The Day The Rams Came to Town

In 2008 Jim and I made our first visit to the Connemara region of County Galway, staying at a lovely B&B and restaurant in the charming village of Leenane, which rests on a hill above the shore of Killary Harbour, one of three fjords in Ireland.

This was about the time that I had become REALLY serious about photographing sheep; in fact it was the Portfinn Lodge and Fjord Restaurant manager to whom Jim remarked that “Ann won’t be satisfied until she has photographed EVERY sheep in Ireland.” Imagine my surprise when he told me that the annual Blackface Ram Fair would be hosted right in the road in front of our B&B, starting at 5:00 A.M. the next day.

Sure enough, the rams arrived not long after daybreak, and the parked trailers stretched from one end of the crescent-shaped harbour to the other.

The purpose of the fair is to allow farmers to purchase rams from different blood lines to keep their herds from becoming inbred. In addition to the commerce that takes place, the event is a huge social occasion, so I had a wonderful time photographing the action and learning about Blackface Rams.

Much of the activity took place on the road in front of the Leenane Sheep and Wool Museum, which Jim and visited at a later date.

Wherever you turned, you would see sheep tethered to SOMETHING.

This gentleman asked me to photograph his rams and, put the picture on the Internet, and tell everyone that these are fine examples of Blackface Rams. I was happy to oblige. I hope he had a great day at the Fair. I certainly did!

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