The man who ran off with the circus!
A CHILDHOOD DREAM MATERIALISED INTO A REALITY SURROUNDED BY DIFFERENT CULTURES AND EXOTIC ANIMALS FOR TAGHMON LOCAL, FINTAN FURLONG
AS a child growing up in Taghmon in the late 1950s and early 1960s, there was no greater thrill for a young Fintan Furlong than seeing the circus pull into town. As the caravans, crew and animals pulled into what was known as Keating’s field and began setting up, they would be keenly watched by a young Fintan who took everything in, getting up early to be sure he saw everything before heading off to school.
While it’s an oft repeated phrase to run off and join the circus, few actually live that reality. But such was the impression that the whole circus operation made on Fintan that years later he would spend his summers touring around by caravan with Fossett’s and Duffy’s and even develop strong ties with circuses on the continent.
‘I remember I used to watch everything that was going on when I was a child,’ said Fintan. ‘The field was taken over by this travelling town and the colour, the noise, the smell - the whole thing just took over. Then the lads from the circus got to know me and I remember one day, one of the trucks broke down in Wexford and the late Teddy Fossett asked me if I’d like to go in with him to tow it. It was like I had won the lotto!
‘In the 1950s, for most of us children, it would be the first time we encountered people of different colour and cultures from many countries and speaking different languages. As they walked around the Main Street in their national costumes, it was a sight to behold. I remember during one visit, a strongman from Russia visited Jamesey Cullen’s Hardware and demonstrated his strength by bending a quarter inch flat steel bar in a loop with his bare hands! Tommy Murray later gave me this bar and it’s in my collection of circus memorabilia.
‘The buzz would continue when the elephant would be paraded up the street to the fountain for a very long drink. Again, this was the first time for most of us to see a real life elephant and other wild animals brought by the circus.’
It was here that Fintan’s dream of running away and joining the circus was born and it was one that would eventually come true.
‘It was something I was always interested in and a few years later, my dream of running away with the circus came true. I got to know and became life long friends with the Fossett, Duffy, Courtney and Gerbola families and spent many months touring with them. The whole lifestyle of the circus fascinated me. It is heavy going though too though. You have to love it or you simply won’t survive.’
While most people have attended the circus at one point or another, few are privy to its inner workings. In a lot of ways, the Furlongs became part of the circus family.
‘After I got married, we got a little caravan and myself and the wife and children would go on the road with the circus for the summer holidays,’ Fintan recalls. ‘ The kids loved it. They’d help out selling ice cream and they’d be looking on in fascination trying to find out how the magician did his tricks and that type of thing. With the circus, there’s no free holiday though and you roll up your sleeves and get stuck in like everyone else.
‘There were some great acts and great characters and I got to know them all. You could nearly write a book on the tent men alone. Guys with names like Long John Silver and Nixer. I think half of them were on the run or trying to get away from some situation or other. But you’d have a few drinks in the evening and the stories would flow.’
While in the intervening years, the practice of using animals in the circus has come to a stop, back when Fintan and his family were on the road, they were travelling with tigers, bears and elephants.
‘It was funny, with the likes of the tigers, you’d be dependent on the local butcher shop to provide maybe a sheep’s head or a cow’s head for them. The bears ate stale bread. They were well looked after by Williams’ bakery when they came to Taghmon. It’s important to emphasise though that the animals aren’t part of the circus any more, bar some horses and dogs.
‘In all the time I was travelling with the circus though, the animals were always well cared for. I remember on one occasion we were down at The Rose of Tralee and there were fireworks going off in the next field. The animals got a bit spooked and I remember I climbed into one of the wagons with one of the elephants and sat with him and calmed him down. They are beautiful, intelligent creatures and I would not take kindly to anyone mistreating them. The same goes for the lions and tigers. While there was less interaction with them, they are beautiful, majestic creatures, but obviously having them in captivity is not the ideal situation.’
While he worked for the ESB for 55 years, when he got on the road with the likes of Duffy’s, Fossett’s or Courtney’s, Fintan’s role changed all the time. He could be driving an artic truck, putting up posters, helping to rig up the big top or looking after the animals. On a couple of occasions, he even found himself taking part in the show!
‘I did a stint as a circus clown alright,’ Fintan smiles. ‘I think it came about when one of the clowns was sick and I was asked to stand in. The costume I wore actually belonged to the famous Bobo the Clown - Bobby Fossett. He had given it to me and I had it for years, before I eventually gave it back to a nephew of his. They were delighted to get it back.
‘It’s a funny thing. There was no nerves or anything. The minute the curtain goes over, you’re raring to go. You’re not Fintan Furlong anymore, you’re Coco the Clown or whoever. It was great fun.’
Fintan’s love of the circus isn’t just confined to summer road-trips either. His home in Barntown contains a massive collection of circus memorabilia. Such is the size of Fintan’s collection, some 20 years ago he was crowned ‘Ireland’s Greatest Collector’ by The Gerry Ryan Show and Waterford Crystal.
‘I’ve won a few awards as well as Ireland’s Greatest Collector,’ he says. ‘For that one, someone came down from RTÉ and we won a prize of a trip to London, New York and Paris. I’ve made great friends through the circus and collecting too. They are great collectors in France and we have a little house out there and we’ve made great friends who we love to get out and see there every year.’
While Fintan’s passion is evident, being at home with his massive collection of circus memorabilia just cannot replicate the buzz of actually being there, under the big top, with the marvellous sights, smells, sounds and spectacle of the circus. Like a lot of industries, Covid has had a devastating impact on those in the circus business, but he’s hopeful that it won’t be too long before he’ll be back among the hustle and bustle of travelling performers and workers at a real, live circus.
THE MINUTE THE CURTAIN GOES OVER, YOU’RE RARING TO GO. YOU’RE NOT FINTAN FURLONG ANYMORE, YOU’RE COCO THE CLOWN OR WHOEVER