Smithfield Horse Fair.

AlekSmart

Given that the Traveller thread has been locked,even though mods conceeded it contained sustainable debate,perhaps it is worth continuing with a subsidiary issue raised here by MadSl

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=85128697&postcount=337

I was intrigued by the opinion expressed here...

I lived in Smithfield, quite a few travellers used to show up there once a month for the horsefair. Never had a problem with them, but witnessed the frankly disgraceful and hostile attitudes of local businesses to them.

It is not specifically Traveller related,but nonetheless I would suggest that Local Business people may well have had perfectly valid justification for those hostile attitudes...

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/three-hurt-in-shootout-at-smithfield-horse-fair-26715372.html

Even just looking at the slashook being carried in the picture atop this article makes me feel uneasy ....

http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/1217/359386-teenager-jailed-over-smithfield-horse-fair-shots/

Whilst it is sublimely easy to target Business Folk for exhibiting "disgraceful hostility",are those same business people and their customers expected to accept Slashooks,Webley Pistols and Home Made Shotguns as acceptable in and about their premises...?

With the airwaves being full of accounts (some quite hair-raising) of savagery and madness during the recent good-weather,is it worth askin if extreme behaviour now has to be accepted simply to prove a level of refinement and understanding

mikom

Savagery and madness, I dunno......... but this is the best thing ever to come out of Smithfield......... http://comeheretome.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/famous1.jpg

Missyelliot2

mikom wrote: »

Savagery and madness, I dunno......... but this is the best thing ever to come out of Smithfield......... http://comeheretome.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/famous1.jpg

Ewwwwww! saw that before - really wish I could unsee it:(

johnnyskeleton

Most local businesses are closed when the fair is on.

Generally, I think there should be more markets, fairs etc that you can just walk into/out of without having to pay €20/30 to get in and then pay too much for the stuff (I'm looking at you, taste of Dublin)

MadsL

AlekSmart wrote: »

Whilst it is sublimely easy to target Business Folk for exhibiting "disgraceful hostility",are those same business people and their customers expected to accept Slashooks,Webley Pistols and Home Made Shotguns as acceptable in and about their premises...?

Perhaps you would post the details of when Slashooks, Webley pistols and homemade shotties were found in such premises?

Poor thread attempt frankly.

MadsL

johnnyskeleton wrote: »

Most local businesses are closed when the fair is on.

I'm was referring to businesses that had a "door policy" unlocking and then locking doors when the fair was on.

hfallada

Like I could understand having the fair there if it was 15 years ago when Smithfield was a bunch of rotten warehouses. But now it's a residential and retail area. If the fair was to continue it should be moved to outside the city.

MadsL

hfallada wrote: »

Like I could understand having the fair there if it was 15 years ago when Smithfield was a bunch of rotten warehouses. But now it's a residential and retail area. If the fair was to continue it should be moved to outside the city.

Yeah. Move a centuries-old tradition because the area is now gentrified. :mad:

AlekSmart

MadsL wrote: »

I'm was referring to businesses that had a "door policy" unlocking and then locking doors when the fair was on.

Surely,given the accounts of this SINGLE days events,you could perhaps ses a modicum of good sense in this policy ?

Are you suggesting these individuals,and those "egging them on",would respect the integrity of a business premises by voluntarily leaving their hardware stacked in a neat pile outside the door ?

mikom

MadsL wrote: »

Yeah. Move a centuries-old tradition because the area is now gentrified. :mad:

Makes me so damn mad...... I....I...I just want to go out and cut some turf..... Oh, wait..

MadsL

AlekSmart wrote: »

Surely,given the accounts of this SINGLE days events,you could perhaps ses a modicum of good sense in this policy ?

Are you suggesting these individuals,and those "egging them on",would respect the integrity of a business premises by voluntarily leaving their hardware stacked in a neat pile outside the door ?

I see. Perhaps all retail owners should employ metal detectors given the number of shootings in Dublin.

Instead it is easier to just let someone into the shop based on if you think they are travellers or not.

As you admit, that was a single day's event. Not a monthly occurrence.

MadsL

mikom wrote: »

Makes me so damn mad...... I....I...I just want to go out and cut some turf..... Oh, wait..

Yeah, a horsefair verses destruction of unique natural habitat. Clearly the horsefair should be dealt with utmost speed. Turfcutting? ah shure, y'know yerself.

That's three personal attacks on my posting history...care to go for a fourth? I have strong views on advertising.

mikom

MadsL wrote: »

Yeah, a horsefair verses destruction of unique natural habitat. Clearly the horsefair should be dealt with utmost speed. Turfcutting? ah shure, y'know yerself.

That's three personal attacks on my posting history...care to go for a fourth? I have strong views on advertising.

Yep, and Smithfield a habitat, not a parade ring.

Mad men....... they're everywhere.

meoklmrk91

In fairness this goes on all over the country, rightly or wrongly, went with a friend of mine to a funeral for a family member of their neighbour who was a settled traveller. I waited in the car while they went in parked outside a pub around the corner. The pub had the front door closed and regulars knocked to be left in. So it's not just Smithfield.

gowley

MadsL wrote: »

Yeah, a horsefair verses destruction of unique natural habitat. Clearly the horsefair should be dealt with utmost speed. Turfcutting? ah shure, y'know yerself.

That's three personal attacks on my posting history...care to go for a fourth? I have strong views on advertising.

dont know if you have ever seen the state of Borris in Carlow during and after the fair down there. havent been to Smithfield but the town of Borris is wrecked after the fair . most of the bussiness close for the day due to the trouble every year.

MadsL

mikom wrote: »

Yep, and Smithfield a habitat, not a parade ring.

Mad men....... they're everywhere.

For what exactly? I know DCC planted some grass recently in order to increase the fly population around all the dog****.

MadsL

gowley wrote: »

dont know if you have ever seen the state of Borris in Carlow during and after the fair down there. havent been to Smithfield but the town of Borris is wrecked after the fair . most of the bussiness close for the day due to the trouble every year.

As far as I am aware that feud in 2011 was the only trouble at Smithfield in all the years of the horsefair running. Open to correction.

AlekSmart

MadsL wrote: »

Yeah. Move a centuries-old tradition because the area is now gentrified. :mad:

Nope,move it because the area is totally unsuited and unsafe for it.

Are you taking the pyss with your "gentrified" tag ?...

Smithfield has a large and eclectic population,but Lord Henry Mountcharles or his likes do not figure amongst them.

It's also worth noting that Smithfield itself was a commercial area,largely given over to supporting the many types of Livestock which populated most of Dublin up until the 1970's.

Cattle,Sheep,Pigs,Goats,Chickens,Turkeys all were kept within the City boundaries by many families.

Smithfield was where the Urban Livestock Keepers came to buy Feed and Bedding for their animals,with North King Street being where Murphys the Chemist was located,specialising in all medical supplies for animal use.

However,there is some debate and little definitive proof that Smithfield,as we know it today,was ever the actual location for a regular horsefair back to 1665,as contended by it's proponents.

http://debates.oireachtas.ie/dail/2011/04/07/00024.asp

The fair in Smithfield has been in existence for centuries. Cattle, vegetables, hay and fruit were traded in Smithfield and the fish market was just down the road. All of this was an integral part of the area and the tradition of trading activity is a long one. The horse fair is a more recent feature but nevertheless has trading rights in the area.

Smithfield's popularity,in recent times,tended to have more to do with it's difficulty to police,as the multiple access points demanded resources of Garda manpower that were difficult to provide.

gowley

MadsL wrote: »

As far as I am aware that feud in 2011 was the only trouble at Smithfield in all the years of the horsefair running. Open to correction.

stated in my post i hadnt been to smithfield. it was about the fair in borris and the state the village is left in every year and the trouble down there

MadsL

AlekSmart wrote: »

Nope,move it because the area is totally unsuited and unsafe for it.

As modified by DCC.

Are you taking the pyss with your "gentrified" tag ?...

Smithfield has a large and eclectic population,but Lord Henry Mountcharles or his likes do not figure amongst them.

But, but, but it is a "residential and commercial centre" now!!!

However,there is some debate and little definitive proof that Smithfield,as we know it today,was ever the actual location for a regular horsefair back to 1665,as contended by it's proponents.

Is it now?

Smithfield's popularity,in recent times,tended to have more to do with it's difficulty to police,as the multiple access points demanded resources of Garda manpower that were difficult to provide.

You clearly haven't been present during the weekend lockdowns and roadblocks that Gardai enacted which included stopping and interrogating residents.

AlekSmart

MadsL wrote: »

I see. Perhaps all retail owners should employ metal detectors given the number of shootings in Dublin.

Instead it is easier to just let someone into the shop based on if you think they are travellers or not.

As you admit, that was a single day's event.Not a monthly occurrence.

I see no reason,save for playing to a gallery,to specifically target Travellers regarding Smithfield.

The Horse-Fair has a large and varied following,of whom a significant proportion are NOT Travellers.

I'd be quite confident that a businessperson in Smithfield would far prefer to be taking money off of the Fair's attendees than employing measures to keep prospective customers OUT.

Can you not perhaps ask yourself WHY a businessperson would turn down an opportunity to do business ?

That Single Day's Event as you say,was just that,but it represented the culmination of a long running scenario in which the Fair played centre-stage...It's not only horses which are traded at this Fair.

AlekSmart

MadsL wrote: »

.
You clearly haven't been present during the weekend lockdowns and roadblocks that Gardai enacted which included stopping and interrogating residents.

Au contraire,I am quite a regular passer-by,and yes,have been stopped on occasion by Gardai for "word",usually carried out in a businesslike manner and whilst an irritation,certainly not anywhere like an "interrogation" :rolleyes:

Super-Rush

Cue we end up with the same crap that was posted in the previous thread.

One of these threads per year is too much, two in one day is looking for trouble.