FAIRS AND MARKETS IN THE SQUARE

by Tom Kenny

In 1902, the number of fairs listed for Eyre Square was; January 1^st; March 20^th & 21^st; April 14^th & 15^th; May 30^th & 31^st; June 20^th; July 13^th & 14^th; August 6^th; September 3^rd& 4^th, 20^th & 21^st; October 21^st; November 2^nd (pigs only); December 8^th & 9^th. This list gives one an idea of how important and busy the Square was for commerce at the time. These were occasions when the country came to town, when rural people brought in their produce and hoped to convert it into cash.

There was a variety of fairs, cattle, sheep, pigs, horses, hay markets, turf markets, sock markets, egg and butter markets, potato markets and sadly, the hiring fair. This last one was the worst one of all and dealt in humans, spailpíns, out-of-work labourers, usually from west of the city who would gather at the railings opposite the Skeff and hope they might be hired by farmers who usually came from east of the city, or oyster growers from Clarinbridge. There cannot have been much dignity attached to that fair.

These fairs were major events and generated a terrific atmosphere. The following description appeared in the National Geographic in 1951 – “The first day featured pigs. There they were, hind legs hobbled, on straw, squealing right up to the hotel steps on Eyre Square! Beyond stood horses, large and noble looking, and sturdy Connemara ponies. All around were buyers, coattails flying, ash sticks waving, ‘handlashing’ for the bargains, looking like enemies, but arguing good –naturedly on ‘luck money’, the part that’s given back. “I’m doing you a good turn and you don’t have the sense to see it. Mind you, tis a fair price!” stormed a tall Irish man while a peaceable little man listened patiently with his hand on his horse. Casual observers suddenly whispered to the buyer and pulled him back as he started off in great disgust. Then arm in arm, the two sealed their bargain.

“They’ll argue for ten bob and drink up a pound” said a man at my elbow. Cattle and sheep sold on the second day, starting before dawn; by noon only calves remained. It was the sound of Ireland – cattle lowing, calves bawling and an occasional baa-aa, with a fine mist wrapping it up”.

There was a large weighing scales in the Square to weigh quantities of potatoes or cartloads of produce. If the unfortunate farmer did not sell his animals, he had to drive them all the way home, which must have been very dispiriting. Some of the large fairs extended into streets adjoining the Square.

The carts for the Haymarket usually began to arrive on Friday evening so that by Saturday morning, it looked as if all the open space in the Square was covered off. Eventually this market began to decline because of hosts of little boys and girls stealing as much of the hay as they could get away with. Also, the increase in popularity in the motor car meant that fewer and fewer people living in the city kept horses and carriages anymore and did not need hay.

The turf market was another important event, townspeople needed fuel to cook with and heat their homes and so there were special days when the Square was crowded with cartloads of turf for sale and a similar market was held at Raven terrace.

There were, of course, other fairs and markets held in different parts of the city. The fish market was especially built to cater for the produce brought in by Claddagh fishermen. The fruit and vegetable market around the railings of St. Nicholas’ Collegiate Church is as old as Galway itself and time was when the Christmas fowl market was one of the busiest trading days in Galway as people bought their festive turkeys, potatoes and vegetables. The egg and butter market was held on Church Street. There was a regular potato market in Woodquay and another in the Small Crane.

So we have three illustrations this week to show the variety of these fairs. The first (courtesy of the National Library) dates from c.1900 and shows a cattle fair in progress. It must have been quite a job cleaning up after this lot. Our second image is of a pig fair also from c.1900 and the third photograph was taken in the 1950s and shows a group of spailpíns lined up near the old men’s W.C., hoping to be employed by visiting farmers.