Finn McCool and Spain's Red Captain:

Since I was once an Irish cowboy, I was intrigued by the Arizona Republic's "A True West Moment" (1/24/16), which claimed the first cowboys were "ginger Hibernians riding around on Celtic saddles."  Although 10 percent of the Irish allegedly have red hair, the only red hair in my family belongs to my wife and hers is inherited from a Spanish ancestor.   What's a Celtic saddle?  The legendary Irish hero Finn McCool, defender of the cattle, and ancient Celts rode bareback or with a pad to protect their horses.   In service of Rome, Celtic cavalry began to use what we'd recognize as saddles, but the Chinese invented the stirrup and that piece didn't arrive in Europe until around the 6th century after Christ.   Cattle and the saddle arrived in America with Cortez.   After the Spanish ranches spread north to Sonora,  Tucson was founded by the Spanish General Hugo Oconor, known to the Apache as "The Red Captain."  Oconor (aka Hugh O'Conor) was an Irishman in the service of Spain, and he built fort Tucson to stop the Apache from raiding cattle ranches in Sonora.  Celtic Ireland and Romano-Celtic Spain reunited in Arizona, in defense of their shared cattle culture.