Every year in the town of Killorglin, a wild goat is crowned king during one of Ireland's oldest festivals. Puck Fair is held from 10 to 12 August every year in the picturesque town on the banks of River Laune in County Kerry. A wild goat is caught in the mountains above the town and paraded through the streets, accompanied by the Queen of Puck, a local schoolgirl.
Puck Queen Caitlin Horgan, 12, meets the wild goat that will be crowned King PuckClodagh Kilcoyne/ReutersThe wild goat is paraded through the town of Killorglin before it is crowned King PuckClodagh Kilcoyne/ReutersPeople watch from a window as a wild goat is paraded through the town of KillorglinClodagh Kilcoyne/ReutersLady-in-Waiting to the Queen Puck, Caoilinn Foley, 13, accompanies the goat during a parade through KillorglinClodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters
The goat is crowned King Puck and put into a small cage on the top of a tall tower in middle of the town square, where he is kept for the duration of the festival – three days. There's a horse market on the first day and a cattle market on the second, and plenty of drinking and carousing throughout.
A crown is affixed to a wild goat as it is crowned King PuckClodagh Kilcoyne/ReutersThe newly crowned King Puck goat is hoisted to the top of a platform above the town of Killorglin where it will be held for the duration of Puck Fair, which is three daysClodagh Kilcoyne/ReutersCousins Jim and Kit Flanagan attend the Puck Fair in KillorglinClodagh Kilcoyne/ReutersChildren drive a miniature pony and trap on the first day of the Puck Fair in Killorglin, County KerryClodagh Kilcoyne/ReutersThe O'Sullivan family wait by their van on the first day of Puck Fair which begins with a horse market and the crowning of a goat as KingClodagh Kilcoyne/ReutersNoel McIlwaine from Galway pets his horse on the first day of Puck Fair which begins with a horse marketClodagh Kilcoyne/ReutersA woman waits on a street with her newly purchased pony on the first day of Puck FairClodagh Kilcoyne/ReutersA man holds his horse by its tail on the first day of Puck FairClodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters
At the end of the festival, King Puck is brought down from the tower, dethroned, and returned to his mountain home. The origins of Puck Fair (from Aonach an Phoic, meaning "Fair of the Billy-Goat") are unclear, but it dates back at least 400 years. King James I issued a charter granting legal status to the fair in 1603.
