There was a significant Garda presence in south Co Carlow yesterday as Travellers and traders arrived for today's Borris Fair.
The traditional event, held annually on the Feast of the Assumption, is expected to attract up to 7,000 people to the village which has a population of 1,000.
The Garda station, which is normally manned by two officers, has drafted in extra manpower from neighbouring towns.
Local TD and Green Party deputy leader Mary White, who claimed that local residents were fed up with being "under siege" in their homes, had called for the fair to be limited to just one day.
Trading had already begun yesterday from a series of makeshift stalls lining the main street. Piebald ponies grazed on the village green ahead of horse trading which gets under way this morning. Cars, vans and caravans from Offaly, Limerick, Louth, Kildare and other counties had secured "prime spots".
Pubs were closed but most other businesses were operating normally. However, many are expected to close today.
Ms White said last night that "progress has been made as, for the first time since 1999, traders have not come three or four days in advance thanks to a high-profile media campaign and the efforts of the Garda and the local authority".
"The people of Borris are looking forward to a traditional peaceful fair today and the remaining hurdle is to see how the town is left on Thursday morning."
Carlow County Council has promised to implement "a comprehensive clean-up operation" to avoid what Ms White has called the "annual shame" of national media images of mounds of rubbish piled high.
A traffic-management plan was implemented yesterday which involved detours for heavy goods vehicles, although cars were allowed to drive through the village.
Gardaí have placed miles of no parking tape on approach roads and motorists have been told it will not be possible to drive through Borris today. There will be limited access for local residents.
Gardaí in the Co Kilkenny village of Graiguenamanagh have imposed parking restrictions to cope with the rerouted traffic.
In Bagenalstown, Co Carlow, Travellers set up a temporary campsite in the grounds of a disused meat factory, prompting Fine Gael councillor Denis Foley to call for bylaws to regulate traffic and parking connected to the fair.
It is believed that the legal authority to hold a street fair in Borris derives from a charter granted by Queen Elizabeth I.