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E-mail100,000 turn out for Kerry's Puck Fair
Kerry's ancient Puck Fair, a wild music and revelry festival presided over by a wild goat, has become a tourism bonanza now worth millions to the local economy.
For local man Danny Slattery, 97, it's an unmissable annual event. Slattery attended his first Puck Fair in 1928, and he hasn't missed a Puck Fair since.
Although the crowds these days are much bigger, and the attendees are more international, for Slattery, Puck Fair is still about fun, friends and a bit of music.
Yesterday, American, French, UK and Irish TV crews wound their way through the vast crowds that milled over the River Laune bridge. A bronze puck goat stood guard on one bank of the river, with a real-life billy goat on the other.
New Orleans may have Mardi Gras, but Killorglin's Puck Fair lays proud claim
to be the greatest of all Irish festivals.
'I have never seen anything like it, we are very glad we came today. It is a great spectacle,' Swedish holiday maker Lars Ullstrom told the press.
The town of 2,000 residents swells to an estimated 100,000 visitors, a 5,000 percent population explosion which other Irish tourism destinations can only dream of.
Local publican Declan Falvey told the press the fair is vital to the local economy. 'It is the biggest three days of the year for almost everyone in Killorglin,' he explained.
On day one, Irish politicians rubbed shoulders with celebrities, as the festival, which traces its roots back to pagan Celtic times, got underway.
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