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DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL has revealed plans to limit the famous Smithfield Horse Fair to twice a year, following violence that marred one holding of the event last year.
The council has published draft bye-laws which would see the fair – currently held on the first Sunday of every month – limited to two four-hour events a year, held in March and September.
The move to limit activities at the fair follow events at the March 2011 event in which two men were injured when shots were fired at the event, while a teenager was injured with a slash hook.
A separate incident a month later resulted in three arrests when attendees tried to steal a horse.
Enterprise minister Richard Bruton had made a detailed submission to the Attorney General seeking advice on whether it was legally permissible to shut the fair permanently, but it was reported that this would be an unconstitutional breach of traders’ commercial rights unless an alternative location was first provided.
The Dublin SPCA and then-lord mayor Gerry Breen had also called for the market to be cancelled, while the City Council also took moves to restrict it – including openly asking interested parties not to attend it in future.
The latest proposals would explicitly ban the presence of any horses not intended for sale, and requires all traders to submit applications for casual trading licences more than a week in advance of each fair.
The rules would require all horses to be removed from the trading area by 2pm, and insist that horses be controlled by a capable individual who must be at least 16 years of age. Those people would also be barred from being in charge of more than one horse at a time.
The proposals would also ban horses from trotting, cantering or galloping. “It is acceptable to ‘trot a horse up’ but this must be done with the horse led by the hand and not mounted,” the rules say.
Any breach of the draft laws – which now go up for public consultation for a two-month period – would come with a €1,900 fine.
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Good. its a haven for criminality. In fact it should be in a green field site outside the city where “traders” and animals have to registered.
tayyytooooo
To me this seems like bureaucracy gone mad, with little regard for the principles of risk assessment. I have attended the Smithfield Horse Fair for years. It has been a great tourist attraction for this part of Dublin. I never saw any incidents of violence to people or animals. Of course, the few of violence recently needed to be addressed, but this is overkill.
I went there on the first Sunday of September (which was the weekend all the Americans were in town) and it was deserted, because metal fences had been put up restricting access and there was a heavy presence of police. The ‘tourists’ were baffled by the change to this long standing, traditional Dublin event. Normally crowded and buzzing with people, the beautiful, big, cobbled square was empty.One police officer told me that another reason for the reduced attendance was the fact that the tax man had started to get interested in the sale. Drat!
This is not and should not be a controlled event. It is a spontaneous, free and easy event which is entwined in the history of this great city. Trying to offer and control it twice a year is a nonsense.
Does this rationale mean that there will never be an open-air concert in the Phoenix Park again and that there will never be displays by terrorists wearing paramilitary uniforms and brandishing firearms in Dublin graveyards again? The first event was corporate and a big money spinner – for someone. The second event was an unchallenged display of violence and disrespect against our State.
No comparision to horse fair once a month. Common sense peeps!
if you have gone there regularly and have not seen abuse of horses then i recommend you visit a optician. DSPCA are desperate to have this fair closed down as it is a haven of the very worst in Knacker horse trading. I make part of my living from horses and am involved with the industry and let me say that Smithfield is not something to be proud of and is definitely not a valid tourist attraction.
I have to agree with Marian,
I live locally and there were never any major issues with the horse market until Smithfield was “cleaned” up and the new residents in their fancy apartments did not want to have to look down from their windows once a month at this fair,suddenly the DSPCA were present, where were there before?
I do agree that it should be regulated to an extent and animal welfare is the most important issue here but to reduce it to twice a year is ridiculous.Yet again something quite unique to Dublin which is a valid tourist attraction is being destroyed.
I agree.
DCC have a tendency to suck the life out of the city.
http://blog.diffily.com/2012/09/why-are-there-no-fountains-in-dublin.html
An innovative policing and animal welfare plan could EASILY be created.
How different is policing a fair from policing a football match, concert, etc??
However, DCC are trying to mis-use animal welfare as an excuse to close down this bothersome event.
It is a common method of beaureaucrats everywhere.
@Shane Boyle-Simms. Those ‘fancy’ appartments are housing people who work in Dublin and want to live and work in a real, modern, progressive city. You want to hang on to something that began before that section of Dublin became urbanised but it is now urbanised and we want it to attract more and more modern companies make it generally more thriving, the limits of the City center has to increase. Horse dealing belongs in a rural area, its absolutely laughable that its held in Smithfield, voilence or no voilence.
I don’t think it’s laughable.
It’s admirable to retain an historical feature of a city in its original location.
To suggest it is not in our gift to create a policing & animal welfare plan for such an event is absurd – but perfectly Irish.
Historically this began as a fair for all farm animals all born and bred in the open countryside. It was only some stage during the middle of the 20th century (after a hiatus) that the horse fair began, so its not actually the traditional Smithfield fair, its nothing to be celebrated, its a sign of the squaller in this country.
I’m not in the habit of dismissing someone’s opinon, but to suggest that the Smithfield Horse Fair should essentially be ignored by those entrusted with keeping the peace, or monitoring animal welfare, or regulating and taxing commerce is basically stupid. Why you continued on and drew comparisions between said Horse Fair and an open air concert in the Phoenix Park, and then again with the burial of a paramilitary leader is frankly beyond me.
Other comments go so far as to suggest that the efforts to regulate and police the fair are, in fact, the actual CAUSE of any ‘issues’. A quick search through recent news reports reveal these ‘issues’ being in the nature of shots being fired, men and horses attacked with machetes, gang fights, horses being ridden to death by teens, horses being doused with petrol and set alight, horses being abandoned, horses having their throats slashed, being sold to children for as little as eight euros and being swapped for video games. All of this on a hard, cobbled square in a supposedly modern and thriving European city – the first port of call for most visitors to our country.
I should also note that, leaving the argument of basic morality aside, the equine industry is one in which Ireland is an actual world leader. We are, and have been for literally hundreds of years, regarded as producing some of the best horses in the world. The Thoroughbred aspect alone is worth over a billion euros a year, and employs over 20,000 people. That we would contemplate the continued, unpoliced, existance of this squalid and depraved gathering, where these tired and deprived animals are treated as less than dirt, is an affront to our global image. Providing a venue for the trade of unregulated animals ferments the breeding of those creatures and the continuance of bad practice, bad breeding, bad husbandry, and of course disease. If one does not leave basic morality aside, how can you possibly suggest that these kind and intelligent animals be subjected to the worst kind of treatment that humanity can dish out, in the interests of a ‘spontaneous, free and easy event’?
Who would lose should the Smithfield Horse Fair was to dissapear? It does nothing for the area (by dint of association with criminality), for the economy (bring essentially a black market), or for the animals themselves. On the other-hand, who would gain should such an event be hosted in proper, green-field surrondings, adequately policed and regulated? I can imagine plenty of interest in the trade of cobs, ponies, and draughts that are well-cared for and have the necessary passports; trade that would provide a welcome boost to any locale willing to accomodate the crowds. Horse fairs and shows are held the length and breath of this country and are at the heart of most of our largest rural fairs and festivals. It is there that true equine tourists will be found, looking to spend money on quality Irish-bred stock for their stud-farms and competitors.
Smithfield was historically a farm market place, ever since it was first laid out. It was NOT historically a venue for horse trading. Even if this was the case, this is no argument for it continuing to be so, should it prove unsuitable or incapable of being such in a safe and controlled manner. Many towns in Ireland do still play host to horse fairs (eg. Ballinalsoe), and perhaps DCC could reflect on how those examples are run, with a view to hosting a revitalised Horse Fair in the future. Until clean and cared-for animals can be displayed and traded in a humane way, by people not exposed to, or involved in, criminality, there can be no real argument against sweeping away this thing that remains.
If it reduced violence then yes, but will this push it underground and just continue it somewhere else with no monitoring?
Kids trading knackered horses for stolen Playstation computer games, it’s as close to ‘underground’ trading as it can get!!
Horses belong on grass.
Yes Dave I do want to hang onto something that began centuries before that section of Dublin became urbanised. I’m sick of this so called progression by fat cat developers.Have you been to Smithfield recently?
Empty shop units,a supermarket ,plans for another supermarket ( who squeezed out BLOCK T – a local arts initiative) the only saving grace is the reopening of the Lighthouse Cinema.
Sure why don’t they just knock the cobblestone pub a great attraction for live Irish music lovers and tourists. The building is old and decrepit..a shiny new empty block of flats or another Spar would be much more urban and progressive.
Yes I live in the Smithfield/Stoneybatter area, for one thing the Cobblestone is’nt directly on Smithfield square. I share the view that Smithfield development has been an overelaborate waste and yes it feels like nothing can stop it from being empty and souless but that does’nt mean it should be taken over by outlaws. Something should be done with Smithfield but I dont think i would take the suggestions of anyone who thinks the solution is provided by making money from tortured horses.
No picture of a garda getting horsed out of it?
The horse was merely practicing the tradition of “grabbing”. Except with a Garda.
A fine tradition.
Of course in any other major European city the redevelopment of Smithfield would have actually incorporated the fair ( and other markets) into its designs but as it stands now there is a clear anomaly between the design of the space and the fair. They either re-look at the design of these spaces in the post Celtic tiger era or they move it on, but I don’t think you can have the two as is. And to be honest the area’s character has been stripped out anyway.
Smithfield is just a brand name now like so many other older areas of Dublin that have been re-developed.
‘its absolutely laughable that its held in Smithfield, voilence or no voilence.’ That exactly what made it so wonderful Dave.
Move it up the road to the pheonix park and do it right. … horses been sold outside hotels and apartment blocks in the middle of town ????
What!!! And wreck the park for everyone else!! Get real.
I’d agree that while there is a definite need for animal welfare authorities to get involved it is a wrong decision to move this away from Smithfield where it has been in situ for at least a hundred years, if not longer. It is a tradition that is now being cast aside due to pressure from a pack of barristers who bought souless apartments on Smithfield square and are now fuming at being in negative equity and having the smell of horse sh1t on their doorsteps once a month. The legal franternity who live in Smithfield knew of the horse market before they moved there so they should just accept it or move elsewhere. Smithfield Square is an empty and souless place to walk through with tons of closed down shops- at least the horse fair gave the place a bit of life, even if it was only once a month.
The DSPCA might think they have won here but the reality is they have lost and lost heavily if anumal welfare is their true concern.
Because now instead of having one central place they can monitor the health of the animals and actually take action they have supported a decision that will fragment the horse trade market all across Dublin onto disused land in places like Finglas, Dunsink Lane, Cappagh- these are places where they won’t be welcome and they are unlikely to get much protection from the guards who are already up to their eyeballs with other things in these areas.
At least in Smithfield all the horses came to a central place on one Sunday every month. Now this trade will go underground to places where the DSPCA could find themselves coming under attack if they try to get involved.
Short sighted in my opinion.
id like to know how many local people really want the fair done away with. and how many actually like the failed hubristic ego w**k that passes for an integrated urban strategy there. up in odevaney gardens the police are already flying helicopters for intelligence on where kids are storing bonfire supplies! last year 3 choppers and around 60 guards on foot and in vans were wasted there. get a grip dublin with this policing of public spaces and traditional practices because they are ‘out of date’. what that claptrap really is code for is that they are traditions of local communities. sounds vaguely familiar…devotional revolution anyone?
I’d quite like other councils to follow suit. There’s a horse fair near where I live just once a year but it means being knee-deep in horse manure for 3 days afterwards while the council clean the entire street up. Plus it’s on a main national road and so all the traffic has to be diverted for 2 days (the day before & actual day) which incurs extra Garda hours doing traffic as well as extra patrols to keep an eye out for the trouble that inevitably follows the crowds descending upon a village ill-equipped to handle them.
Tradition is fine but then there was traditions of having gallows in town squares and hanging people too and we let it go! Animal welfare is a major issue at these events but so too are the anti-social behaviour and gurrier-attraction aspects. Why can’t there be proper markets for selling horses like there are with cattle or sheep?
horses for courses
Surely violence is the correct spelling instead of voilence
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