Outside Hudies Bar here in Rathmullen yesterday evening a man dressed as a prince was sculling a pint while balancing a large pike between his knees. He was one of the hundreds of people who have taken part in the pageants and recreations of the events of 400 years ago.
In fact there were all kinds of men, women and children dressed in the clothing of princes, peasants and soldiers.
There were swains eating chips and fair maidens downing bottles of coke and stronger, as the people celebrated the Flight of the Earls from their pier to exile on the Continent.
There were also a large number of hillwalkers in the town, having finished a march from Donegal to Rathmullen through some of Donegal's most beautiful scenery, a journey that took them three days.
Four hundred years ago this week The O'Donnell and The O'Neill arrived here in Rathmullen to being their journey into exile by diverse routes according to a contemporary account.
The O'Neill got a letter in Slane, Co Meath, to say his boat was waiting.
He travelled by way of Manaistir Mór, Dún Dealgan, Beál Átha an Airgid to Árd Maca and over Abha Mór to Dún Geannain to Craobh, one of his island habitations.
He then went over Fearsaid Mór on Loch Feabhail straight towards Droichead Adhamhnain where the son of Ó Domhnaill of Aodh was waiting for him.
"They went to Raith Mealltain, the daylight shining upon them at that time. They proceeded to Raith Maolain, where the ship we have mentioned was at anchor.
"They found Rughraighe Ó Domhnaill, Earl of Tyrconnell, with the aforesaid gentlemen, together with many of the tribe and followers of the Earl, putting stores of food and drink into the ship, in the Name of God"
I arrived in Rathmullen in driving rain in a Japanese car and saw no food or drink being loaded on our ship, which, I suspect, is to become a floating dry zone for the next few days.
The Jeanie Johnston was at the pier and hundreds of people had queued to board her and see an exhibition below on how things were for the Irish who were fleeing the Famine and taking boats like her to America to find a new life.
The coughing children in the bunks and the weeping woman with her child, which are a main feature of the exhibition, are chilling but I gather from the captain that these will be packed away and taken ashore and we should not be disturbed by that over the next five days.
However, the weather forecast is not just bad, some of the crew told me, it will be horrendous on Wednesday, with gale force winds and rain and everything a landlubber doesn't want to hear about.
We leave here this evening following more ceremonies and full training on how to survive should the ship break faith with us.
Finally as a result of what I put in print on Saturday, I would like to thank the two people who phoned the office to offer me a relic of the True Cross and the 15 or so who made very uncomplimentary statements about my breeding or lack of it.
I will be dealing with some of these statements later in the week, weather permitting.
u Seán MacConnell will be reporting each day this week from on board the Jeanie Johnston