Patrick Houlihan is a collector of all things circus and puck fair related at his home in Killorglin, County Kerry.
From an early age, Patrick was fascinated by circuses and visited the circus every year as it visited Killorglin.
I went to see extraordinary feats that were performed within a little circle known as the ring.
Patrick was not only fascinated by the performers and the animals but also by the posters which he describes as "excellent works of art". He loved them so much that he thought they were worth keeping and through the years has amassed a huge collection of circus posters from Ireland and abroad. Patrick now has circus posters from 47 different countries in his collection.
Patrick says that the hey-day of the circus occurred between World War I and World War II. At that time, circuses were entirely horse-drawn. It was such a wonderful sight that Patrick decided to recreate the scene in model form for future generations to enjoy.
It was a colourful cavalcade of horse-drawn caravans as they toured from town to town.
Patrick carved out the horses and caravans in wood to recreate the image of the cavalcade on the road travelling from tober to tober.
Butty Sugrue, a circus strongman and boxing promoter, toured with John Duffy for one season in 1951. Patrick has the poster for this very tour.
Patrick also has a collection of Puck Fair memorabilia. His family were involved in erecting the puck and securing the goat for three generations. As such, Patrick had acquired a vast collection of photographs and newspaper clippings of the fair from throughout the years. He has put his collection on display in a local hall for all to see.
Patrick's collection of newspapers includes a newspaper that is 204 years old. Most of his newspapers contain writings about Puck Fair.
This episode of 'Faces and Places' was broadcast on 15 October 1987. The presenter is Kathleen Watkins.
