Thoughts on the Borris Fair

stick-dan · 30-07-2008 12:03AM #1

As i am sure most of you here are aware every year a small village in county carlow, Borris, hosts a fair on the 15th of August. The fair which has become a popular event for a large population of the travelling community leaves the normally extremely clean village of Borris in an absolute shambles of a state. Every year the village is extremely littered, businesses close down for the day, pubs go into lock-down state and the a mini environmental crisis unfolds.

Now all being said the town does get extremely littered and the travelling community do seem to take the majority of the stick for it and perhaps rightly so but surely some of the blame must be placed elsewhere for allowing the fair to happen. There is already a notable presence in surrounding townlands of irregular amounts of travelling community families particularly in Bagenalstown which saw the arrival of about 50 caravans onto the old royal oak meats site.

What are people's thoughts on the fair?Should it be stopped? If not, why? If yes, Why and How?Is it Fair the council have to pay men to operate a minimum of one digger and half a dozen workers to clear the streets of the rubbish left from the aftermath of the fair?

ShayK1 · 30-07-2008 07:49AM

should the tullow show be cancelled? and the tinahely show, and Electric picnic, and ****** and slane and any other public event...?!!?!?!?

face it, people are parasites. We move in on territory, destroy it and move on.
You'll find the same thing going on anywhere you get a large gathering of people.

sucks for boris that the fair happens on the main street, mayhaps if they used a large field like the Tullow and Tinahely shows it would be less noticable to the general public.

Don1 · 30-07-2008 09:39AM

The legitimate traders are grand but the fcúking knackers should be shot on sight!!!

stick-dan · 30-07-2008 12:27PM

ShayK1 wrote: »

should the tullow show be cancelled? and the tinahely show, and Electric picnic, and ****** and slane and any other public event...?!!?!?!?

face it, people are parasites. We move in on territory, destroy it and move on.
You'll find the same thing going on anywhere you get a large gathering of people.

sucks for boris that the fair happens on the main street, mayhaps if they used a large field like the Tullow and Tinahely shows it would be less noticable to the general public.

No they shouldn't be cancelled of course, but that is why at the end of my original post i said , IDEAS!!

i think putting it in a field somewhere would be a great idea.

ShayK1 · 30-07-2008 01:12PM

stick-dan wrote: »

i think putting it in a field somewhere would be a great idea.

Thanks :-)

Sully · 31-07-2008 11:21AM

Don1; Hi. Bye.

The use of the term "knacker" or any other similar word to describe members of the travelling community is not welcome here. Please use more appropriate words when discussing them in future.

Many Thanks.

ShayK1 · 31-07-2008 03:17PM

Sully wrote: »

Don1; Hi. Bye.

Jaysis Sully, bit harsh with the ban stick there?
Is he not supposed to get a warning and maybe a post edit first?
Then a 2nd offense would be a banning?

MsFifers · 31-07-2008 05:09PM

Eh - he is advocating murdering people???!

Sully · 31-07-2008 05:37PM

ShayK1 wrote: »

Jaysis Sully, bit harsh with the ban stick there?
Is he not supposed to get a warning and maybe a post edit first?
Then a 2nd offense would be a banning?

Usually, I do. In this case, no.

Why? Advocating violence and using a derogatory term to refer to members of the travelling community is two offences and that gets you an instant ban in my books.

Its only a week ban.

Any further issues, my Inbox awaits your PM

stick-dan · 31-07-2008 06:28PM

oh no, my bad, i shoudl never have started the thread i should have known it would end in controversy...

Sully · 31-07-2008 06:36PM

stick-dan wrote: »

oh no, my bad, i shoudl never have started the thread i should have known it would end in controversy...

No your fine. Its a genuine topic that has potential. Your always going to get eejits who make stupid remarks.

Trust me. this is nothing compared to whats beene happening in the Waterford forum

Carry on folks.

patrickc · 01-08-2008 08:02AM

it's a fair, it's bound to attract all sorts of people, rubbish etc is inevitable after it.

get the litter wardens out and on the spot fines, it'll be alot cleaner than last year then.

mosesgun · 01-08-2008 03:04PM

patrickc wrote: »

it's a fair, it's bound to attract all sorts of people, rubbish etc is inevitable after it.

get the litter wardens out and on the spot fines, it'll be alot cleaner than last year then.

Not a bad idea. However, you'd want some heavily armed litter wardens! Extracting on the spot fines at this fair would not be for the faint hearted, nor indeed for the sane. I live in Borris and would think the idea of moving it to a field close by would be a great idea. Failing that, they should limit it to the 15th only. This year the 15th is a Friday - no doubt they will arrive on Thursday and not leave until Sunday. If you saw the absolute disregard they have for the area and the state of the place when they're gone, you'd agree. Having said that, if you're in the market for a knock off garden strimmer, cheap DVD or used cowboy hat, you couldn't pick a better place.

MsFifers · 01-08-2008 03:10PM

Could a levy be imposed on anyone setting up their stall - and use what collected to fund the clean up?

You'd nearly need a roadblock for everyone going in though to collect it - could cause trouble in inself...

mosesgun · 01-08-2008 04:23PM

MsFifers wrote: »

Could a levy be imposed on anyone setting up their stall - and use what collected to fund the clean up?

You'd nearly need a roadblock for everyone going in though to collect it - could cause trouble in inself...

Charging for stalls is a good idea but can't see it working. Imagine the hassle collecting the money. I think the grounds of Borris House would make an ideal venue for the fair. They held a big Opera festival earlier in the summer so they're obviosuly all up for cultural integration! This could be a step too far for them though.

stick-dan · 01-08-2008 07:59PM

The litter warden wouldn't work, the particular nature of this fair and the people that it attracts would be far to an intimidating environment for a litter warden to operate in.

I think shay hit the nail on the head when he said relocate the fair to a field somewhere. It really isn't fair on the people from the village of borris.

I don't think that locating the fair in borris house would be a step back. This fair had a reputation for destroying the village of borris so i would not like to see it destroying such a pictureesque house.

I thought i heard that they tried to charge for stalls last year but they couldn't obtain the levies from the traders.Rumour maybe, i'm not sure.

Carpenter · 11-08-2008 06:19PM

mosesgun wrote: »

Not a bad idea. However, you'd want some heavily armed litter wardens! Extracting on the spot fines at this fair would not be for the faint hearted, nor indeed for the sane. I live in Borris and would think the idea of moving it to a field close by would be a great idea. Failing that, they should limit it to the 15th only. This year the 15th is a Friday - no doubt they will arrive on Thursday and not leave until Sunday. If you saw the absolute disregard they have for the area and the state of the place when they're gone, you'd agree. Having said that, if you're in the market for a knock off garden strimmer, cheap DVD or used cowboy hat, you couldn't pick a better place.

They could also have it in Daltons,Joyces,codys or the green drake as it is called now or how about a mile or 2 up the road in the hilltop LOL

stick-dan · 11-08-2008 07:07PM

How could you hold it in one of the pubs? Are you being witty or sarcastic. Its a big fair, a messy one but a fair none the less.

Carpenter · 12-08-2008 06:57PM

stick-dan wrote: »

How could you hold it in one of the pubs? Are you being witty or sarcastic. Its a big fair, a messy one but a fair none the less.

Yes I am joking Dan
But here is a few things to think about
Years ago it brought a lot off cash into Borris
Now it costs Borris a lot off cash and the locals make nothing in fact it costs 10,000 euro to clean up the mess after the Fair
I know as I am sure do you a lot off people around Kilcoltrim (Old people I might add) that are afraid to go into Borris on the 14th 15th and 16th
I enjoy a Pint on a Friday down there but this week all the pubs are closed on friday (what about the locals after a hard week working no beer friday for them).
So where is the enjoyment now gone are the days off the water pistol fights and getting chips from the van .
Ask yourself do you want it on

stick-dan · 12-08-2008 07:47PM

No i don't want it on imho.

I am an advocate of preserving traditional fairs and the like seeing as they are a tradition to certain communities but for the past few years the fair has overstepped the boundaries of heritage/tradition and transformed into a 2/3 day illegal dumping festival.

Now certainly there are legitimate traders at the fair who do their business and leave and all well and good to them but the majority of traders set up free stalls, bring bags of well tbh rubbish items of no commercial value, sit them on a stall for a few hours and then leave them behind as they pack up and leave.

I totally agree that the fair used to make a lot of money but i've seen Borris the days following the Fair the last two years and it is an absolute farce. For the past two years i beared witness to JCB's, which have to be privately hired pushing large mounds of rubbish into big piles down the street while a team of council workers brushing against a flow of liquid rubbish also. The sight of the cleanup is horrendous. The fact the fair is allowed to go ahead is atrocious although i don't know what the local community can do about it.

Testiment to the fair being unwanted bad news to the community of borris is the fact that the local drinking establishments do close around the days of the fair, which if you think about is further loss to the local economy, added on top to the cost of the cleanup.

So no in conclusion i don't want it on and i'm not from borris, i can't imagine what some of the locals must be thinking.

slayerfan · 13-08-2008 08:51AM

Have any of you every drove through Borris the morning after the fair?
The first time i saw it it looked like a Boeing 747 had fallen out of the sky and crashed in the town. I couldnt believe the volume of stuff left thrown on both sides of the street, the street in the town is quite long and it was completely covered. In 'The Independant' this morning, the travellers are saying they are 'disgusted' at the towns decision to close for business while the fair is on. The fact of the matter is that these people come to Borris, set up their stalls and then leave, with tonnes (I mean, rigid trucks and diggers going from 7am the following morning, all day to clear it up) of rubbish and so-called 'goods' lying on the street.
The comment about people wrecking every venue for concerts etc... doesnt compare to what happens in Borris. If the travellers wanted to have a fair game, when it comes to PR and their image as an ethnic group, they might put some thought into how leaving tonnes of **** lying around a town, for tax payers to clean up, affects their standing in the community. I suggest that for the laugh, go down to borris on the morning after the fair and see for yourselves why everyone in that town is sick of this happening year after year. As for the argument that the fair bring money to the town, thats total **** also, the business are closed for the duration of the fair, so the money might 'be in' the town, but it doesnt get spent in local shops, so that cleanup bill of 15000 quid is straight out of the council coffers.

ShayK1 · 13-08-2008 09:16AM

That's a hellofa first post slayerfan, Welcome to boards.ie

Stark · 13-08-2008 11:17AM

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/village-goes-into-lockdown-days-before-traveller-festival-begins-1453682.html

Looks like Pavee Point are upset about people locking down the place. Of course the travellers' behaviour year on year is perfectly acceptable :rolleyes:

eddiehead · 13-08-2008 12:43PM

Stark wrote: »

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/village-goes-into-lockdown-days-before-traveller-festival-begins-1453682.html

Looks like Pavee Point are upset about people locking down the place. Of course the travellers' behaviour year on year is perfectly acceptable :rolleyes:

They're having a laugh arent they? Stereotypes? That phrase implies that its simply a small percentage of travellers who are ruining it for the rest of them, vice versa id say.

eddiehead · 13-08-2008 12:45PM

ShayK1 wrote: »

That's a hellofa first post slayerfan, Welcome to boards.ie

**cough** Don1 alternate account **cough**

ShayK1 · 13-08-2008 12:58PM

surely his ban is up by now. I must ask him.

slayerfan · 13-08-2008 01:16PM

i think they are havin a laugh. equality is a 2 way street and ****ting on the settled communities door step isnt going to help achieve it.that pavee point crowd want waking up. so does Green party, mrs. white, who cant call a spade a spade. she 'didnt know for sure who was doing the dumping' on the radio last year. nearly crashed the car laughing. why cant pavee point come down and make sure its cleaned up and organised properly? instead of whinging in the paper about inequality.

if they made some effort, instead of making the place look like fukin lockerbie, people might have some time for them

KateF · 13-08-2008 04:54PM

Don1 wrote: »

The legitimate traders are grand but the fcúking knackers should be shot on sight!!!

Don, its the 'Annual Travellers' Fair' so.....if we shot them all on arrival, I don't think we'd have a problem!

Sully · 13-08-2008 05:28PM

Fair few people here sailing close to the wind with their comments. Iv already banned one person for stupid remarks and another ban will be issued shortly for the above comment.

May I remind everyone that racisist remarks or bashing groups is not permitted on Boards. I have now added it to the revised charter to make things even clearer.

Carry on.

testicle · 13-08-2008 06:19PM

KateF wrote: »

Don, its the 'Annual Travellers' Fair' so.....if we shot them all on arrival, I don't think we'd have a problem!

Never been to Puck Fair then?

To be honest, Borris's problem is it's close proximity in time to Puck, which finishes on the 12th every year. The nice travelling folk who live in carvans go straight from one to the other.

stick-dan · 13-08-2008 06:49PM

Right guys, infractions have been issued here already. Let's try not to publically bash the travelling community or any other community for that matter. Keep to constructive threads.

Cheers

Thoughts on the Borris Fair

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