Trading quiet at rain-soaked Castleisland fair

THE crowds, the traffic and the animals all came in strength to Castleisland Horse Fair, yesterday, but trading was reported to be quiet.

Rain-soaked men standing with animals on the broad main street used terms such as “tough” and “slow” to describe business, while Frank Dodd, who deals in Irish draught horses and Connemara ponies, lamented the absence of buyers.

“I brought down five animals and was lucky to sell one draught mare for €800, which was a bad price, just before I decided to go home,” said Frank, from Galway.