PLANS to erect a statue of Red Hugh O’Donnnell in the Diamond, Lifford, are moving forward in tandem with Valladolid in Spain, with the expectation it could be in place within two years.
That is according to Eddie Crawford who set up the ‘Red Hugh O’Donnell. The Fighting Prince of Donegal’ Facebook page which now has 1,700 members, local and from across the globe.
Speaking to the Donegal News this week Mr Crawford explained how it all came about after he established the Facebook page around the time the search was going on in Valladolid for the remains of the Irish Chieftain. Red Hugh died in Simancas Castle in Spain in 1602 and was given a royal funeral before being buried in the Convent of San Francisco and within that, what was known as the Chapel of Wonders, the same chapel Christopher Columbus was buried in.
“What I discovered was that a lot of people didn’t know that Red Hugh took his first breath at Mongavlin Castle on the banks of the Foyle, three kilometres from St Johnston. A lot of people would have wrongly associated Red Hugh with the Flight of the Earls. It was after that he went to Spain to get help for his countrymen.
“Within a week we had more than one thousand members from all around the world, possibly because of the search in Spain,” he said.
He explained the three original aims of the small committee. Firstly, to prevent any further deterioration of Mongavlin Castle, secondly, to erect a statue in the Diamond to Red Hugh. Thirdly to twin the area around East Donegal with Valladolid, which like Lifford was the seat of power back in the 1600s.
The enduring image of the Irish chieftan, with his long flowing hair.
“There are several images of Red Hugh and what he might have looked like but no actual painting. The most popular image is the one with the long flowing red hair. Valladolid is going to put it out in an international competition and the most favoured image of all is the one the statue will portray.
“They will then engage an artist/sculptor. We are working closely together and Lifford will have the same statue of Red Hugh as Valladolid,” he added.
Meanwhile the local committee will be visiting local schools to heighten awareness of the area’s historic importance and Carlos Burgos, President of the Hispano-Irish Association is doing the same in Valladolid. He visited here with Eddie and other members in January and took a boat up the Foyle to Mongavlin Castle.
“We will be linking East Donegal and Valladolid in the coming months and it will be a great boost for tourism in this area. If we develop our three aims we can then start on the O’Donnell Way. We have so many things in this area that historians and students will clamour for,” he added.
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