All the fun of the fair as Dunderry attracts 15,000

Dunderry was the place to be last Sunday for the ninth annual fair day in the village. It was rumoured that festival stalwart Gus Martyn had the Child of Prague out on Saturday night to hold off the rain - and it must have worked as the sun shone in Dunderry for most of the day. Record crowds attended this year's Dunderry Fair with organisers estimating a crowd of over 15,000 people in the village over the course of the day. The star attraction was country legend Declan Nerney, and Matt Leavy was also a bit hit with the crowds who had three stages of music to enjoy all day. The street was full of farm animals and all the craftsmen were busy. Mary McConnell was busy making the butter and also won the prize for best-dressed lady at the fair. Tom Feeney, the matchmaker, just recently out of hospital, won the prize for best-dressed man. Mrs Daly from Meadstown was selling hens all day and won the Peter Smith Cup for the best turned-out animals. Rachel Duffy, Robinstown, was crowned Little Miss Dunderry, while Conor Nolan was Little Mr Dunderry. Best vintage tractor was judged by Declen Nerney and was won by Martin Keenan from Louth. Dunderry Fair PRO Gus Martyn said people from every county in Ireland were there, with dealers from as far away as Kerry coming to sell hens. Among the visitors there were a number from England, France and Switzerland, as well as the US. RTE Radio 1 recorded a slot from the fair with Damien O'Reilly, and Darragh McCullagh from RTE's 'Ear to The Ground' opened the fair. A gang of girls from the BBC 1 programme 'The Only Way Is Essex' were over for the fair and it is rumoured that the matchmakers were very busy in Horan's and Geraghty's on the Monday night finding suitable matches for the girls. Dunderry Fair Committee has thanked all who helped on the day. "We would not be able to run this fair without the help and support of so many. The landowners, Joe Clarke, Pat Smyth and Hugh Geraghty - without these three landowners, the fair would not be possible. The people of the village are a credit to themselves, they show such great community spirit and unity," said Mr Martyn. "Driving through the village on Monday morning, you would never know that there had been 15,000 people in the village the day before; the village was spotless," he added. The fair committee is one of the hardest-working committees in the country, made up of men, women and children of the area. There were 180 stewards on duty volunteering their time on the day, who also were thanked alongside Dunderry GAA Club for all its help. Over the last nine years, €250,000 has been given out to charities, said Mr Martyn. This year the main charity is Pieta House, the only suicide crisis centre in the country providing therapeutic services free of charge. A number of volunteers from Pieta House also were present on Sunday, helping out.