This article is from page 39 of the 2007-06-26 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 39 JPG
IT RAINED like it was never going to end over the weekend. But under dark skies, the Spancilhill fair roared with life. The annual horse fair is synonymous with good, often rowdy times and this year’s installment was no less different.
Buyers and sellers from across Ire- land and beyond convened at one of the most famous traditional horse fairs in the world.
The crowds were steady all day Saturday. Some to buy, others to sell. Many were there just to have a look and find out for themselves what makes Spancilhill such a treasured date in the summer calendar.
There were the professionals who know the place and its customs all too well. They come from Mayo, Roscommon, Tipperary. Some from further afield. Nothing new in Span-
cilhill. When it was first held in 1600, such was its reputation that Spancul- hill drew the armies of Napoleon, in search of horses, sheep and other supplies, and no doubt a bit of dev- ilment. The army that marched on Spancilhill over the weekend came mainly to bargain and trade horses. But this being Spancilhill everything had its price.
There were days when it didn’t look too good for Spancilhill. During the eighties the festival’s future looked bleak. Numbers declined, an element of lawlessness crept in. All of a sud- den Spancilhill wasn’t the place to
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But thanks to men like Paddy Has- sett, the fair was saved and ultimate- ly revived. The only thing bleak on Saturday was the weather. And that didn’t matter one bit.