No deal at the Maam Cross Fair in Connemara yesterday could be completed without the luck-penny and a handshake to confirm the deal.
More than 10,000 people attended the annual event which is one of the most important dates of the year for Connemara farmers and its many followers from all over Ireland and England.
The crossroads was the venue yesterday for buying and selling of livestock and Connemara ponies, associated with the area since the 16th century when the horses from the Spanish Armada swam to shore and bred with the native ponies.
The origin of the fair is steeped in the history of the area, which was poor when it first started in the early 1900s.
Due to the bad quality of the land in Connemara, landlords and nobles were not anxious to settle there and the locals had to produce their own potatoes, butter, mutton and beef.
They made nets and lobster pots and farmed sheep for meat and fleece. From there, surplus produce from the land and sea was sold to strangers who visited the area, which is how the fair started.
Local hotelier Mr Basil Keogh stresses the importance of the fair's social aspect.
"It's as important as the commercial side. Dealing is done in the traditional way with light-hearted quarrelling over the final price. No deal is complete without the luck-penny and the handshake to seal the agreement."
