The Puck stops here: Sweltering heat prompts shortest reign ever for Killorglin's King Puck

Joe Duffy received a tsunami of texts about Puck's incarceration in soaring temperatures — and now the goat is gone

Controversy rages on 'Liveline' in 2022 — but that was of no consequence to Liz O'Connor, the Queen of Puck Fair, who crowned King Puck in Killorglin on August 10, 1983. Picture: Eddie O'Hare/Irish Examiner Archive

In what looks to be the shortest reign ever for a goat, King Puck was taken down unceremoniously on the second day of his rule to avoid temperatures of 26C and up.

A local vet decided that such heat, while in a metal cage over Killorglin, was too hot to handle for the Macgillycuddy goat.

The decision was taken before the noon heat intensified, and communicated to the Department of Agriculture thereafter.

The long-running tradition had been the subject of ferocious debate on the national airwaves in recent days, with RTÉ’s Liveline fielding a large volume of  calls from animal rights activists concerned after the goat was pictured behind bars.

On Thursday, a spokeswoman for the fair insisted it was the local vet who made the decision to take down the goat.

“He is checked several times a day and this morning the vet decided it was too hot for him,” she said.

King Puck's loyal courtiers accompanying the wild goat to his coronation at the centuries-old fair in Killorglin, Co Kerry, on August 12, 1951. Picture: Irish Examiner Archive

She added that the goat was “resting in the shade”, though his new location was not made clear.

“Under the five freedoms of animal welfare, the Puck Fair committee continued to ensure that the welfare of King Puck is their highest priority,” the spokeswoman said.

The goat continues to have a good bill of health but it is not clear when he will be released back into the wild. 

Gardai in Killorglin has confirmed that the King Puck, the live goat who is the symbol of the Puck Fair, has been taken down from the cage on the tower at the fair this morning. @joeliveline
#liveline

— Liveline (@rteliveline) August 11, 2022

His majesty would normally be taken down on Friday with great ceremony — but how to dethrone a goat that is already down remains to be seen.

The affair has prompted questions over the future of the festival and whether any more King Pucks will be crowned.

The coronation of the goat most likely has its origins in pagan Ireland.

Puck Fair is reputed to be more than 400 years old, so this 'Examiner' photo of King Puck on his perch in Killorglin in 1913 is pretty recent really. Picture: Irish Examiner Archive

In years gone by, concern was voiced by the Catholic church about raising a goat — regarded by some as a symbol of the devil — over the human population and venerating it in such a manner.

In 2022, it seems animal welfare has succeeded where even 1950s Catholic Ireland could not.

• Find out more about the festival on the official Puck Fair website.