Fair Day in Kenmare
Nestled at the head of Kenmare Bay where the Roughty River flows into the sea and the Ring of Kerry meets the Ring of Beara, is the charming town of Kenmare (in Irish: An Neidín). In addition to offering a collection of delightful shops, excellent restaurants and cozy pubs hosting brilliant traditional music sessions, Kenmare is known for another attraction: Fair Day.
Kenmare is one of the few remaining Irish towns that continue to honor the Fair Day tradition. The 15th of August Fair Day has been an annual event for at least two hundred years. It’s the one day each year when farmers and animal owners can bring their cattle, horses, sheep, chickens, ducks and donkeys to the town square to sell or trade them in the streets. Over time the fair has grown to include stalls where all manner of other goods and services are sold from antiques and bric-a-brac to fortune telling.
Count on Fair Day to happen rain or shine and to fill the tiny town of Kenmare with a lively mixture of people, animals and activity! If you plan to go, make your reservations for accommodations and restaurants well in advance, and be sure to check out the local music scene - you'll be glad that you did.
Kenmare Fair Day is held at the intersection of Henry and Main Streets. One can easily get to Kenmare from Killarney by either driving down on the N71 or by catching the 252 or 270 Bus Eirann.
Location Details
Co. Kerry, Ireland
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Congratulations! Nice market pic, colorful and crazy. I think that's exactly what we want from a market when we visit a foreign land.
Congratulations Gail! Lovely photo of one of the most perfect places on Earth! Ireland has a very special place in my heart! Good luck in the final round of judging--maybe one of us will win! Please send me a postcard if you do :)
I love Kenmare! Nice job and congrats!
Sounds like a great tradition and a lot of fun! Congrats!
Thanks for the compliments! Kenmare is such a charming town and its surrounded by gorgeous natural beauty - worth a visit! If you go, definitely check out the local traditional music scene in the pubs.
Hello Gail! Wow! This is an amazing find in a beautiful place! I am also so surprised by the almost garish, but really mostly festive colors of the buildings, too! How did you ever find such a place? Were the animals in good shape and well tended? I definitely would like to go there, thanks to your entertaining and informative highlight ~ inspiring idea! ~ Dina
Hi Dina, thanks for your interest! This photo was taken during the single busiest day of the year in Kenmare. On other days, Kenmare is far less hectic. Its a very vibrant and charming town. The buildings in the background are typical of what you'll see there. As for the animals that were for sale on Fair Day, I'd say that some looked to be in good shape and others less so, as one might expect of livestock at other markets.
The timing of this post couldn't be better! I'll be in Killarney on Fair Day... would love to swing down to Kenmare.
So excited to get this in my inbox today as I am heading to Kenmare tomorrow! Sadly, it's October and so no Fair Day... but it should be amazing anyway.
Nina and Patricia, thanks for your comments. I'm glad you found this helpful and hope you made it to Kenmare during your travels. It's a very charming Irish town.
I did make it to Kenmare and it was lovely. It also had some of the best restaurants I found outside Dublin.
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