Memories of the Harvest Fair in Ballyshannon on 16th September

Time stood still at Ballyshannon Harvest Fair

Invitation to all. I will be giving the first ever illustrated talk on "Local Memories of the independence struggle in the Ballyshannon area" on Saturday 13th October at 8 p.m. in Coláiste Cholmcille Ballyshannon. All welcome. to this free event. In memory of the Emersons and organised by County Donegal Historical Society. Pass the word to anyone who would be interested.

It was down near Tullygannon and some miles from Ballyshannon,

When I was young and merry, light in spirit I declare.

There I met a colleen comely, she had winsome ways and homely

 She was driving in her donkey cart to Ballyshannon Fair.

                                                                                                                                                 (old ballad from the Fermanagh area)

The Fair Green 

For hundreds of years the Harvest Fair in Ballyshannon had been the major social gathering where town and country came together; to barter and to buy, to meet and to greet. People from Fermanagh, Leitrim , Sligo and Donegal travelled to what was a much talked about event. Cattle dealers from various parts of Ireland assembled at the Fair Green and the mixture of western and northern accents, together with the roars of the livestock, created an unforgettable atmosphere. Horses were trotted along the road from Bishop Street to Bachelor’s Walk; and the Pig Market (now a car park opposite the Abbey Centre) was a scene of hustle and bustle. 

In the Fair Green in bygone days, drinking booths were set up; peep shows, penny theatres, shooting galleries, wheels of fortune and merry-go-rounds, all catered for the amusement of both town and country people. Before the introduction of steam, the local fair was the sole market to which the farmer had access for his cattle, horses, sheep and pigs. With the introduction of steam railways, animals were shipped to Scotland and England where there was a ready market in the industrial towns and cities. Before the steam age, towns like Ballyshannon were self contained with their own trades and crafts produced to supply most local needs - distillers, brewers, hatters, glove makers, salt makers, shoemakers etc.The age of steam brought progress but also competition to many local crafts, not all of which, could compete with manufactured goods. 

The Diamond and The Market Yard

Canvas stalls in the Diamond sold hardware, farm implements, footware and all the requirements of the housewife. The Cheap Jacks sold their second-hand clothes to an appreciative audience who were also entertained by the quack doctors who could cure all known ailments with their special mixtures. Many romances for young people started at the fair often in the Market Yard where the swing-boats and the bumping cars were in full swing. Ballyshannon had plenty of eating houses in the great days of the Harvest Fair. The Harvest Fair was where town met country and great dealing and shopping kept the local economy going. Ballad singers were a regular feature of the early fair and their popular ballads were sold on sheets of paper, as people learned the words of the new songs. 

In the centre of town clothes stalls, hardware and agricultural goods were sold by quick-witted salesmen whilst the gambling fraternity parted with their hard-earned money at gambling tables. The hobby horses, swings and games were always in full swing in the Market Yard. People wandered from one location to another, meeting and greeting friends and people not seen since the last Harvest Fair. The great characters of bygone fairs drew large crowds to listen to their quick-witted repartee, in the Diamond, as they sold their wares with exaggerated promises.

Quack Doctors and their Magic Cures- "I'll cure you on the spot"

Doctor Sequaw was a quack doctor with a bell-like silvery voice who had a wonderful gift of eloquence and who thrilled the Ballyshannon crowds. He was a man of strong physique who claimed that all diseases would disappear if people used his magic remedies. Listen to the quack doctor as he sells his wares in the Diamond in Ballyshannon one hundred years ago:

"Ladies and gentlemen, I desire to impress upon you the fact that I am not a charlatan, an imposter, nor what is called a quack. Quackery does not enter the realm of my activities. I am a professional  gentleman, the son of a distinguished man, whose name and fame spread over the European and American continents; I have studied in the laboratories of the best universities in the world, and I am here today, not to make money, but to hand around to each and every member of my audience, a sample of that “golden remedy” that has done more to restore the broken health, and to bring happiness to the homes of millions of people, than all the rotten medical hall poison, recommended by the apothecary vultures who infest your lovely island."

Some people in the audience were carried away by the eloquence of Doctor Sequaw and purchased the “golden remedy”.

Matthew Campbell the Clothes salesman and his Quick Wit in Ballyshannon

Matthew Campbell, the Brady’s and the Flemings were clothes salesmen , almost a century ago, who sold their wares with a wit and humour which had their audience in stitches. One Harvest Fair Day in Ballyshannon, Campbell was “canting” a coat when he was interrupted by a well- dressed young man, who bid him a ridiculously low price, much to the amusements of his friends. He was to rue his intervention as Campbell took him to task, much to the amusement of the audience who laughed at all his punch lines.
Ladies and gentlemen, I wish to make an important announcement. There has lately been established in this country a new organisation called “The Sons of Rest.”  There is a resolution on the books of the society, binding each member never to sit in a house where a spade or a shovel is kept. Members are bound when standing in the street, to keep their hands deep down in their trouser pockets, which are sure to be empty of cash. These people reap but they do not sow.  They are known to you all as street loafers. They eat each morning three blue duck eggs to their breakfast, one and a half pounds of beef at dinner, and a quarter stone of meal made up of a sort of white drink before going to bed. Ladies and gentlemen, I wish to inform you that this fellow is one of the members of the new organisation—the Sons of Rest. This fellow once held the enviable position of midwife’s clerk, but he lost his job by letting the baby fall.

Needless to say the young man who had dared to mock Campbell was the butt of jokes for the rest of the Harvest Fair Day in Ballyshannon. (John Gillespie of the Market Yard was a local historian who collected stories about many things including The characters at the  Harvest Fair. His daughter May Kelly (nee Gillespie) is still well remembered and  founded the Gillespie School of Dancing. )

John Moore printed his own newspaper in the Abbey in the 1960s- Harvest Fair day report.

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"Ballyshannon. Genealogy and History" reveals newly researched history and genealogy of the town, extending as far as the Rossnowlagh, Cashelard, Corlea, Clyhore, Higginstown and Finner areas. Includes the parishes of Kilbarron and Magh Ene. 

• The genealogy material provides detailed guidelines for anyone tracing their roots in the area or anywhere in County Donegal or Ireland. The book contains 500 pages and is richly illustrated with stunning colour, aerial photography, original illustrations and rare photographs of the area not seen before.
• It  includes much new material on the independence struggle which is being remembered throughout Ireland. It also contains the full story of  The Green Lady which  was  performed in Ballyshannon  to great acclaim. 
• Available in A Novel Idea  in Ballyshannon and 4 Masters Bookshop Donegal Town. Also available from Anthony Begley for postal enquiries email anthonyrbegley@hotmail.com

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