One of the country's last remaining circuses has staged its first performance since virus restrictions came into force with a drive-in show in Tralee.
Circus Vegas, run by the Courtney family, has been cocooning in Tralee, Co Kerry, since mid-March.
Tralee was the last stop Circus Vegas made before the lockdown, and the final performance took place in a car park on the outskirts of the town on 12 March.
Since then, the car park has been home to members of the Courtney family and the other performers who make up the circus.
Now the family has removed the sides of the big top so cars can pull up alongside the circus ring for a special drive-in show - their first performance since lockdown.
The Courtneys has been associated with circus in Ireland for more than four decades. Before that, they toured with drama and variety.
Circus Vegas owner Stephen Courtney described the last four months in lockdown as difficult, but he paid tribute to the generosity of the people of Tralee and Kerry.
"All we did was practice, fix lorries and paint," Stephen told RTÉ News. "All we want to do is to keep going and, if people support us, we will keep going.
"We are doing this because we love it. There’s no money is circus. It’s a strange game - once it’s in your blood, you can’t get away from it."
Kourtney Victoria is a hula hoop and trapeze artist. She is the third generation of the Courtney family to perform in the circus, and she has been performing since she was old enough to walk.
But, like the other performers in Circus Vegas, Kourtney's last show was in Tralee on 12 March and she has been cocooning ever since. The intervening time has only brought uncertainty.
"We didn't think we would get to open again until next year. We didn’t know what was going to happen," Kourtney said this afternoon, ahead of her first performance in front of an audience for more than four months.
"We are really, really happy to be performing again. We don’t know what to expect. We just hope for the best. We just hope people will come and support us.
"Financially it has been difficult, because we depend on people coming to watch the show and paying for tickets. It hasn’t been easy, but then it hasn’t been easy on anyone."
The capacity at Circus Vegas has been reduced by more than three quarters, and the Courtney family are appealing to the public to support their shows.
Their run in Tralee will continue until the end of next week. After that, Circus Vegas will head for Listowel and Killarney.
