Smart traders get their asses to Castleisland

IF you had a mare donkey for sale, you were in the money at Castleisland Horse Fair yesterday.

Donkeys, which were almost threatened with extinction a few years ago, are enjoying renewed popularity and, with demand exceeding supply, prices were high.

“I won’t deal with you if you’ve anything less than €1,000 in your pocket,” said one donkey vendor, who declined to give his name, when approached. “And even if you have €2,000, it mightn’t still be enough,” he added in the same breath.

The age-old fair attracted huge crowds, with long lines of cars and horse boxes parked on all roads leading into the town, packed pubs and plenty of bustle on the streets. Dozens of stalls selling anything from clothes to electrical goods to mobile phone covers created a busy commercial atmosphere in the mart yard.

“The fair nearly died out about 15 years ago when you had only a handful of animals coming here, but it has picked up hugely in recent times. Today’s fair is the biggest ever,” said Castleisland publican Bobby O’Connell.

“A lot of people come just to see what’s going on. Parents also bring their children who don’t have many opportunities nowadays to see a real fair with so many animals on display. People are more affluent now and more of them are buying animals for children.

“It’s also a great day for business in the town, following on a highly successful Patrick O’Keeffe Traditional Music Festival during the bank holiday.”

Castleisland claims to have one of the widest main streets in Ireland, second only to O’Connell Street in Dublin, and half of the street was closed off for the fair, allowing motorised traffic to move on the other side.

People came from all over the country looking for equine bargains and pub cash registers tinkled merrily well into the evening.