Red Hugh celebrations give Lifford ‘much-needed boost’

The 450th birthday of Donegal Chieftain Red Hugh O’Donnell was celebrated in Lifford and beyond at the weekend with a host of events that were planned for the inaugural celebration.

The celebrations began on Friday when Dr Darren McGettigan, an internationally-renowned historian and author from county Wicklow, gave an online talk via Facebook.

His talk was very well-received as he spoke about his book ‘Nine Years War’, focusing on when Red Hugh O’Donnell got inaugurated in Kilmacrennan, taking over chief of Donegal.

On Saturday morning, an inaugural bus tour visited historical sites associated with Red Hugh O’Donnell. Thomas O’Brogan and Darren McGettigan provided the commentary throughout the tour which was greatly enjoyed by everyone.

The first place visited on the tour was Lifford where Manus O’Donnell, Red Hugh’s grandfather built the old castle. Old photographs of the town were shown.

Mongalvin castle was visited next. Red Hugh was born on October 30, 1572 just outside Lifford on the site of Mongalvin Castle between Porthall and St Johnston on the banks of the River Foyle.

On Sunday, the events began in St Patrick’s Church in Murlog, where Father Colm O’ Doherty held mass at 11am in honour of Red Hugh to mark his 450th birthday.

A senior class from St Joseph’s national school in Rathmullan also attended the mass and sang a beautiful hymn which went down a treat.

This was followed by a parade through Lifford. A lone piper led the parade which included various organisations of retired personnel, school children from Rathmullan, the Red Hugh Gaelic Football Club from Killygordon, visitors from all over Ireland and some locals.

The parade came to an end at the Old Courthouse where an official reception then took place.

A number of speakers made presentations including Councillor Patrick McGowan, Chairman of Lifford/Stranorlar Municipal District, Pedro Toscano Rodrigo, the Red Hugh Committee’s Chairman who travelled from Portugal to be there and living history group ‘Cloimh’ who brought along old weaponry such as swords and spears which amazed the audience.

‘The Last Journey’ by Carlos Burgous was premiered in Lifford on Sunday afternoon drawing the festival to a close.

Speaking to the Strabane Chronicle, festival organiser Eddie Crawford said he was delighted with the turnout.

“The weekend was absolutely fantastic. Lifford has been neglected from any form of tourism and with so many people coming from all around the country for the events last weekend it has gave Lifford a much needed boost.

“This is the first time something like this has ever been held in Donegal so we wanted to take small steps to keep everything simple. We were particularly interested in keeping it child friendly and getting as many children as possible involved. Our idea was if we could set a seed in the children’s heads in Donegal and tell them about their local history that then would move on to the next generation with them,” he said.

Special thanks was given to Feda O’Donnell Buses, Aiden in Old Dalys in Lifford and Highland Bakeries for sponsoring the events.

By Dionne Meehan