Thousands of visitors are expected in Clonmel this weekend for a re-enactment of the most famous event in the town's history. The restaging of the siege of Clonmel, in which the town held out for several weeks in the face of an onslaught by Oliver Cromwell's army 350 years ago, is the main event of Sunday's Bees' Knees Summer Fest at Powerstown Racecourse.
The festival is set to be a highpoint of the year-long Clonmel 350 celebrations, organised to mark the anniversary of the Cromwellian siege and, it is hoped, kickstart a tourism culture in the area.
More than 300 Irish army personnel will also be present on Sunday for a military display which, combined with the "Cromwell Returns" pageant, promises to provide spectacular entertainment. The Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, and the Chief-of-Staff of the Defence Forces, Maj Gen Dave Stapleton, will both attend.
The thunder of cannon and warfare can be expected as Clonmel recalls Cromwell's fiercest battle, in which his force of 14,000 met stout resistance from Hugh Dubh O'Neill and the hundreds of townspeople who joined in the struggle. Cromwell lost 2,000 men before eventually succeeding in what was his last military action in Ireland.
The Kildare Re-Enactment Group will stage the pageant while locally-based actors, in period costume, will also mingle with the crowds. The festival opens at noon and continues until 7 p.m.
Clonmel 350 is a partnership between Clonmel Corporation and business interests. It organised a spectacular fireworks display on New Year's Eve and injected new impetus into the St Patrick's Day parade. It is organising a literary weekend in the town in October.