A perfect double act, Mikey and Tara Gerbola grew up playing clowns in family circuses, says Andrea Smith

Many children threaten to run away and join the circus at some point, but there was never any danger of that in Mikey and Tara Gerbola's case. They were already there! The Gerbolas seem tailor-made for one another: they both grew up in family circuses; their first roles were as clowns as children; and neither could ever imagine doing anything else in life. "Although Tara is the complete opposite to me," says Mikey, who grew up in Fossett's Circus. "I'm more of a listener than a talker, but we always know what each other is thinking. She's gorgeous, and she gets better looking every year."

Circus and funfair people tend to know one another, but Tara and Mikey were barely aware of each other's existence. Tara once came to the show with her aunt, prompting Mikey to remark that she was gorgeous, but too young. She was only about 15 then, and he was seven years older. As a child, Tara was part of her parents' travelling roadshow, McFadden's, which was a circus at one stage, and would later become a funfair. Her parents, George and Alice, had a house in Killenard, Co Laois, where the family lived from October to April. She recalls life being tough at times on the road, particularly when there was pressure to catch up at school for the time missed. "I loved it though, and always felt that the circus was a magical place," she says. Having started at the age of five as a clown, Tara moved on to aerial, wire and roller-skating. When she completed her Leaving Cert, she trained in trapeze in the US and, upon her return, went to work at her uncle's circus, Big Top.

Meanwhile, Mikey grew up as the youngest child of a very large extended family in Fossett's Circus. He had a great childhood, living alongside all of his cousins, and his winters were spent living with grandparents in England. Aged eight, he began performing as part of a clown act with his dad and uncle, who were collectively known as Bobo, Tony and Mikey. When he was in his mid-20s, Mikey's sister Caroline began getting worried about his reluctance to socialise, so she persuaded him to attend the annual Showman's Dance. "I was kind of a recluse for a while, because I just worked and didn't socialise," he admits. "I had no time for anyone, bar me and my work, and life was pretty boring. As soon as we arrived at the dance, I saw Tara there looking fantastic, She was wearing this little bustier, and there was me with no dress sense at all. I looked like a hick."

They finally got talking at some point of the night, although Mikey recalls being too shy to kiss Tara goodnight. They started dating, but for the first six months of their relationship, Tara's mother Alice was seriously ill with a terminal brain tumour. She died aged 45, when Tara was 19, and prior to her death her family nursed her through her illness. Mikey recalls how he used to drive down to Laois to see Tara after the shows during this time. Although the circumstances weren't ideal for starting a new relationship, it didn't deter him in the slightest. "I had my eyes set on her and that was it," he says. "After her mum went to sleep at night, we'd stay up talking until the sun rose, and we did that for months."

Tara found it difficult to accept her mother's illness, because she was so lively, vivacious and full of life. "It was so hard for us as a family, because my younger sisters were only 9 and 12," she says. "It was almost a relief when she died, because we couldn't bear to see her suffer any more. Mikey stuck by me through thick and thin, and he kept me sane all through that time." After Alice passed away, Tara went back to work at Big Top, and Mikey drove miles to see her after work as often as possible. This was difficult, as they never seemed to be in the same end of the country. Tara says she was attracted to Mikey because he's a "great human being" and is very calm, cool and collected. They desperately wanted to be together so, the following year, she joined him at Fossett's. They are now together 17 years, and were married in 2000. After working together in Duffy's Circus for a few years, Mikey and Tara decided to take a year out to try other regular jobs. At the end of the year, they realised that they missed life on the road too much. "So we went into a lot of debt and started Circus Gerbola in 2001," says Tara. "Mikey built everything, and we had a vision of a very small, atmospheric circus."

The first year was difficult as the foot-and-mouth outbreak occurred, which grounded the circus. Now it has approximately 25 staff, and has become very popular. Housed in a heated tent with theatre-style seating, it comprises dancers, clowns, jugglers, trapeze artists, horses, and much more. As well as performing, Mikey and Tara run the circus, and look after their two sons, Blake, 5, and Michael, 3. While the boys go to school in Navan during the off-peak season, a teacher comes out to them three days per week on the road, no matter where they are, and their babysitter is a qualified teacher. "We love it, but I don't think most couples would endure what we do, because there are easier ways to make a living," says Tara. "We're responsible for everything, from setting up in different sites twice a week, to dealing with problems, such as a staff member or a horse getting sick, or a problem with the site. "Then again, we have the best of both worlds, because we're with our children all of the time," says Mikey. "I actually feel sorry for the rest of the world, sitting in their cars for two hours every morning and evening, and only seeing their kids at weekends."