With record numbers anticipated at this year's Puck Fair in Killorglin, concerns have been raised about continued sponsorship of the annual event.

Festival organisers point to the fact that the event is "at the bottom rung of the ladder" in terms of Government funding and has to rely heavily on commercial sponsorship. That sponsorship may now be in doubt.

Declan Mangan, chairman of the Puck Fair committee, feels that monies received from organisations such as Fáilte Ireland are not comparable with the worth of the festival in tourist terms. He also has concerns that current sponsors Diageo may be reviewing its continued support.

"It's fair to say that out main sponsors, Diageo, are taking a tighter look at events they sponsor," he said. "Like everyone else, they are conscious of image. They have been very generous for almost 17 years, and without them we wouldn't be as successful as we are today. Hopefully, the Puck Fair will remain on their shopping list, but there is a concern there, especially when you see that in recent times they seem to be pulling back from events."

For its part, Diageo says no decision has yet been taken with respect to the future funding of the Puck Fair. "Killorglin Puck Fair has been supported by Diageo for the past number of years and will be supported again this year," a spokesperson said. "Our sponsorships are reviewed on an annual basis, but no decisions have been made regarding ceasing the Killorglin Puck Fair sponsorship."

Running over three days, the Puck Fair attracts upwards of 100,000 people into the town, and involves mass devotion to a goat and the crowning of a queen.

In economic terms, the fair is worth over €6 million to the local economy, and its origins can be traced back to a charter in 1603 by King James I, granting legal status to the existing fair in Killorglin. It has been suggested though that the festival has roots in pre-Christian celebrations of a fruitful harvest and that the male goat, or "puck", was a pagan symbol of fertility, like the pagan god Pan.

While the exact origins of the fair have been lost in the mists of antiquity, it is generally regarded as one of the three oldest in the country, along with Ballinasloe Horse Fair and the Auld Lamass Fair in Ballycastle. Given its cultural heritage, Mangan feels there should be greater recognition of the event from Government agencies.