strabane

The Gentleman on the Cart is very like a Mr buffalo Bill.

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Cody-Buffalo-...

buffalo bill was in the british isles in the years around 1904/06 could this be him ?

Apparently , buffalo bill's circus did tour in europe and some dates in england but never went to ireland , there were a couple of copy cat circuses doing the rounds and no doubt "buff bill's" was one of them. ( according to the william s cody estate)

Found the following information in our Introduction to the Cooper Photographic Archive - it's not The Buffalo Bill, unfortunately then!: "The three main shows photographed by Cooper (or J.W. Burroughs - who ran the studio in Railway Street, Strabane in the years preceeding Cooper - 1901-1913) were Duffy's Circus, Buff Bill's American Circus and Hanneford's Canadian Circus. The photographs of Duffy's Circus were, almost certainly, all taken during the visit to Strabane in 1911. Duffy's Circus was begun in the late 19th century by John, who died in 1909; by the time Duffy's Circus arrived in Strabane in 1911, it was run by John's widow, Annie. One of John Duffy's sons, James, married Lena Kayes, daughter of William Kayes who ran the famous Buff Bill's American Circus in Ireland before and after the First World War, Kayes himself being 'Buff Bill'. Ned Hanneford's Canadian Circus toured Ireland up to 1916. It was renowned for its menagerie, including lions and 'bears that talk'. It also featured a splendid street parade headed by an ornate, gilded bandwagon drawn by 8 sleek horses. Cooper's photos of Hanneford's Circus must have been taken before 1914, a period which seems to have been the heyday of circus visits to Strabane."

Yes, Royal Irish Constabulary.

Excellent!

psst ...I see 4 dogs ;o)

Isn't the man on the left holding two dogs ?