held once a year. Tralee, Dingle, Galway. The travellers will happily follow the crowds. Maam Cross in wild Connemara mixes horse trading with that of sheep and cattle all year round.
Puck Fair (irishcentral.com)
Ireland may be a more prosperous and outward looking nation these days but you don’t have to look hard to find life as it has been lived over the centuries.
Back On The Rock 
The talk of horse racing and drinking remind me of some of my favorite Maeve Binchy stories. Fun post .
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Indeed Ms Binchy would have been very familiar with Irish fairs – though living in posh south Dublin 🙂
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Having never been to Dublin (except Dublin, VA–not at all the same), interesting to learn that it has a posh side–though most cities do.
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Seems there are many cities/towns in the USA named Dublin EQ 🙂 No doubt so named by Irish immigrants. Yes, south Dublin is generally regarded as being rather classier than the northside, though you’d be a brave person to say that north of the River Liffey 🙂
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I enjoyed reading about the Irish fairs, Roy. Eek…I can feel the sting of that slap!
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Thanks Jill. I’ve friends who’ve just come back from the Galway Races and they say the betting and the drinking was just mental. Yes that slap was old-school punishment – we could do with it sometimes these days 🙂
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I agree! 🙂
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But what did you DO to deserve the slapping? And are there still gypsies in this area?
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I suppose she thought I was about to steal something behind her back. Gypsies are more politely referred to these days as travellers. They are an old, ethnic group who traditionally move around the country, making a living on the way.
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I saw many gypsies when I was in Italy, but didn’t know they were as far north as Ireland (although “travelers” make sense). I wanted to be kind and open-hearted to the ones I saw in Florence, until they tried to pickpocket my guy, using their young children as distractions. ;-0
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The Irish travellers are a long-established minority. Sadly Pam the antics of a few reinforce many people’s view of them.
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I wonder what you were about to discover in that tent! I’ve never been to one of these fairs but they do sound great fun.
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Hi Andrea, the Irish do love a fair and all that goes with it. Their summers are short and they make the most of them.
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You really captured the feel of the fair. I can just picture it. The king goat came as a surprise, but otherwise, it sounds like an event the people waited for all year.
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For the residents it’s certainly keenly anticipated, and it brings a welcome bit of money into the local economy.
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A beautiful country is one that is fine with progress, but keeps its ancient traditions alive also. This is such a neat post, Roy.
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Yes Pam though the fairs have traditionally had a name for encouraging roughhousing and drinking – not so much of the former these days. There are still a few rival ‘factions’ but organised team sports have given male aggression something of an outlet these days.
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Which I suppose is a good thing. Even me, a (I’ve always thought) very non-aggressive sort, LOVE watching (American) football. Go figure. Then I’m ready for an hour of peaceful yoga. Haha.
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Oh, Roy, you took me back to the days of, “You must have deserved it,” versus “What did you do to my Precious?” 🙂
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Yes Kristine, and we could do with still being able to deliver a few slaps, in my view. P.S. I wouldn’t last long as a teacher 🙂
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It is almost as though we are psychically in synch, Roy. I was watching one these awful Gypsy reality shows in the US and started wondering if Irish travelers were linked to Roma. The DNA seems to show that the Irish travelers are uniquely Irish with a distinct Celtic DNA going back 1000 years or more. They speak an ancient Celtic language and a secret one, too.
My Nana always told me to be polite to Gypsy folks who came to the door in case they cursed me. On one occasion, a traveling lady did curse me – was it to live in an Orwellian dictatorship in the USA???
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Thanks Kerry. Irish travellers are certainly an identifiable minority. I recall very well across the years the old style gypsies with their colourful horse-drawn caravans, campfires, angry dogs etc. in the lanes of Ireland. They were generally tolerated then and sought to earn an honest living. And indeed your Nana was right, you either kept on their right side or stayed well clear. They are somewhat out of place in our modern world, not wanting to play by the rules and conventions. A shame because, as you say, they are an ancient community.
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They are perhaps a small example of how we feel about people who are ‘different’.
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PS – loved this post!
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There is still people going to my local pub by tractor 😀this is still ireland and that’s why we love it 😍
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Ireland has changed dramatically since I was there as a boy, but it still retains much of its appeal and charm – away from the urban centres.
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I tell you it changed a lot since we arrived too , 17 years ago. I love the way it can be so advanced and international in many things but at the same time it keeps his traditions and it’s rural hearth.
And yes countryside is still countryside and to get there you only have to drive 15 minutes out of dublin😂then if you drive a bit further you ll still have to remove your shoes or wellies when visiting someone before stepping through the door right?well at least that’s what I do🙄
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Exactly Sabina. And in the country if there’s a knock at the front door, it’s a stranger. Family and friends just walk in the side entrance 🙂
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And that is why I alway lock the gates 😂😂😂😂
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