Clonmel Horse Show: The show goes on, despite recession, war and rain

On Sunday, it will be 150 years since the first Clonmel Horse Show was held in 1865 and since then, it has survived economic turmoil, a civil war, two world wars, says historian Turtle Bunbury.

AUGUST 1865. It was a night to remember. Fireworks lit up the Suir Valley with exploding rockets, multi-coloured rays, blazes of magnesium and floating stars. A witness recalled the thousands in attendance roaring “a tremendous Tipperary cheer, which reverberated for several minutes through the recesses of the low hills.”

The Irish Royal Show in Clonmel was a success, but hopes had not been high. A similar event in Sligo, the previous year, had been lacklustre and there were complaints that Clonmel, in Tipperary, was too remote, its railway timetable ill-suited. Moreover, there was alarmist news from England about a major outbreak of rinderpest, a viral disease that would kill a quarter of a million cattle.