For over two hundred years buyers and dealers have come to Ballinasloe, for the horse fair and festival.
The Ballinasloe Horse Fair has been attracting buyers and dealers from Ireland and abroad for over 200 years. This year the event begins with a parade through the town.
This extraordinary gathering of people and horses has few rivals anywhere in Europe.
The festival used to be much bigger with 20,000 horses, twice as many cattle and up to a hundred thousand sheep being traded. There was a time when cavalry officers for almost every army in Europe came to Ballinasloe to buy horses at the fair.
Ballinasloe is still famous for half breeds even though the number and prices have fallen in recent years. The average selling price this year was between £1,500 and £2,000 for a three year old.
The marching bands in the opening parade is one of the highlights of the festival week. Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Paul Connaughton TD, Bishop of Clonfert, Dr Joseph Cassidey, and delegations from Ballycastle in County Antrim and Killorglin in County Kerry were on the viewing stands. Ballycastle and Killorglin have united with Ballinasloe to promote Ireland's three oldest fairs.
Paul Connaughton TD, outlines the importance of horse trading at the fair both for the town and for the country.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 4 October 1983. The reporter is Jim Fahy.
