The deputy leader of the Green Party, Mary White TD, has said that a Co Carlow village is at risk of coming "under siege" next week when Travellers from all over Ireland arrive for the annual Borris Fair.
Ms White, who lives outside the village of Borris in the foothills of Mount Leinster, claims that "local people are not prepared to put up with this mayhem any longer".
A street fair has been held in Borris on the Feast of the Assumption (August 15th) for the past 400 years. Formerly one of the largest sheep fairs in Europe, the livestock trade has long since been replaced by temporary stalls selling a range of merchandise, including clothing and household goods.
The event is a traditional day out for rural communities in the south-east and a key date in the calendar of the Travelling community.
In recent years, pubs and many businesses in the village have closed on what should be their busiest day of the year, although last year some visiting Travellers told The Irish Timesthat local people were "getting in [to the pubs] through the back door".
Ms White said that while local people accepted the tradition of a one-day fair, they objected to Borris "being taken over three or four days in advance" by traders arriving early to secure the best pitches.
She says that the villagers have difficulty leaving or accessing their homes by car. She also deplores the volume of rubbish left behind. "This year," she said, "I do not want the annual shame of facing the heaps of rubbish in our beautiful town highlighted in the national press."
Two years ago, Ms White, a former councillor, called for bylaws to be introduced to prevent parking on the public roads in the days leading up to the fair, but she says that her motion, submitted to Carlow County Council, "sank into a black hole".
The council has already announced a "litter-management plan" and temporary traffic arrangements, following consultation with the Garda. this will involve road closures and diversions for motorists from the evening of August 14th.
But Ms White said that she was unhappy with the plans and would meet senior representatives of Carlow County Council and the Garda this afternoon to press for more robust measures to "prevent early arrivals" and protect the village from the "annual onslaught".
Meanwhile, Ms White yesterday called on Carlow's local authorities to provide free bicycles to the public to alleviate traffic congestion in Carlow town "and in the interest of promoting a healthier and safer lifestyle".
She said that providing free bicycles was " now the norm in many European capitals, including Dublin, [and] now is the time to give the Carlow people an opportunity to develop a liking for cycling and proof that cycling is a far more effective way to get around".
