A plan to stage a massive re-enactment of General Humbert’s invasion of Ireland from his landing in Kilcummin through the taking of Killala and on to the capture of Castlebar has been given the backing of the members of Castlebar Town Council. The event which is called “In Humbert’s Footsteps” is being planned as a major event of this year’s Gathering festivities in Mayo. The members of the council were given a presentation on the planned event by Mick Baines and Damien Cashin from the committee who are organising the event, which will be staged over the weekend of Friday, August 16 to Sunday, August 18 starting in north Mayo and finishing off in Castlebar.
The event will see 100 re-enactors come to Mayo from Ireland, France, and the UK to take part in historically accurate re-enactments of the major events that happened in Mayo. On Saturday August 17 a re-enactment of the French landing at Kilcummin Bay will be staged, before they go on to re-enact The Battle of Killala. On Sunday, August 18 the re-enactment group will move on to Lahardane where a formal dedication will take place for the men and women of 1798. The events will then move to Castlebar where “The Races of Castlebar” will be re-enacted on the streets of the town. The weekend will conclude on Sunday with a major free open air concert and event in Castlebar, where a specially commissioned piece of music to mark the event will be debuted. An exhibition of memorabilia and artefacts from 1798 will also be exhibited in the Linenhall Arts Centre in the two weeks around the weekend. The whole weekend is expected to cost around €90,000 to put on at the Castlebar end, with a similar amount expected to be the cost at the Killala end of the event, the meeting was told. All of the members of Castlebar Town Council supported the project, with an allocation from their Gathering fund given to the event. For more information on the event you can log on to www.humbertfootsteps.com
