Killarney Ireland

There can’t be many places in the world that celebrate a goat every year for forewarning the locals of the impending arrival of the heinous English Cromwellian hordes.

In Killorglin, County Kerry this is exactly what happens in early August each year. This year Jimmy, a feisty white mountain goat, was crowned king of Ireland in Killorglin. And to celebrate Jimmy the pubs stay open longer, there is organized music and dancing and cultural events.

Each year a male goat is caught in the surrounding mountains, paraded through the town to a beat of drums and pipes, and then placed in a 40-feet stand where he reigns as king for three days. The origins of the fair are not totally known, but it always falls on August 10-12. One theory suggests mountain goats alerted residents of the town to an impending attack by leader Oliver Cromwell’s forces in the 17th century. Another says it may have pre-Christian links due to the goat being a pagan fertility symbol like the god Pan. Around 100,000 to 150,000 visitors gather each year to celebrate either fertility, goats or the onslaught of perfidious Albion or whatever your having yourself. Rumor had it that Elvis can be seen, in a certain light from a certain angle.

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