A Fair Summer

Modern Ireland?

One thing that is easy to forget when you live in and around Dublin is how much of our little island is given over to agriculture. While I know that the rest of the world thinks of Ireland as a green space covered with cows, sheep, and crops, life in Dublin for the last decade and more has revolved around tech companies, service industries, and retail, with pharma, food, and other production industries on the outer edges. It's less romantic than thatched cottages and green fields, but it's what pays the best salaries in and around the capital.

Slowed To A Crawl

Anyone who's visited Dublin knows that it's a great city with tremendous character, but its ever-increasing sprawl is undeniable. It's one of the reasons why Dublin is now, according to one study, the most congested city in the world and the second slowest city for drivers. No one who has ever sat on the M50 at rush hour, waiting for yet another accident to be cleared, would doubt these findings!

Living in the middle of this self-absorbed city-state makes it all too easy to forget about the rest of the country. (Although, mostly, the rest of the country is happy out of it! Don't tell the Dubliners!) This may be why, prior to about three weeks ago, I've given no thought to the phenomenon of the agricultural fair. It's the season for them, away from the Big Schmoke, and as I've visited two in as many weeks, I think it's safe to say I've fallen in love with them!

Oldcastle, Co. Meath

Depending on which route one takes from my home to MIJ in Sandyford, it's possible to pass through Oldcastle in northwest county Meath, near the border with county Cavan. It's about half an hour into my drive, and recently, I noted a sign advertising their upcoming fair. Not having been to such an event since I was very young and still living in England, I thought this would be a great way to spend some time on a Sunday. Reader, I was not wrong!

Beyond The Pale...Just!

Oldcastle dates back to the 18th century and the Naper family. The Napers were given bits of land previously belonging to the Plunketts, of whom St Oliver Plunkett is undoubtedly the most famous. Historically and culturally, the area has a strong Gaelic culture, and, in no small part due to the devastation caused by the Great Famine in this region, it has had close ties to Republican ideologies. Nowadays, it's a town of about 1500 people, and its fair day is a Big Deal!

Come One, Come All!

When we arrived, the town was full of parked cars, and people of all ages were streaming up to the entrance of Gilson Park for the 83rd annual agricultural show held there. Trailers and horseboxes had been parked elsewhere, and covered areas were set up to protect livestock from either sunshine or rain, depending on which arrived during the day. (Mainly, it just drizzled, so neither humans nor animals were phased.)

You only had to look around to know that, despite the huge technological leaps that have occurred in farming in the last sixty years, the excitement and opportunity to meet up with friends and neighbours, and those from farther afield, are just as exciting now as they were back in the 1940s when the fair was in its infancy!

Fair day, back through the decades and even centuries, was time to catch the eye of a suitor, maybe even to find a husband or wife. For all that we now swipe left or right in the blink of an eye, the young people attending had no less a glint in their eye, and for those not actively involved in showing or wrangling the animals, some care had been taken with their appearance!

Shorn Of All Dignity? Not Ewe!

It's hard to be overly presentable when you're shearing sheep, especially competitively, and even more especially on a day when the shearing boards are damp and slippery, but if you have the patience for that, you have the patience for anything! True, these Under-21 competitors were mainly being overseen by the elder men of their communities - who, of course, offered helpful advice at volume! - but recognition (and the first pint of the evening) will taste all the better for being hard-won.

Not only were there cows, sheep, goats, and alpacas at the fair, but there were also birds of prey, line dancers, country singers, dog shows, and lots of stalls selling everything from rain gear to footballs. Vans selling ice-cream, burgers, hot dogs, and fries made sure no one went hungry.

Dog Days of Summer

We weren't sure that dogs would be welcome at the fair, but we needn't have worried! There were canine companions all over the place, and the only request was that they were kept away from the cattle show rings. Cows are not small, and they can be hard enough for their handlers to manage without adding potentially barking dogs to stress them out. However, Fudge was happy to keep an eye on me while I was admiring the Limousins...

It's also a sure thing that she wanted to keep the Macra sheep company. Fudge has been a frustrated sheep dog all her life, and while she feels cows are far too big to be trustworthy, she would dearly love a couple of sheep to herd. As it is, she has to make do with herding my husband and me! It took the lure of a hot dog to get her away from the sheep section!

In fact, we all had such a good time that I went online to see when the next local-ish fair would be. It turned out that we only had to wait a week!

Arva, Co. Cavan.

Arva, also spelt Arvagh, is about the same distance from us as Oldcastle, but this time, travelling northwesterly. It's a pretty little village with about 400 inhabitants, and it sits at the point where three provinces—Ulster, Leinster, and Connacht—meet.

Its place name is rather grim for such a cute little spot. Ármhach means "Battlefield" in Irish, and because of its location, the area became the go-to battleground for the rival ruling clans looking to encroach on one another's territory. As well as being at the border of three provinces, it's also the meeting point of counties: Leitrim, Longford, and Cavan. I'm sure if they weren't fighting over territory, they were fighting over sporting prowess!

We had previously visited to take our extremely spoiled dog swimming in Lough Garty last month, much to the delight of local children playing on the slipway, who were thrilled to throw sticks for her under the watchful eyes of their parents. (Fudge is considered a big dog in an area where terriers and small collies are the norm, so while we think she's a normal size, we've grown used to little children being quite in awe of her!)

One Fair Day...

This time, we were after more country fair goodness, and it did not disappoint! Aside from the perils of parking heavy vehicles in a field still soft from months of intermittent rain and wondering if you'll ever be able to leave after all the four-wheel drives have churned up the mud, the entrance boded well. There were a lot more horses and ponies at this event, complete with small children and adults in jodhpurs and tweed jackets under a dazzling sun that only promised more heat throughout the afternoon. (Honestly, I've never been a horse person - which is just as well because I'm brutally allergic to the creatures - but there were some incredibly beautiful animals there with dappled grey and chestnut coats that you could see had been groomed for hours!)

Shetland ponies seem to be a favorite in this region - most likely because they can stay out in all weathers with relative impunity - and there are three living just down the lane from us. Several were being led around a ring by under-12s when we arrived. We eyed them carefully from a safe distance for a while, but then Fudge spotted the sheep and decided that they were much more interesting!

It seems there's a definite circuit for the country fairs, and the gentleman with the birds of prey was present to show off his friends to the public. His eagle owl looked less than impressed. The cattle were being washed, brushed, and pampered before being shown, and I saw one couple using a blow dryer on a young Hereford, which was quite an unexpected sight! One was brushing while the other dried - talk about teamwork!

I didn't spend much time thinking about cattle when I lived in Bray, but I've become quite entranced by them. Not only by the herds that live in the fields along our local lanes who come to chat of an evening who are all dairy cows, but the Simmentals, Herefords, and Limousins - they're all such beautiful animals. I'm sure their breeders would be horrified to hear that seeing them at fairs has absolutely put me off beef, but nonetheless, it's true.

Where Next?

Ireland has an extensive program of agricultural shows annually, and if you are more familiar with an urband environment, it's definitely worth visiting one if you can make it. It offers a little insight into the passion and high standards that are upheld by Irish farmers in an often difficult and wearing way of life.

Now, I wonder if I can get Ciarán and Jane to sponsor a trip to the National Ploughing Championships in September...? Anyone want to join me?