WHAT IS believed to be the oldest fair in Ireland is once again under way, as tens of thousands of people descended on north Antrim for the Auld Lammas Fair.
Held in the seaside town of Ballycastle over the last Monday and Tuesday in August to mark the beginning of the harvest, the market fair sees livestock sales as well as hundreds of stalls selling everything from souvenirs to the traditional foodstuff of dulse, a dried seaweed, and yellow man, a honeycomb-style confectionery.
Yesterday’s opening day of the fair was no different, with frequent showers failing to keep locals and tourists alike from savouring the atmosphere, which has built from the first fair in the 17th century into what is now one of the biggest summer events in the Northern Ireland calendar.
This year has seen a further growth in the size of the fair, with many of the stalls which used to populate the Diamond area of the town spreading out to the adjoining streets.
Several stalls selling yellow man had sold out by yesterday afternoon, with youngsters in particular snapping up the much-loved sweet, sticky rock.
A street circus also proved a huge draw.
Local man and staple of the fair Steve the Piper said he was delighted to once again be playing there.
“It’s great to perform at home. You see the same people at the Lammas Fair year after year. It’s always good to catch up and there’s so much to see and do,” he said.
The local fame of the fair was enhanced with a famous song named after it written by local shopkeeper and bog-oak carver John Henry MacAuley at the turn of the 20th century.
With the rain expected to hold off today, thousands more are expected to flock to the town.