Horse owners and traders convened in Smithfield market square in Dublin yesterday for the monthly horse fair in defiance of a city council decision to suspend the event on health and safety grounds.
The organisers accused the authorities of seeking to destroy a generations-old tradition by moving the fair to another venue, and pledged to keep it in the north inner city.
Dublin City Council announced the fair's suspension last month after a horse bolted and ran onto the quays where it crashed into a car occupied by a woman and a young child.
The animal had been improperly tied to a moveable metal crowd barrier, which it dragged along behind it causing damage to other vehicles.
The council informed traders this "potentially life-threatening" event, combined with an ongoing lack of compliance with rules by some people, left it no option but to suspend the fair until it found an alternative venue.
The Equine Centre in Ballyfermot is being considered as a possible site for the fair, which is held on the first Sunday of each month.
However, the Smithfield Horse Owners' and Horse Fair Association, who organised yesterday's scaled-down event, insisted that practical steps could be taken to overcome health and safety concerns while preserving the traditional venue. Association members stewarded the fair yesterday because the security officials hired by the council were not present. "The security company took the running of the fair away from the people who have horse experience," said Mr Martin Sallinger from the association. "We will take control back and run it ourselves. There were never any accidents before."
Mr Bernard Fagan said the fair was a "fantastic tourist attraction" which brought revenue to local businesses. "This fair has been operating since 1665. The council was waiting for an accident to happen to scapegoat us and close it down. The simple answer is that in two years' time this is going to be another Temple Bar."
Mr Tommy Robinson and his brother Paddy were among the fair's regular visitors who turned out yesterday to show their support. "This shouldn't have been stopped for that one little incident last month. You wouldn't stop a rally if one car went off the track and hit members of the public," said Mr Tommy Robinson, whose father used to trade at the fair.
A spokesman for the council insisted yesterday that it respected the tradition of the Smithfield horse fair, but that public health and safety had to be a priority.
Council staff would meet early next week with legal advisers to discuss the implications of the association's decision to maintain the fair, according to the spokesman.