Ballybricken Fair

Fair Day, Ballybricken, around 1890

Photograph showing Fair Day in Ballybricken in around 1890.

© Bill Irish

Fair Day, Ballybricken, around 1890
© Bill Irish

Fair Day, Ballybricken, around 1890

Photograph showing Fair Day in Ballybricken in around 1890.

© Bill Irish

Enlarge image

Let's take a look at a very historic place in Waterford City. Ballybricken Fair is a large square of open space surrounded by houses and shops. For many centuries, it would hold fairs for cattle, pigs, donkeys and horses every month.

The photograph above was taken around 1890. It shows preparations for the fair that was about to take place.

Fair Day at Ballybricken

Fair Day at Ballybricken. Pigs and poultry were brought to the fair each month in carts.

© Jack O'Neill.

Fair Day at Ballybricken
© Jack O'Neill.

Fair Day at Ballybricken

Fair Day at Ballybricken. Pigs and poultry were brought to the fair each month in carts.

© Jack O'Neill.

Enlarge image

Taking the Livestock for a Walk

The farmers would start to arrive at the fair at 5am. Many would have walked with their cattle and horses for as long as 10 miles. Pigs and poultry were driven in a cart. The fair began at 7am. Until close at 3.30pm, people browsed and traded livestock and vegetables.

The surface of Ballybricken was very muddy and uneven. When the fair was over, the city's gardeners would collect the animal droppings to use as fertilizer. At 5.30pm, the council workers would arrive and wash down the square with jets of water.