There was a time when the annual invasion of the capital by country folk took place in early May, when the Royal Dublin Society staged its Spring Show.
It was a major agricultural and social event, generating massive traffic jams and bringing millions of pounds into the city. It ended less than a decade ago. The growing success of the National Ploughing Championships, rising costs in staging the event and a fall in Dublin support killed it.
Exhibitors also discovered they could not compete against the hobbyists who could afford to compete at the event, and switched to the National Livestock Show in Tullamore, Co Offaly, a one-day event.
However, last Saturday the RDS held a revived one-day Spring Cattle Show at Goffs' sales paddocks at Kill, Co Kildare. It attracted 600 entries from pedigree and commercial cattle breeders and was well supported by the country's top breeders.
Mr Shane O Clearaigh, the RDS chief executive, said the decision had been made to invest in the show, which cost about £50,000 to stage, because the promotion of agriculture was a core value of the society, although the society did not expect to make money from it.
"We believe that a rosette from the RDS still has a lot of value in the farming community and the breeders and owners seem to be here to support that point of view," he said.
There was one core element missing from Saturday's event in Goffs, however. Gone was the bowler hat which is a symbol of authority in the RDS. The agriculture committee of the society decided after long discussion that the hats would not be worn at the revived show and, to be honest, no one seemed to miss them.