A BLUE-GREY male goat was crowned King of Killorglin, Co Kerry, in blistering sunshine yesterday on Gathering Day, the opening day of Puck Fair.
King Puck’s coronation parade took more than an hour to pass through the hilly town stretching down to the river Laune.
Officially this is the 399th year of the three-day fair, although organisers believe Puck to be much older than the 1613 charter granted to Killorglin by King James 1st.
The coronation was performed by 12-year-old Claire O’Sullivan from the seaside school of Realt na Mara in the fishing village of Cromane. It is the first time the Cromane school has provided a Queen of Puck.
Claire’s first duty yesterday was to welcome a group of cyclists who set out from Trafalgar Square in London on August 4th and had made it to the hill in Killorglin at half past two on the dot, all in aid of cystic fibrosis.
They were given a resounding welcome from a town that has produced a number of famous cyclists.
The group was accompanied by local Rás man John Mangan, winner of the 1972 Rás Tailteann.
The horse fair, which annually opens the Puck Fair, began early with much of the bargaining done the night before, according to buyers.
The high prices of the boom period were no longer being fetched and several stalwarts reported a slow day with quality down.
However, a stoic trader of miniature Shetland ponies from Roscommon insisted he was “doing alright”, and was being offered €250 to €300 per pony by the parents of young children.
More than 80,000 people are expected to attend over the weekend.
Pubs are given a special exemption to stay open until 3am over the three nights – Puck is worth an estimated €6 million to the local economy.
Up to 200 stalls also lined the streets yesterday and most reported a brisk enough trade.