In Reply to: Re: Pattern Fair Day, Castlebar posted by BRIAN HOBAN on May 18, 2010 at 16:24:24:

a cara....thank you brian for your kind words......i cannot give you an exact reason as to why fair days were termed ...."pattern fairs"....but i would be inclined to think your research and account maybe an accurate reasoning.....it may have to do with the advent of summer....but for example the pattern fair day in tourmakeady was in july....and the pattern fair day in lenanne...was in august.....but these events led to great celebration.... street traders ....or hawkers as we were known.....came from all parts ....selling every imaginable commododity......fiddlers.......accordion players .....and chancers of all sorts ...got into the act.....the travellers.....the maughans ....and collins....came from ballinasloe.....to sing to sell donkeys....and horses.....they never created problems for the locals....and any fight or trouble they got into ....was with their own......they knew they were frowned on by local communities...and were intimidated and some times oppressed by them....but they certainly added colour to the canvass of irish life.....they mended pots and pans.....they " read fortunes "....and sadly too often drank too much.....their shawls had a significance ....similar in meaning to the scot plaid.......
as i travelled from town to town ....and village to village ....each fair was of signifance....like the horse fair in claremorris....the kid and goat fair in foxford.....kiltimagh had very interesting fair days.......where the "circus atmosphere"...always seemed present....but it also garnered story tellers and poets.....akin to peadair oconnaire.....or rafftery ...an file sin.....it seemed to want to compete with tourmakeady.....as gaelge was the spoken language....
sadly those colorful....culturally rich days seem to be a thing of the past......
i follow your writings and historical information with great interest and pride ....
....slan....agus.....
....tog go bog e.....