Anyone who was lucky enough to get tickets for the Dublin Castle Christmas Market this year is in for a treat as a 130-year-old carousel is set to be the centrepiece of the event.
The carousel was built in 1892 and will be brought to Dublin Castle by Trevor and Tim Cullen from Vintage Carousel Company. The father and son recently acquired the attraction and have "brought it back to life".
Speaking to Dublin Live, Trevor said the pair have been searching for a carousel like this for a long time as it was the one major thing missing from their funfair collection.
Read more: Dublin Castle Christmas Market announce returned tickets will be released next week
"We've always wanted one of these carousels but they were impossible to get," he said. "They're like gold, they would be sold before they even hit the market.
"I found this one by pure chance. We have four vintage trucks from the same company that were built in the 1950's. I bought one of them in Essex and coincidentally the lad I bought it off knew someone with a carousel and put me in touch with them.
"It was originally ran by steam and had an organ in the centre of it. We still have a lot of the original pieces with it.
"After we bought it, I got it refurbished in Rundles in Boston, Lincolnshire. We've finally got it over the line this week.
"It'll be shipped into Dublin on Wednesday and we'll set it up then to be the centrepiece of Dublin Castle. It's beautiful, it's wonderful looking thing."
The Vintage Carousel Company runs its vintage funfair in Dun Laoghaire throughout the year and also provides its amenities to various festivals and events, but Trevor said their new carousel being at Dublin Castle is their "biggest milestone yet".
He said: "Now we have this and its branded in our name, Vintage Carousel Company in Ireland. It's a proud moment to have this at Dublin Castle.
"It will create a lovely atmosphere, there's no doubt about it.
"This is going to be great thing. I genuinely think this will be the cornerstone of what we do. There's just a lovely feeling off these carousels and people going around on them.
"It's a really proud moment for us to be honest."
The father and son are also opening their kids funfair in Dun Laoghaire Harbour next weekend, on December 3.
"It's going to be a hectic few weeks coming up to Christmas but we wouldn't have it any other way," Trevor said. "We're really looking forward to it all."
To find out more information about Trevor and Tim's Vintage Carousel company, click here.
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