Until a few years ago the fair was the cause of tensions between the Travellers and the townspeople, writes Miriam Donohue.
The picturesque village of Borris nestles neatly in the foothills of Mount Leinster in south Carlow. This sleepy little town yesterday came to a standstill as scores of Travelling families from all over Ireland and England gathered in sunshine for the fair day.
The Borris Fair is one of the oldest in the country, dating from Tudor times, when Queen Elizabeth 1 drew up a charter allowing for trading every August 15th. Apart from a 20-year break in the 1900s, it has been an important date in the Borris calendar for four centuries.
Until a few years ago the fair was the cause of increasing tensions between Travellers and townspeople. The Travellers would arrive a week beforehand, take over the pubs and leave a mountain of rubbish strewn on the main street. Drunken street-fights were common and local people became more and more petrified. Many complained that they had become prisoners in their own homes.
It was a great source of local shame in 1997 when a daily newspaper published a picture of "dirty" Borris the day after the fair. The normally meticulously kept village resembled a dump.
Despite the hassle, local people didn't really want to see the back of fair day itself. August 15th was a time when people came home from England and the US to meet up with relatives and friends. It was also a big reunion day for Travellers. I come from Goresbridge, a village three miles away, and I remember the excitement as a child, being brought over to Borris to spend our pocket money in the stalls packed with all sorts of curiosities.
Four years ago local people decided that rather than confrontation they would negotiate with the Travellers and traders. While all isn't perfect ever since, there have been major improvements.
Individual trading bays have been set up and Travellers are charged €30 a day to use them. Portable toilet facilities and skips are provided, and litter and traffic wardens are on duty. The money raised goes to the Borris Tidy Towns Committee.
The charge for trading bays means that Travellers now arrive in Borris only a day or two before the day and they are gone the morning after. Today local council staff and cleaners will move into the town which will be back to nearly normal by tonight. Everyone will be reasonably happy.
This week, the Minister of State for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Willie O'Dea, announced he had secured a commitment from the Vintners Federation not to impose its threatened blanket ban on Travellers in pubs throughout the State. The threat followed incidents in pubs in Westport, Co Mayo, over what is now known as the notorious Croagh Patrick weekend.
There is still confusion over the ban, with Westport publicans yesterday insisting they are still not serving any Travellers.
Had they had gone ahead with their countrywide ban, publicans would have faced prosecution under the Equal Status Act. As part of the deal with the vintners, Mr O'Dea has promised to review the law which the vintners claim is flawed. They want it changed so it is easier to ban those whom they believe are potential troublemakers.
It does seem that the legislation is too rigid and I have huge sympathy for the publicans in Westport. The events of last month sound dreadful indeed. One publican, Tom Gill, told how he feared for his life when a group of Travellers landed into his pub. He said he had never seen anything like it, that the Travellers were aggressive and tried to bully him, took pints that weren't fully pulled and refused to pay for the drink.
Yet this publican and others like him feel their hands are tied. Tom Gill asked if a gang walked into a bank and started to threaten or intimidate staff and management would they get away with it. I am sure not.
Publicans in Borris in the last two days had to close their premises. The alternative was to risk prosecution under the Equal Status act for not allowing Travellers in. Experience has taught them that on fair day, serving Travellers in their premises is a recipe for trouble.
I am certainly not advocating that all Travellers be banned from bars due to the sins of a few. Far from it. But the the Travellers responsible should face the consequences and publicans and business people should have the right to protect themselves and their property from anybody who is a threat, Traveller or otherwise.
Better enforcement of the law is also required here and publicans in Westport and elsewhere should be able to depend on the Garda to respond effectively when people start to make trouble or to manipulate situations so as to make a claim for discrimination.
Borris Fair Day has survived because people got together to come up with a practical solution. It may be imperfect but it's better than nothing. Every summer somewhere becomes the battleground where the ongoing war between Travellers and the settled community is played out. Some years ago it was Borris. This year it is Westport.
Yesterday, with two excited children who had pocket money to spend, there was lively banter between Travellers selling their wares and local people and visitors - and no trace of animosity.
miriamdonohoe@eircom.net