page_title: Ballinasloe Horse Fair
section_title: Festivities
hierarchical_section_title: Ballinasloe Horse Fair / Festivities
caption_attribution_description: Today we have a magnificent Fair Green in Ballinasloe which if my Irish serves me right translates as "The town of the gatherings (or crowds)". There was certainly plenty of room for such gatherings as might assemble here - and not only do we see evidence of that in the wagons and traction engine here, but there's tents on the green in the 2005 OSI and 2011 Streetview that [/photos/91549360@N03/ O Mac] and [/photos/gnmcauley/ Niall McAuley] shared with us. We don't yet have a date for when our wagons were on the green, but the consensus seems to be that this was late 19th century or perhaps very very early 20th century. Thanks also to [/photos/beachcomberaustralia/ Beachcomber] for the 19th century contemporary descriptions of fairs on the green... Photographer: Robert French Collection: Lawrence Photograph Collection Date: between ca. 1865-1914 NLI Ref: L_CAB_08301 You can also view this image, and many thousands of others, on the NLI’s catalogue at catalogue.nli.ie
context_page_description: The Ballinasloe Horse Fair is a horse fair which is held annually at Ballinasloe, the second largest town in County Galway, in the western part of Ireland. It is Europe's oldest and largest horse fair, dating back to the 18th century. The annual event attracts up to 80,000 visitors annually. This festival is one of the most important social and economic events in the life of the town. The town also hosts other horse and pony riding, show jumping and other equestrian activities throughout the year.
context_section_description: The fair lasts seven days and starts on the Sunday before the first Tuesday in October, when a parade through the town is held. It continues during the next week and includes a beauty contest (the Queen of the Fair), fireworks, tug-of-war competitions, dog shows, artistic and cultural events, singing competitions and fairground attractions as well as the titular horse fair. A large market also takes place on the streets of Ballinasloe. The latter event includes sale-and-purchase, racing and show-jumping and these are concentrated on a 6-acre site on Society Street - the fair green. Events culminate during the second week-end;  the Sunday of which is known as "Country Fair Day". Traditionally, this was the day in the fair with the highest attendance from local rural residents.
caption: Ballinasloe Fair Green
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