DUBLIN CITY Council and the Garda have appealed to horse traders not to attend the monthly Smithfield horse fair this coming Sunday in the interest of public safety.
The council is urging organisers of the horse market, which is held on the first Sunday of each month, to call off the event due to the construction work which has necessitated the closure of a large section of Smithfield Plaza.
As a result of the construction work to improve the plaza, more than half of the space normally occupied by the horse fair will be inaccessible this coming Sunday, and for several months, the council said. It is concerned that the market will spill out on to public roads and cause an increased risk to public safety.
The council has long sought the removal of the fair, which has been condemned by the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, but has been blocked by an ancient market right of horse traders to hold their sales on the land.
The council temporarily banned the fair in 2002 after a horse bolted and hit a car on the quays which was occupied by a woman and a child.
However, the traders returned to the plaza, citing their market right. The fair also drew attention in 2009 when an injured horse was sold to an 11-year-old boy for €8.
The council made representations to the outgoing Government to introduce primary legislation to extinguish the market right at Smithfield, but it said “these representations did not achieve their desired goal”.
The council said it would be renewing its efforts with the next government.
