Muff Fair, Co Cavan

From the collection of

Northern Ireland Screen's Digital Film Archive
Launched in 2000, Northern Ireland Screen’s Digital Film Archive spans from 1897 to the present day and currently contains an ever-expanding catalogue of 13,000 items. It comprises material from a variety of depositors including feature films, sport, documentaries, animation, amateur footage, light entertainment, and a significant proportion of broadcast material from the UTV Archive.

Muff Fair, Co Cavan

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Visit the Muff Fair in County Cavan and explore the history and people.

Joe visits the historic Muff Fair near Kingscourt in County Cavan. Historian, Alacoque McMahon, talks to Joe on a horseshoe seat and details how the barony that Muff sits in got its name. Joe then visits Andrew Clarke, the ironsmith who made the seat at his forge who shows him the designs he's working on for the new spire for the local church.

At the fair, Joe then meets James, Collins, a tinsmith who demonstrates making a tea urn. Joe walks round some stalls and looks after a donkey for its owner. He then tries some of the local Muff stew and attends the barn dance at the end of the evening. Shane Connaughton and Declan Kernan share their memories of a lifetime of attending the fair.

Lesser Spotted Ulster is a long-running and popular programme that visits the places many of us have heard of but never been to. Presenter Joe Mahon gently explores what makes a place what it is.


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Lesser Spotted Ulster

Exploring the townlands and hinterlands of Ulster through landscape, history and local traditions as a torch is shone upon the roads less travelled.
Joe Mahon is an engaging host as he catalogues his journeys around towns and villages rarely mentioned in the news but rich in their own stories, legends, and tales of past industries and events. Using local people as his guides, Joe delves into the heritage and customs from yesteryear, documenting many before they pass from human memory. Starting in 1995, Lesser Spotted Ulster chronicled the regional variances of life around the six counties of Northern Ireland which, together with Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan, make up the historic boundaries of Ulster. With gentle panoramas of beautiful Irish countryside, played out under a lilting soundtrack, the series was a staple of the Ulster Television schedules for nearly 20 years. This selection of programmes from the series serves as a testimony to the rural culture of Ulster and a resource for anyone with an interest in the past and disappearing traditions.

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