Donnybrook Fair is today a well-known chain of upmarket food shops, but the original Donnybrook Fair in south Dublin was an annual horse fair that ran every August for over six centuries – on the site of what is now the Leinster Rugby grounds.
On Sunday night's History Show on RTE Radio 1, historian Donal Fallon told reporter Colette Kinsella more: ‘It was like the Woodstock Festival of Ireland if you like: heavy drinking, shillelagh-swinging; cock-fighting; you name it, it was happening at the Donnybrook Fair.
Complaints from the time said that ‘Dancing and Flirting took place all around, and love-making took place publicly’.”
To listen back to the full programme click here.
Tune in to The History Show, Sunday 6pm on RTÉ Radio 1.
Main Image credit: A Scene at Donnybook Fair
Author: Watson,Samuel
Year: 1842