Is the Ballinasloe October fair doing the town's reputation more harm than good?

flazio

Not that is has much going for it these days anyway but every year videos and pictures of animal abuse comes out of Ballinasloe to many cries of ban the fair.
A massive security operation is required in order to keep certain visitors to the town from losing their heads and causing chaos.
At this stage is it even worth the effort for the town.

Sycamore Tree

Yes absolutely.

biko

The fair is really only known as a fair for travellers, whenever it comes up that's all people I know talk about.

In all fairness, the kind of crowd that want the fair banned outright also would want zoos banned and all of us to go vegan. The fair can be done humanely, if people pulled their fingers out and enforced rules on what goes on. The first year of the crackdown would be a tough one, but give it some management we’d have the right horse crowd come along. Who knows, maybe sham* descendant Megan Markle might bring over hubbie to pick some horses for the Irish Guard?

(*sham: colloquial term for native of Ballinasloe. Not fake.)

bobbyss

flazio wrote:

Not that is has much going for it these days anyway but every year videos and pictures of animal abuse comes out of Ballinasloe to many cries of ban the fair. A massive security operation is required in order to keep certain visitors to the town from losing their heads and causing chaos. At this stage is it even worth the effort for the town.

I'm sure it brings a lot of money to the area. Are there any stats on people prosecuted for animal abuse there? Maybe the media is hyping it up.

Bredabe

bobbyss wrote: »

I'm sure it brings a lot of money to the area. Are there any stats on people prosecuted for animal abuse there? Maybe the media is hyping it up.

I doubt its the media, ppl I know who have been in animal welfare since the 70's are still very very concerned about what happens before, during and after the fair. Let alone what goes on at the bog.

Greaney

They closed with a firework display over the Quay this year. It was a good crowd. Big variety in the type of people that were there... Locals, folk from the surrounding county, travellers, and a far few from South Asia! Go figure. I think McDonagh sponsored it.

Not a bad display, a good 20 mins, could have done with a matching 'soundtrack'.

Schwiiing

It's thankfully dying a slow death. The horse trading that goes on the green can be moved to the mart. The lunging could probably go across the road to the showjumping ring. Move the stalls off the streets to the green and leave the town open to traffic and the horse**** off the road.