Ballinasloe Horse Fair – photo story by Guilhem Seguin

French street photographer Guilhem returns to Ballinasloe Horse Fair, the first place he ever photographed Gypsies and Travellers, capturing the atmosphere, the encounters and the moments that stay with you.

This isn’t my first time here. In fact, Ballinasloe was my very first destination when I began photographing Gypsies and Travellers.

How did I end up here?

Some time earlier, I had met a singer, an Irish Traveller, Thomas McCarthy, who was performing in a show in Paris. I had asked him where I could go to meet Travellers. He suggested I visit the Ballinasloe Horse Fair.

A few months later, there I was.

The fair begins on Sunday, but some families arrive the day before and settle in. The trucks arrive during the night between Saturday and Sunday. The vans, meanwhile, are there from the first day.

On the hill where the church stands, a few caravans and motorhomes spend the night. From what I have seen in old photographs, there used to be many more caravans there.

On the day of the fair, the horses and ponies are out. The field right next door is full of people. A small road separates the two areas and leads to a stadium where traders are busy setting up their stalls.

Visitors inspect the horses from every angle. The owners walk them back and forth a few times under the watchful eyes of potential buyers. Then the excitement dies down and the bargaining begins.

Sometimes, I feel as though I am watching a play in which everyone has a part to perform. There is a certain tension in the air, until bursts of laughter eventually bring the scene to a close.

A funfair has been set up beside the field. Teenagers meet there and get to know one another, while parents keep busy around the rides with their children.

A little further away, a stallholder can be heard calling out his wares: harnesses, reins and other equipment.

And then, sometimes, you meet an Irish Traveller who decides to tell you a little more about their life. A door opens, and suddenly you find yourself immersed in something intense, far from the hustle and bustle of the fair.

Once out in the fields, among the horses running freely through the countryside and coming back when they are called, I realised how lucky I was to experience such a moment and truly appreciate it for what it is.

Where I live, you can’t exactly say that horses are a common sight in the streets, although the horses of the Republican Guard do sometimes tread the pavements.

In the evening, you can also find young Irish Travellers in one of the pubs, singing a few songs.

Like other photographers, I felt the urge to return to Ballinasloe and, later on, to discover other horse fairs. There is a particular atmosphere here. At the very least, you feel the urge to try to capture what is happening.

Over the years, and through the encounters along the way, I have sometimes wondered what drives me to photograph people I don’t know.

This year, I came across old photographs from my childhood that I had never seen before. The family album had completely disappeared somewhere along the way. Finding those photographs naturally moved me.

Today, I continue this series about Traveller people, but my approach is also about passing on the photographs I take, giving them to the families.

Perhaps one day, someone will look back at one of these images, thirty years from now, just as I found myself looking back at those old family photographs this year.

And that is when you begin to understand the power of photography.

Words by Guilhem Seguin for Travellers Times

(Photographs © Guilhem Segiun)

All photographs of children published above  were taken with permission from the accompanying parent or guardian, in line with Travellers’Times policy.