PHOTOS: Skibbereen enacts O’Donovan Rossa inspired parade

On Skibbereen Main Street, ladies in bustles saluted each other over the heads of the crowd as a vintage Punch and Judy show got underway. Vegetable sellers and urchins argued loudly as RIC officers turned a blind eye.

Apart from the sea of smartphones capturing every moment, and the occasional teen in denims, you could be forgiven for thinking you’d just stepped out of Back to the Future’s DeLorean and straight into the 1800s.

The brainchild of UCC historian Gabriel Doherty and local man Declan McCarthy, the Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa torchlit parade was held to celebrate the centenary of the death of Irish patriot O’Donovan Rossa, a native of Skibbereen.