First of November is Horse Fair Day!
PRESENTATION Secondary School, Castleisland celebrates its 90th anniversary on Friday, November 24, 2017.
The date has been chosen as it coincides with celebrations for Presentation week which is an annual celebration for the school community.
The celebrations will commence with a formal reception in the school in St John’s Hall at 11am for the staff, students and invited guests.
There, stories and memories of the past nine decades will be shared with all those in attendance. This will be followed by a tour of the school, where guests will take a trip down memory lane as they walk the corridors.
A timeline of the past 90 years will be visible along the corridor of the main St Anne’s building, as well as detailed accounts from different subject departments which track the many curricular and extra-curricular developments which the school has undergone over the years.
The wider community will then be invited to join the celebrations with Mass in the Parish church at 7pm followed by a reception in the River Island Hotel, Castleisland.
Light refreshments will be served as people visit an exhibition of memorabilia from the school.
“This full day of celebration marks a milestone of education offered by the Presentation Sisters throughout the past ninety years and we are delighted that the sisters will be at the heart of this significant celebration.
“Presentation Secondary School wishes to thank all those who have contributed photos, stories and memorabilia to the exhibition and look forward to sharing the memories with the community on November 24,” said event spokesperson and teacher Pierce Dargan. THE annual Castleisland Horse Fair will be held here in Castleisland on Wednesday, November 1st. Castleisland’s last link with it’s market town / fair day past shows no signs of waning if recent years and the crowds it attracts are an indication.
I mentioned here last week that I got a call from a man in Tipperary who was checking if it was on.
The fair was a regular feature in Old Moore’s Almanac and I’m not sure if that old relic of decency is still hale and hearty.
A fine fair day makes a huge difference to the enjoyment of the event. There was a day of vicious downpours a couple of years ago and the streets were cleared by half past two.
On the fine days the on-street activity almost touch the angelus bells.
There are people who come looking for quality and ‘ blood’ in what they’re prepared to buy and there’s always plenty of hand slapping and walking away and coming back.
And there are middle men egging the buyers and the sellers ever closer to that elusive sealing of the deal. The haggling over the bit of luck money can take nearly as long as the core of the business.
If you have no business in Castleisland that day you can do yourself a great favour and shoot off down or up the by pass as the town centre will be fairly taken up with the business of the day.