Ladies shine in West Cork at one of Ireland's last traditional horse fairs

Tens of thousands of people attended the Ballabuidhe Horse Fair and Races in years gone by, but the lower turnout is put down to the covid-19 pandemic

(Left to right) Siobhan Murphy, Alison Hayes, Margaret "Maggie" Collins — who won Best On Trend Lady — Collette Fraser, and Nadine Fraser-O'Donovan, all from Dunmanway, in the Lady's Day pavilion at the Ballabuidhe Horse Fair and Races. Picture: Neil Michael

With a draughty corrugated barn for a pavilion and a mobile burger bar for a restaurant, Lady’s Day at one of Ireland's oldest horse fairs is definitely no Ascot.

But the 50 women who defied the elements of the Ballabuidhe Horse Fair and Races could surely give such an august institution a run for its money in the fashion stakes.