It was like a heavily armed national ploughing championships in Emo Court yesterday on the second day of the National Country Fair on the beautiful grounds of the Gandon-designed stately house near Portlaoise.
They came in their thousands from across this and the neighbouring island to take part in competitions for shooting, fishing and dog-handling, held against the backdrop of re-enacted battles and the roar of cannons.
Medieval swordsmen swapped sword strokes beside a falconry display close to where a man was demonstrating the best way to skin a rabbit. Hundreds of men and women were competing for fly-casting prizes in the most lucrative competition of its kind on the world circuit, worth €15,000.
It was a day for enthusiasts to enjoy fishing rods, classic cars and guns as well as 220 stands where sporting goods of all kinds were on sale. On one of the trade stands there were enough shotguns and rifles on sale to start a small revolution. Beside that, collectors were looking for money to train guide dogs for the blind.
The brainchild of brother and sister, Margaret and William Edgill, the fair has been quietly growing in strength since the first one n 1999 when only 5,000 people attended.
During the bank holiday weekend, well over 40,000 people, many of them from the UK, basked in the sunshine to watch hunting, fishing and shooting displays without fear of the anti-bloodsports lobby.
Punctuated by the sound of clay pigeon shooting, visitors could relax and watch the hunt chase competition or the showing classes for horses or take in whippet and terrier races.
Boyd Rankin, of Irish Arms, was marshalling his Troop of Irish Foote, a recreation of a regiment raised in 1688 by John, Lord Bellew, which supported King James the Second.
They may have backed the losing side in the Battle of the Boyne after seeing action in Athlone and Limerick, but they were winners yesterday with their 3lbs bronze cannons, muskets and pikes, while dressed in authentic 17th-century military dress. They probably fired fewer shots in that campaign than at the clay pigeon shoots at the weekend.
Peter Munn, the UK based organiser of the shooting events, reckoned he had to bring over 40,000 shells to service the shoots. A mark of the level of shooting was that he brought along 60,000 claybirds.
And there were world records too. Scottish visitor and fly fishing expert, Scott McKenzie, created a new world record fly cast with a length of 60.5m, an astonishing feat on the beautiful lake in the grounds of the country mansion.
Apart from the hot air balloon flight, there was also a lot of attention being given to the Pasco Fino horses who were billed as "Riverdance on horseback".
These horses have a unique lateral gait which, for the non-horsey folk, means they can turn 180 degrees in a two foot square area. They were good but most reckoned that Michael Flatley still had the edge on them and he has only two legs . . .