Top 3 weirdest festivals in Ireland
Puck Fair ©thegatheringireland.com
It is no news that Britain has got its fair share of the unusual from classical mysteries, like the Beltane celebrations, to the more modern whimsies, like the Olney Pancake Race. But what about the neighbors across the Irish Sea?
Let us see the top 3 weirdest festivals in Ireland that you have to visit once in your life! Also watch the funny video below promoting the numerous great events taking place all over the country in 2013, all of them are amazing!
Puck Fair, Killorglin, Co. Kerry
The festival begins with the locals going up in the nearby mountains and catching a wild goat. They take it to the city center where the Queen of the Fair – not another goat, but a local schoolgirl usually- crowns the goat as the king of the fair for 3 days. Crazy, hah?
Then the fun begins, music, events, drinking and all that. In the meantime the King is held in a comfy cage while attending to his royal duties , but at the end of Puck Fair he is set free and can go back into the wilderness. The festival is celebrating it’s 400 anniversary in 2013, so it will be 4 days long this time – between August 9 and 12.
The King and the Queen ©thegatheringireland.com
Left Hand Festival, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath
Another weird festival – but a very nice one – takes place in the town of Mullingar (in Gaelic means the town with the left hand mill) and celebrates the left handed. The event takes place between August 9 – 13 and promises a lot of excitement.
The town transforms into a left handed’s haven with left handed hotel rooms, sports competitions and much more. I have two favorite features of the Left Hand Festival. One is that for those 5 days everyone can drive on the left side of the road which is fun! The other is that right handed visitors can complete a lot of left handed tasks at the local mill, so they can experience how hard it is to be a left handed in a right handed world.
Twin Fest Ireland, Ballymote, Co. Sligo
Held this year on August 24, Twin Fest Ireland, as the name shows, celebrates twins, triplets and so on and is – in my opinion one of the weirdest festivals in Ireland. Of course, there is nothing wrong with twins, but to see so many in one place is very interesting and unusual. I think it is the day of confusion!
Group photo at Twin Fest Ireland ©thegatheringireland.com
There are many activities and races for twins and they also elect the kings and queens of the festival. It is really nice and even non-twins can have a lot of fun!
