Every year on the 10th, 11th and 12th of August, the small town of Killorglin — 20 minutes from Killarney — hosts one of the strangest and most ancient festivals in Ireland. A wild mountain goat is captured from the MacGillycuddy's Reeks, crowned King Puck, and enthroned on a high platform in the town square for three days of music, markets, horse trading and general festivity. At the end of the fair, the goat is released back to the mountains. It has been happening, in one form or another, for at least 400 years — and possibly much longer.
Puck Fair — at a glance
- Dates 10th–12th August every year
- Location Killorglin, County Kerry — 20km from Killarney
- The King A wild male goat — captured, crowned and enthroned
- Earliest record Royal charter of 1603 — likely much older
- Duration Three days: Gathering Day, Fair Day, Scattering Day
The Celtic connection
The precise origins of Puck Fair are debated, but most folklorists and historians connect it to the ancient Celtic harvest festival of Lughnasadh — one of the four great seasonal festivals of the Celtic calendar, held at the beginning of August to mark the start of the harvest season. Lughnasadh gatherings involved fairs, games, ritual and the temporary suspension of normal social rules. Puck Fair preserves many of these elements.
The crowning of an animal king — the goat as symbolic ruler for three days — echoes pre-Christian ritual traditions in which animals played a central role in seasonal ceremonies. The goat in Celtic tradition was associated with fertility, wildness and the untamed natural world. Crowning the King of the Mountains — a wild goat from the Reeks — and bringing him down to reign over the town is a ritual with deep symbolic roots.
The crowning of a wild mountain goat as king of the town — it sounds bizarre until you understand it as a survival of Celtic ritual that is thousands of years old.
The three days
Gathering Day opens the fair with the arrival and coronation of King Puck. Fair Day is the main trading day — originally a horse and livestock fair, now a general market and street festival. Scattering Day closes the proceedings with the dethroning and release of the goat. Throughout all three days the town fills with music, street entertainment, food stalls and tens of thousands of visitors. It is one of the great Irish festival experiences.
Practical information
Dates
10th–12th August every year — always these three dates
Location
Killorglin town centre, County Kerry — 20km from Killarney on the N72
Getting There
20 minutes from Killarney by car. Book accommodation well in advance — Killorglin and Killarney both fill up
Entry
Free to attend — street festival, open to all