What is Puck Fair? Killorglin, Co. Kerry, Ireland 1965

Every year Killorglin holds the three-day Puck Fair, the oldest traditional fair in Ireland, and one of the oldest non-religious fairs in the world.
Each year a group of people go up into the mountains and catch a wild goat. This goat is brought back to the town and the Queen of Puck Fair, traditionally a young girl from the village crowns the goat ‘King Puck’. The goat is then put into a small cage on a high stand in the middle of the town. From this moment on, once the fair has started, there is singing and dancing.
In this clip, people are shown arriving in Killorglin for the fair. Seán O’Shea is shown leaving his cottage to catch a wild goat to be crowned ‘King Puck’. Dr. Seán Ó Suilleabhain gives details of the origins of the festival. Eileen Moriarty is ‘Queen Puck’ and is paraded through the town on the back of a truck in costume.
Although there is no written evidence of when Puck Fair started, there are several legends about the fair. It is thought that the fair started in pre-Christian times as a celebration for a good harvest. The goat may also represent the pagan god, Pan. It is also likely that it is a representation of the Celtic god Lugh and a celebration of Lughnasa.
The ‘Discovery’ series ran on Telifís Éireann from 1964 to 1967. ‘Discovery’ brought stories from around the country in the form of 30 minute programmes.
This episode of ‘Discovery: Puck Fair’ was broadcast 11 October 1965.

[@petehill8885]

committee member told me that this year is the last year that a goat will ever go on the stand.

[@TheGazza83]

Great videos of the Kingdom

[@meansteve3602]

5:13,.....priceless, God bless her heart.

[@CountBeetle]

That old goat looks like a money lender I once met at a tavern called our pickled lobster

[@MrL1mewax]

OK so if no one else is going to mention 5:32 Call Social Services (",)

[@choctaw6838]

2:03 who's in town with the Chevrolet? WOW 😯

[@sallymcmenamin9951]

Not right to capture a wild animal and keep it caged for 48 hours in a cage that’s is so small

[@crusader777]

Shut up

[@waynesworldcoinsaustralia2640]

Awesome history I have Irish blood I thought it was going to go a bit dodgy I didn't know what was going to happen to the sheet and then realised it was a goat as well I want to do any New Zealand jokes they would say the same to us thank you for sharing the history shoulder to shoulder

[@Matteo-1matt2318]

all hail king goat

[@lekal6247]

Music is so loud in the beginning I did not understand much

[@oscarosullivan4513]

Not too loud

[@mikebuckley6625]

What a horrible thing to do to any creature.

[@kevinmurtagh3434]

To be crown King!

[@oscarosullivan4513]

Stick a dummy in the cage

[@danielocallaghan2249]

and a whole lot of Guinness was imbibed,