In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is a king.
But what is happening in the Killorglin town of Ireland is in complete contrast to the above quote. In this small town of Ireland, a goat has been crowned as the king.
The goat has been crowned as king as per a ritual of the Puck Fair which means “Fair of the He-Goat”. Puck Fair is one of the oldest street festivals of Ireland. As a part of the celebration of this festival, every year, a goat catcher from the town brings a wild mountain goat from its haven up in the mountains. A local young schoolgirl from one of the primary schools of the town crowns the goat as King Puck.
This year, 12-year-old Caitlin Horgan, one of the local school girls, was bestowed with the honor of being Queen Puck. On Thursday, the goat that was to be crowned king for this year’s Puck Fair was paraded through the town and was crowned King by the Queen during this parade.
There are no records available about the origin of the festival, however, according to the organizers of the festival, its history dates back to the 17th century. The fair also has some local mythological tales associated with it. Apart from this coronation ceremony, other prominent attractions of the fair are horse fair and dance, music and street performances.
The festival that is celebrated every year from August 10 to August 12 expects to attract over 1 lakh visitors this year. During his concise reign, King Puck will be treated royally and will be feasting upon ash tree branches, cabbage and water. The welfare of the goat is the foremost priority of the organizers who appoint an independent veterinary surgeon in King Puck’s fair. On the third and final day of the fair, King Puck is dethroned and sent back to its habitat in the mountains.