Cahir Horse Festival & Cahirmee Horse Fair

Two horse events get confused with each other because their names look alike. They are held in different counties, and only one of them still runs.

  • The Cahirmee Horse Fair is held in Buttevant, Co. Cork, traditionally on 12 July. It is one of Europe's oldest horse fairs and it still takes place every year. It has no connection to Cahir in Co. Tipperary beyond the similar-sounding name.
  • The Cahir Horse Festival was held here in Cahir, Co. Tipperary, on the island beside Cahir Castle. It ran in 2011 and 2012. This page is the record of it.

If you are looking for the Cahirmee Fair, you want Buttevant - see buttevant.ie. Skip to what is on in Cahir now if you are planning a visit here.

The Inch Field

Cahir Castle is built on an island in the River Suir. The river splits at the bridge and passes around the castle on both sides. The large area of the island outside the castle walls is known locally as the Inch Field, reached by a footbridge on foot, and by a ford in the river for vehicles and horses.

That ford is why the festival worked here. Few venues in Ireland let a carriage-driving marathon run a shallow river crossing with a medieval castle behind it.

The Cahir Horse Festival, 2012

On the weekend of 30 June and 1 July 2012, Cahir hosted one of the biggest horse events in Munster. It was built around one of the Carriage Driving National Horse Driving Trials events.

The main competition took place on Cahir Castle island. The cross-country driven marathon was held at Kedrah Castle, just outside the town.

Alongside the trials:

  • Dressage to music demonstrations
  • Pat Parelli natural horsemanship displays
  • Le Trec, the equestrian trail-riding discipline, making its Cahir debut
  • A donkey derby and carriage racing
  • The official launch of the Butler Trail, a blacksmith's expo and craft displays around the Castle car park

The programme ran from 9am to 7pm on the Saturday and from noon to 6pm on the Sunday.

The 2011 event had been the first staging of National Driving Trials in Cahir, and the reception was what made 2012 worth doing - people lined the streets across both days to watch the carriages parade through town.

The festival was a combined effort by the town and a volunteer organising committee, with local sponsorship.

Is it coming back?

There is no current organising committee, no announced date and no official website. If it returns, it would most likely be announced through local channels rather than a dedicated site.

Anyone claiming to sell tickets to a forthcoming Cahir Horse Festival should be treated with caution.

What is on in Cahir now

The Queen of the Castle Festival runs in Cahir over the August bank holiday weekend, with Cahir Castle as the backdrop. It is run by Rathkeevin Macra, began in 2024, and celebrates women, community and culture with live music, talks, food and family events. Dates are set each year, so check queenofthecastlefestival.com for the current one.

For the rest of the year, see things to do in Cahir and Christmas in Cahir.

Riding and carriage driving near Cahir

Equestrian activity continues in the area outside of any festival. Cahir Equestrian Centre and the yard at Kedrah both sit within a few minutes of the town. Kedrah Castle Farm has hosted carriage-driving competitions and other equestrian events over the years.

If you are coming to Cahir