Thousands of people have attended a mock funeral in honour of one of the last great Irish chieftains Red Hugh O’Donnell.
The “Lord of Tyrconnell” died in 1602 aged 29.
One of the most dashing figures in Irish history, O’Donnell died near the then capital of Spain, Valladolid, as he sought to persuade King Philip III to assemble a Spanish army to overthrow the English in Ireland.
His death on September 10 1604 marked the last hope of Spanish intervention in the Irish campaign and the end of the old Gaelic Order.
In 2020, unsuccessful efforts by archaeologists to locate O’Donnell’s grave in Valladolid captured the imagination of the Spanish public and events have been held in the city to mark its close links with the chieftain.
At the weekend, people stood five deep to watch the mock funeral.
Draped in a flag bearing the inscription Érin go Bragh and an ancient Spanish Cross of Burgundy flag, the chieftain’s coffin was carried along the route of his 1604 funeral procession.
Pallbearers in period costume and carrying burning torches, surrounded the horse-drawn hearse at dusk after O’Donnell’s last will was read aloud in English and Spanish.
Piper Jim O’Neill played Amhran na bhFiann while a Spanish band played the Spanish anthem.
The mock funeral ended with the playing of “O’Donnell Abú”.
Following the mock funeral several other events took place in Valladolid.
