Irish soldiers active in the region by the end of the eighteenth century and during the wars of independence were members of British, Spanish, Portuguese and South American armies. In the eighteenth century the Spanish regiment Ultonia, with Irish origins in Catalonia, was stationed in Mexico. In Chile, the Spanish Crown appointed Ambrose O’Higgins of … Read more
The legendary visit of St Brendan to Mexico in the sixth century—and his resemblance to the Aztec creator-god Quetzacóatl—may have been mythical but it is an indication of the mystery and sense of exceptionality surrounding relations between Ireland and Latin America. Yet, just like the rest of the diaspora, the Irish in Latin America hoped … Read more
The remnants and ruins of Hervey’s vast building projects still punctuate the landscape of Ulster—he ordered the building of stately glebe houses and added elegant spires to plain Protestant churches, determined, as he wrote, ‘to make the County of Derry look like a gentleman’. Most gentlemanly of all are the magnificent ruins at Downhill, where … Read more
English/Scottish Sir Henry Sidney, lord deputy during Shane O’Neill’s time and during the attempted plantations in the 1570s. Sir Thomas Smith, English civil servant and polymath who organised the failed plantation of north Down in 1572. Walter Devereux, first earl of Essex, who instigated the failed plantation of south Antrim in 1573. Sir Thomas Norris … Read more
‘These men deck themselves out in big hairy coats, over their heads in the same way as the women wear their cloaks in Brabant. This coat only goes a half-quarter beyond the belt, and over this is a long linen apron. Thus shorn, bearded, armed and barefoot—as I said—imagine how strange this costume is to … Read more