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File photo of a previous King Puck. Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Amount of time spent by goat on raised platform during Puck Fair to be significantly reduced

The Puck Fair is an annual gathering event held in Killorglin in south Kerry.

THE AMOUNT OF time spent by the wild mountain goat on a raised platform at Killorglin’s Puck Fair is to be significantly reduced this year.

The Puck Fair is an annual gathering event held in Killorglin in south Kerry. 

Tradition dictates that during the fair a goat, crowned the King Puck, is put on a 50 foot tall platform for 48 hours before being taken down and set free or ‘de-throned’ at 6pm on the festival’s final day.

The King Puck has been crowned during the festival for over 400 years.

However, last year concerns over the goat’s welfare dominated the coverage of the festival, after it had to be taken down a number of times from the platform due to concerns over its welfare.

The festival took place during a heatwave, with a high of 30 degrees recorded in Killorglin during the event. The Department of Agriculture received close to 200 contacts to its Animal Welfare Helpline in relation to the event.

This year, in a significant break from tradition, the King Puck will be coronated and raised for a short period on the opening evening of the fair. 

He will then leave the stand before making a brief reappearance for the dethroning ceremony on the final day of the fair.

As with previous years, the goat will continue to be overseen and checked by a veterinary surgeon before, during and after his involvement with the fair.

Commenting on the launch of the festival, chairperson of the organising committee, Declan Falvey, said the this year the role of goat “has evolved”.

“It’s special few days for Killorglin and its diaspora to come together and celebrate the town’s history and traditions, and we look forward to welcoming people from across the globe back to Killorglin this August,” Falvey said.

“We are a festival steeped in longstanding traditions, but equally, we acknowledge that traditions can and should evolve where there is good reason to do so.

While King Puck will still be a major part of the festival, this year his role has evolved. The goat’s welfare has always been and remains of paramount importance to the committee and all of those that love Puck Fair.
The new approach was unanimously agreed by the Puck Fair Committee.

The event will run from 11, 12 and 13 August this year and features a range of family activities, children’s entertainment and musical acts.

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    Mute SV3tN8M4
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    Feb 7th 2025, 1:57 PM

    Comreg asleep at the wheel for years in relation to this. It’s just another useless Quango draining Taxpayers money.

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    Mute Kieran Woods
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    Feb 7th 2025, 2:35 PM

    @SV3tN8M4: Absolutely. A gang call Yourtell scammed lots of older people to sign up to a service posing as a branch of Eir. When they received huge bills, they then got fake solicitors letters threatening prosecution. Comreg said it was out of their hands for months and didn’t even issue a warning. It’s only when the scam reached Joe Duffy that they decided to look at it. Absolutely useless.

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    Mute Donna Fallon
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    Feb 7th 2025, 2:11 PM

    The Amazon and E-Flow ones are the best… I’m well used them but constantly have to sort stuff out for my Mum she’s so trusting.

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    Mute Pupper Class Gifts
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    Feb 7th 2025, 1:58 PM

    Great idea. Maybe it’ll help to unmark the text msg I get from An Post – they’re always marked as potentially dangerous, not recommended to open

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    Mute A D
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    Feb 7th 2025, 4:14 PM

    Will this eliminate ‘number spoofing’, where a false number is displayed as the sender?

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    Mute thomas molloy
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    Feb 7th 2025, 1:59 PM

    If “the Bookie always wins” are all promotion/ads communications not scams. ?

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    Mute Athena
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    Feb 7th 2025, 2:28 PM

    Any decent supplier will filter them out.
    Question: what is that register actually monitoring? Is the spam thing a front to “get up close and personal”???

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    Mute Jerry LeFrog
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    Feb 7th 2025, 2:34 PM

    @Athena: The third-last and second-last paragraphs in the article detail what the register will be doing.

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    Mute Athena
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    Feb 7th 2025, 3:10 PM

    @Jerry LeFrog: I know that. You believe that. Just wait and see.

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    Mute Kieran Menon
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    Feb 8th 2025, 10:01 AM

    There’s scammers registered, and Comreg does nothing…

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    Mute Ned
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    Feb 7th 2025, 4:26 PM

    O lord what next?

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    Mute stefan epure
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    Feb 7th 2025, 10:06 PM

    We can spoof a MAC, IP, email address what makes them think that a lousy ID cant be spoofed either ?

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