School: Waterville (C.) (roll number 16015)
- Location:
- Waterville, Co. Kerry
- Teacher: Helen O' Sullivan
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0475, Page 123
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- XML “Puck Fair - Killorglin”
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- There are many legends regarding Puck Fair. One of these is that some enterprising inhabitants of Killorglin in the dim and distant past endeavoured to establish a fair and the only supply of stock was goats while others maintain that the only animal to put in an appearance was a solitary Puck from the mountain.Another legend is that when a party of Cromwell's soldiers made a raid into Kerry, the goats browsing on Carrantual were alarmed by the approach of the English soldiers whose arms glistened in the sun. They rushed down the hillside and ran wildly through the town of Killorglin. This unusual spectacle amused the people and being informed of the cause of it by their scouts who did not reach the town until some time after the goats -, they prepared to meet the enemy. Their stern resistance to the band of disciplined soldiers saved the town from destruction and so grateful were the inhabitants to the goats for giving warning of the danger that they decided to establish a fair at which ever since "King Puck" is the Presiding Figure beautifully decorated for the occasion.
