THE WILD puck goat lent by the North’s most ancient fair, the Ould Lammas in Ballycastle, Co Antrim, has arrived in Kerry ahead of his coronation at Puck Fair in Killorglin next Monday.
It is the first time a “foreign” goat will preside over the 400-year-old Kerry fair and the selection of King Billy is largely due to the efforts of the two Ballycastle and Killorglin goat catchers.
Seamus Blaney, a councillor on Moyle District Council and the Ballycastle goat catcher, accompanied the goat to Killorglin and will return to collect him on August 13th before the animal’s visa date expires, explained Frank Joy, Killorglin’s chief goat catcher.
“The king in waiting is in peak shape. Teddy Clifford [a local vet] has checked him out thoroughly. We have him indoors in quarantine. He is a very nice goat, a beautiful goat. I have never seen one like him,” said Mr Joy.
The goat is receiving a special goat mix from the local Kerry Ingredients store in Killorglin. “I also want to thank the Sinn Féin TD Martin Ferris for sorting out his majesty’s visa papers for us,” Mr Joy said. This was in reference to a hitch when it appeared King Billy would not meet with animal cross-Border welfare controls in time for his Kerry visit. However the Department of Agriculture in Belfast gave the necessary intra-trade animal health certificate, allowing King Billy a full two weeks’ sojourn in the South.
Billy was caught on the north Antrim coast’s Fair Head after Mr Blaney and a team of 12 men spent up to three weeks tracking him. They believe he has Kerry blood and is the offspring of a goat from the Macgillycuddy’s Reeks.
The goat will be crowned by Cassie O’Grady (12) who is this year’s Queen of Puck, after a coronation parade and horse fair. He will rule for three days and three nights from a specially constructed stand high over the town on the banks of the Laune.