Autumn begins on Sunday, August 8th, this year, specifically at Moynalty, Co Meath. It is a few miles from Kells, or maybe in some eyes Kells is a few miles from Moynalty. For nearly a quarter of a century this lovely little village has been the site of the magnificent Steam Threshing Fair or Festival. Don't ask what goes on there, apart from the threshing, which alone must be the chief draw in its evocation of a romantic past, with huge engines bellowing out clouds of smoke as the people of today's computer, digital age watch in awe. This is the heart of the matter, but there are always other reminders of skills in the fields which intrigue today's folk, city and country people alike. For example, the committee have this year engaged the skills of some Fermanagh people to demonstrate the sickle and scythe method of cutting barley. And it is not just an occasion which pulls in people from neighbouring districts. Last year, says Sean Sheridan, the public relations man for the occasion, a busload of people came from Cork and a minibus from Mayo. Only magnificent stewarding can deal with a crowd of visitors which numbers around 25,000.
The location is a great undulating field which runs down from what may be a motte of Norman origin (they were very strong in all this area), to the clear waters of the Borora river. The main purpose of the day is, of course, to keep reminding us of our history on the land, but aside from the engines and, this year the scythe and sickle men, and some interesting agricultural implements and machines of another age, there are, from year to year, magnificent dray horses, all a-jingle with brass ornamentations and what-not. Vintage motorcars, too. Besides this, more or less the heart of the matter, there is always the huge variety of normal fun-fair entertainments with its hurdy-gurdy music. It is not all concerned with the past. And there is sustenance to be had, bread baked in the open by women from the area, and various tea-tents. Valentine Farrell wrote a book on Moynalty, "the plain of the flocks", meaning flocks of birds, maybe swans, in 1964. Unfortunately, it is out of print. Mostly pronounced Minaulty. The achievement of the committee in making this such a great event in the calendar, the achievement of the people as a whole in giving it such support, shows what heart there still is in our countryside. Y