{"id":848,"date":"2014-10-12T12:43:23","date_gmt":"2014-10-12T12:43:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/?p=848"},"modified":"2014-10-12T12:50:13","modified_gmt":"2014-10-12T12:50:13","slug":"all-fair-at-the-ballinasloe-fair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/all-fair-at-the-ballinasloe-fair\/","title":{"rendered":"All Fair at the Ballinasloe Fair"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"All<\/a>
All was fair at the Ballinasloe Fair, unlike the shambles at Banagher. The Guardai done an excellent job where they as a resource were used correctly, as a service to the who community for the common good of all, as opposed to Banagher, where they were misused to enfore the bigotires of a small but both vocal and powerful minority.
All the colour was at Ballinasloe, from happy families to fueding traders trading insults, and of course, the beauty of the horses themselves.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There was auld wans and young wans and all sorts of wild ones
\nPiebalds and ponys, and big horses, small ones hands high,
\nSulkys and traps, carriages and chaps
\nThat were merry, more rowdy, I passed them all by.
\nThere were mounted Guarda\u00ed, and fine looking young ladies
\nCat calling right fellahs whistled as the girls caught their eye
\nThe women responded with insults and gestures
\nThat the lads got their answers no one could deny.
\nThere was piebalds drinking and washing, their owners were clashing*
\nOutdoing each other in insults, hoping the other will die
\nI, a passer, looked at these chaps who were still sober
\nMore sense in the horses at peace there in the River Suck as I walked on by.<\/p>\n

The week between the fairs it was quiet, it was like a ghost town,
\nThat it was the fair week, no one would have known
\nThough when the fairs were on there was plenty, between the green was empty
\nLike spirits in the night, from the town the traders had flown.
\nThere was stands of the traders, disgruntled neighbours
\nWho grumbled about how their lives were disrupted each year
\nI hope they don’t get together, or this week of good times and good weather
\nCould be under threat as we for the future of Banagher Fair fear.<\/p>\n

In all of the places, there were happy faces,
\nOf families, all classes, enjoying all that was there…
\nOne of our traditions, enjoyed for generations…
\nAll it was well at the Ballinasloe Fair.<\/p>\n

*clashing – to speak, often in an agressive manner
\n(Dialect, North Leinster, Ulster English)<\/address>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There was auld wans and young wans and all sorts of wild ones Piebalds and ponys, and big horses, small ones hands high, Sulkys and traps, carriages and chaps That were merry, more rowdy, I passed them all by. There were mounted Guarda\u00ed, and fine looking young ladies Cat calling …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[55,256],"tags":[1055,1056,719,869],"class_list":["post-848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs-in-ireland","category-irish-heritage","tag-ballinasloe","tag-ballinasloe-fair","tag-horse-fair","tag-horses","column","twocol"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7EI4f-dG","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2166,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/fair-girls-at-the-horse-fair\/","url_meta":{"origin":848,"position":0},"title":"Fair Girls at the Horse Fair","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"31st July 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"They walk the streets, young, wild at heart Among horses the men admire Free of sprit and fast with word To the shouts of commoner and squire. 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