Zoetrope strip entitled 'Paddy at Donnybrook' by the London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company showing a man running with a bat.

A zoetrope strip is a strip of paper with a sequence of printed drawings representing a scene in motion which sits inside a the drum of a zoetrope. When the drum is rotated, the images provide a loop of continuous motion when viewed through the slits in the side. "Paddy", in the stereotypical green coat and hat, is waving a shillelagh or fighting stick. Donnybrook, near Dublin, Ireland, was once the location of Donnybrook Fair which became notorious for drunkenness and violent disorder. This gave rise to the term a donnybrook, meaning a brawl or fracas.