Borris Fair basked in the sunshine but numbers were down
There was plenty of style and glamour at this year's Borris Fair Photos; Michael O'Rourke Photography
THE historic and colourful Borris Fair took place on its traditional date of 15 August when the glorious sunshine added to the festive atmosphere.
The fair, which dates back to the early 19th century, is a traditional day of horse trading and some matchmaking for the Traveller community. Travellers from all around the country gather in Borris to meet up, get some business done and have a bit of craic, but this year the number of people attending it was significantly down on other years.
“It was definitely quieter than usual,” cllr William Quinn told . “Apart from members of the Traveller community, there were only two or three hundred other people there. It’s still a big day for Travellers, though. The atmosphere was lovely because the weather was so good. The clean up by Carlow Co Council and the local CE scheme workers was fairly quick the next morning, too.”
Most of the businesses in the village opted to stay closed for the day, but two supermarkets, one pub and a garage were open to customers.
Supt Anthony Farrell said that there was a significant police presence in the village itself and on the surrounding roads.
“We had an operational plan and everything went well. There was no trouble and there were no significant delays in the traffic,” said Supt Farrell.
