Ould Lammas Fair
The Ould Lammas Fair  is held in Northern Ireland on the last Monday and Tuesday of August every year. The festival has been celebrating Ireland's history and heritage for the past 400 years. Every year, thousands of people travel to Ballycastle, where the fair is held. In fact, traffic jams used to go on for miles! Starting in 2003, the town began closing off roads (except for pedestrian traffic) at 10AM on the days of the fair.
The streets are lined with hundreds of stalls selling a variety of goods, from livestock to jewelry. The two most popular items at the fair are the traditional Lammas treats of Yellow Man (a sticky honeycomb toffee ) and Dulse, a reddish seaweed of the variety ‘palmaria palmata’ which has long been eaten and also used in medicine by the Irish - especially in the north.
The Lammas Fair is a family event. For children, there are pony rides and face-painting. Adults can stay entertained in the pubs, where traditional music is played. The fair offers live performances by Irish staples, such as Steve the Piper, who loves playing his bagpipes in his hometown. The fair combines old with new. Expect lots of tradition, like traditional songs and dances being performed in the street. However, don't be surprised if you find that new purse you've had your eye on at one of the stalls.
The Ballad
The fair's popularity increased when a ballad paying homage to the fair was written by John Henry "The Carver" MacAuley, the proprietor of the Bog Oak Shop in Ann Street, Ballycastle (now Dan McLister's News agency & Toy Shop). Here are the lyrics to the ballad so you can sing along at this year's fair!
The Ould Lammas Fair
by John Henry MacAuley
At the Ould Lammas Fair in Ballycastle long ago
I met a pretty colleen who set me heart a-glow
She was smiling at her daddy buying lambs from Paddy Roe
At the Ould Lammas Fair in Ballycastle-O!
Sure I seen her home that night
When the moon was shining bright
From the Ould Lammas Fair in Ballycastle-O!
Chorus
At the Ould Lammas Fair boys were you ever there
Were you ever at the Fair In Ballycastle-O?
Did you treat your Mary Ann
To some Dulse and Yellow Man
At the Ould Lammas Fair in Ballycastle-O!
In Flander's fields afar while resting from the War
We drank Bon Sante to the Flemish lassies O!
But the scene that haunts my memory is kissing Mary Ann
Her pouting lips all sticky from eating Yellow Man
As we passed the silver Margy and we strolled along the strand
From the Ould Lammas Fair in Ballycastle-O!
Chorus
There's a neat little cabin on the slopes of fair Knocklayde
It's lit by love and sunshine where the heather honey's made
With the bees ever humming and the children's joyous call
Resounds across the valley as the shadows fall
Sure I take my fiddle down and my Mary smiling there
Brings back a happy mem'ry of the Lammas Fair
Chorus
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