August 10, 2007
Blond Goat Who Would be King:
Ireland's Puck Fair Opens
Cork
(Ireland)
Given the feral nature of Irish politics, it is questionable whether
anybody will notice when a goat takes over the reins of power in
Killorglin, County Kerry, as Puck Fair begins Friday.
The wild mountain goat, which has had greatness thrust upon him, was
cornered after a three-hour chase by goat catchers Frank and Francis
Joy 10 days ago in the Caha mountains in Ireland's southwest.
Jimmy, as the blond goat is to be known for the duration of his
reign at Ireland's oldest fair, will remain unadorned apart from his
crown despite controversial moves to have him tagged.
King Jimmy will receive a grand ceremonial crowning on the first day
of the fair, Gathering Day, complete with an elevated throne and his
own queen, who welcomes the crowds on his behalf.
He will preside in state over the next day, Fair Day, and then
ceremonially dethroned on the third day, Scattering Day.
When the department of agriculture approached fair organizers saying
the goat must be given a flock number and tagged to comply with EU
regulations, Killorglin publican and Puck Fair committee member John
Mulvihill was aghast.
"It would be a great dishonour to a wild goat to tag him," he said.
"Those old yellow ear tags would be getting caught in bushes. These
poor goats roam the mountains, they don't need tags."
Mulvihill's pub, The Red Fox, has played host to not-so-lonely
goatherds for 25 years and he has been attending the fair all his
life.
"I have been going to the fair since I was five years of age. It's
one of the best fairs in Ireland. Pubs close at 3 a.m., but we'd
generally be drinking through the night," he confides.
"We used to bring the goat into the pub after he was caught and
there'd be a bit of singing and merrymaking." The goat no longer
takes part in the post-bagging festivities, Mulvihill explains, as
he has to be examined by a vet to comply with regulations.
However, to Mulvihill's relief, the department of agriculture appear
to have given up on their quest to tag the goat after the Mayor of
Kerry, Michael Healy-Rae, pointed out the futility of the scheme,
considering that Jimmy would be released into the wild again after
discharging his regal duties.
"I didn't hear anything about it since," Mulvihill says. "But the
vets have checked him out. He's in great condition. He's got a good
heart."
His temperament, however, is not as sweet as it might be, as Frank
Joy attests.
"He'd bite you. He'd do anything with you," says the chief
goatcatcher. "He's a young goat and he's vicious," he says. "Last
year's goat was a bit older and he wasn't as cross."
Mulvihill also recalls 2006's goat with fondness. "He was white with
a black head on him, so he suited the Guinness very well," he says.
Jimmy, "though not the best of goats, is a good goat," with a "nice
antler spread," says Joy, who has been a goat catcher for 17 years.
"The chairman of the Committee back then asked me would I be
interested in locating a puck and I said I would. I didn't know what
was involved at the time. It's getting harder and harder to find a
goat these days and you have to go far into the mountains to find
them."
Frank Joy and son Francis are doing everything in their power to
ensure the comfort of the goat during his stay in Killorglin.
"He's settling in well," he says. "We feed him lots of greenery;
leaves, cabbage and the like. He likes mountain ash trees and
heather too."
The goat will be well-fed and watered throughout the three-day
festival, Joy emphasizes. But any attempt to release him from his
platform 40 feet above the crowds will be repelled.
"People have climbed up over the years, but the slatted wooden unit
we have made for him will be well secured. Nobody has ever managed
to release the puck. So it'd be a waste of effort and a day in court
after," he warns.
At least 10,000 visitors are expected at Puck Fair. As well as a
cattle and horse fair, parades, dressing-up, and musical
entertainment of all kinds, there will be a funfair and an Irish
singing competition, set dancing and all manner of jigs.
Many stories surround the origins of Puck Fair. It has been
suggested that it is linked to pre-Christian celebrations of a
fruitful harvest and that the male goat, the puck, was a pagan
symbol of fertility, like the pagan god Pan.
In Joy's view, it is a celebration of the nature of the animal
itself. "It was a pagan festival with pucks and she-goats. People
put up the puck and danced around him. It's a great animal and he
never gets a disease. He will eat anything, even ragwort. He's a
hardy animal," he says.
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Cork
(Ireland)