Galway was a busy place when it came to fairs and markets. These
were occasions when Town met Country - when rural people came
into Galway with their produce, and tried to convert it into
cash. Some of this money would be spent on various necessities
which were available in the city, some was probably spent on
porter, and the rest saved for a rainy day. In the mid-
nineteenth century, there were regular cattle fairs at Fairhill
in the Claddagh. Later they moved to Eyre Square, where they
often spilled onto adjoining streets like Williamsgate Street or
Forster Street. Later again, these fairs moved to the Fairgreen.
The Square also hosted pig fairs, horse fairs and sheep fairs,
and remember, if the farmer did not sell, he had to drive the
animals all the way home again. Haymarkets were major events in
the Square, at a time when the city people moved around on
horseback, or in carriages. The large weighing scales were
regularly used to measure and weigh cartloads of hay. The
Fishmarket was built especially to ca