Kingdom County Fair

History of the Kingdom County Fair

-The first Industrial Show (Kingdom County Fair) was held in 1948. Three venues were used

Theatre Royal (now Fabric Nightclub) for indoor exhibits.
Old Infirmary Grounds (now Gleasures Sawmills) for outdoor stands
Town Park for show jumping.

Tralee Development Association was the organisation responsible for starting the Industrial Show in 1948. We are honoured to have one of it’s founder members , Mr. Tommy Diggin still offering us words of wisdom. This group sowed the seeds of economic success, which are now producing a bountiful harvest in Kerry. In 1950 Macra na Feirme got involved and an Agricultural Show was incorporated into the Industrial Show resulting in the County Kerry Agricultural & Industrial Show we have today.

The Show moved to Ballymullen Barracks in 1953 and one on the promotional highlights was the parade from Princes Street to Ballymullen. In November 1953 the committee renamed it’s show “The Kingdom County Fair” The format of the show was set and remained the same for the next 30 years i.e.

Tuesday 7.30 p.m. Official Opening, Wednesday & Thursday(Church Holiday) Thursday was the big day of the show with the farming community turning out in massive numbers resulting in a huge boost to the business in the town, which was one of the primary objectives of the founders.
The 1955 show was described by The Kerryman newspaper as “ the largest and most ambitious industrial, agricultural, trade and sporting feature ever held in a provincial centre” In the 1960’s many fringe events were added to make the show a family day out. The show continued to grow during the 70’s and then lack of space for all the events resulted in a move to the present venue, Ballybeggan Racecourse in 1982. In the 90’s the show was ranked the 5th biggest in the 32 counties according to the Irish Shows Association.

In 1993 Fergie, The Duchess of York took part in the show jumping at the show and added a new dimension to the section, which now had household names such as Eddie Macken, Robert Splaine, Captain Con Power and the late Paul Darragh competing.
Over the last 60 years many shows have come and gone but Kingdom County Fair enters it’s 60th year still holding it’s place as one the premier shows in Ireland.