The oldest horse fair in Ireland.

The Ballinasloe October Fair is one of the oldest fairs in Ireland, at one stage renowned as the largest and greatest in all of Europe. While now predominantly associated with the horse, in its heyday the October Fair was an agricultural event of much greater significance. Serving as a market for the sale of cattle and sheep by the farmers of the West to their counterparts in the East of Ireland.

Indeed, in the London Times of 1801 and 1804, the October Fair was referred to as the “Great Cattle Fair” of Ballinasloe. It is only since the early twentieth century that the fair has become exclusively associated with the horse.

The fair lasts seven days and starts on the Sunday before the first Tuesday in October, when a parade through the town is held. It continues during the next week and includes a beauty contest (the Queen of the Fair), fireworks, tug-of-war competitions, dog shows, artistic and cultural events, singing competitions and fairground attractions as well as the titular horse fair.

Events culminate during the second week-end; the Sunday of which is known as "Country Fair Day". Traditionally, this was the day in the fair with the highest attendance from local rural residents.