Search Results for 'Hiring and mop fairs'

In 1902, the number of fairs listed for Eyre Square was: January 1st; March 20th & 21st; April 14th & 15th; May 30th & 31st; June 20th; July 13th & 14th; August 6th; September 3rd & 4th, 20th & 21st; October 21st; November 2nd (pigs only); and December 8th & 9th. This list gives one an idea of how important and busy the Square was for commerce at the time. These were occasions when the country came to town, when rural people brought in their produce and hoped to convert it into cash.

One of the earliest associations of Eyre Square with the horse was the jousting competitions that went on there in the middle ages. There were also horse fairs held in the Square where one could buy and sell horses, these were usually held outside the railings and on the streets. Before motorised machinery was invented, the horse provided people with their main type of transport: the work horse was an invaluable part of the farm used to pull the plough or haul the farmer and his cartload of produce into town. Horse racing was always a popular sport and the first Galway Horse Show was held in the Square in 1892.