Irish Argentines

Irish Argentines
*Gael-Airgintínigh*
*Hiberno-argentinos*
Total population
	500,000– 1,000,000; 1-2% of population
Regions with significant populations
	Buenos Aires,Buenos Aires Province,Córdoba,Entre Ríos,Santa Fe
Languages
	PredominantlySpanish,Minority speakIrish[citation needed]andEnglish[citation needed]as first language.
Religion
	PredominantlyRoman Catholicism
Related ethnic groups
	Irish,English Argentine,Scottish Argentine,Welsh Argentine,Galician Argentine,Irish American,Irish Canadian,Irish Brazilian,Irish Uruguayan,Irish Chilean,Irish Mexican

Irish ArgentinesareArgentinecitizens who are fully or partially of Irish descent. Irishemigrantsfrom the Midlands, Wexford and many counties of Ireland arrived inArgentinamainly from 1830 to 1930, with the largest wave taking place in 1850–1870. The modern Irish-Argentine community is composed of some of their descendants, and the total number is estimated at between 500,000 and 1,000,000.

Argentina is the home of thefifth largest Irish community in the world,the largest in a non-English speaking nation and the greatest inLatin America.^[3]^[4]

Reasons for emigration[edit]

Most of those who left Ireland arrived inBuenos Airesattracted by the possibility of better living conditions, as theeconomic, social and political conditionsin Ireland at the time were quite poor, but the emigrants came from counties and social segments in which the economic conditions were not the worst (Westmeath, Longford, Offaly, Wexford). Others, in turn, left after receiving favourable descriptions of the country from friends and family who had already arrived in Argentina. The real or perceived possibility of becoming landowners in theRío de la Plataregion (Argentina andUruguay), and consequently joining the South American landedgentry,was the most important factor attracting thousands of young men to the area. Others had arrived earlier as merchants, artisans and mercenaries, such asWilliam Brown,who fought for thecause of Argentine independenceand the Argentine war againstBrazil.For Irish immigrants, the new lands of theSouthern Coneof South America brought further interest for immigration to purchase large land tracts for bargain prices, working first as labourers, then in "halves" or "thirds" in the sheep-farming business, and finally renting and purchasing land.^{[citation needed]}

Numbers of immigrants[edit]

It is difficult to accurately calculate the exact number of immigrants. Many Irish newcomers declared themselves to beingleses,as all of Ireland at the time was still part of the United Kingdom, and others were simply assumed to be British by the authorities. The immigration records in Buenos Aires lack any entries dating from before 1822 and the years 1823, 1824, 1836, 1840, 1841, 1842 and 1855. The records in between these years are also incomplete, due to conflicts of who was Irish, English and Scottish in South American demographics.^{[citation needed]}

Between 1822 and 1829, at least 7,160Irishimmigrants arrived, being 1889 the peak of this migration (on 15 February of this year 1,774 people arrived on the steamer SSDresden). Based on incomplete passenger list records, as well as on census returns (Buenos Aires 1855, national 1869 and national 1895) transcribed by Eduardo A. Coghlan (1982, 1987), researchers made elaborate calculations of the total number of immigrants. Juan Carlos Korol and Hilda Sabato estimated that the total number of Irish immigrants in the nineteenth century was between 10,500 and 11,500 (Cómo fue la inmigración irlandesa a la Argentina,1981 p. 48). However, further research conducted by Patrick MacKenna shows that Coghlan, Korol and Sabato did not consider return migration and re-migration, which was significant after the 1880s, as well as the high mortality ratios for the Irish immigrants in certain periods before the 1869 census (e.g. during the 1868 cholera outbreak in the Buenos Aires province).^{[citation needed]}

For the nineteenth century, one out of every two Irish emigrants to Argentina went back to Ireland or re-migrated to the United States, Canada, Australia and other destinations. MacKenna says that Korol and Sabato "greatly underestimated the number of Irish immigrants" and considers that the total number of Irish immigrants in Argentina in the nineteenth century should be estimated in between 45,000 and 50,000 (M.A. thesis at NUI Maynooth, 1992, p. 83). The neglect of Anglo-Irish, Scot-Irish and in general Protestant Irish immigration in Argentina should add further numbers, particularly in the last peak of immigration after the 1920s Anglo-Irish War of Independence. The southernmost tip of Chile and Argentina, in places like the city ofPunta Arenasand also the Falkland Islands, were other destinations for Irish and Scottish immigrants which are frequently underestimated.^{[citation needed]}

Eduardo A. Coghlan reported 16,284 Irish Argentines in Buenos Aires andBuenos Aires Provinceat the turn of the twentieth century. Only 4,693 of these had actually been born in Ireland, just 28.8% of the population, while another 11,591 individuals had been born in Argentina. At present, roughly 650,000 Argentines are of Irish descent.^{[citation needed]}

Economic activities[edit]

The Irish immigrants settled mainly inBuenos Aires,thehomonymous province,and thelittoral provinces.Those in urban areas worked as labourers, merchants, employees, artisans, teachers, professionals and, increasingly after the 1860s and especially for women, as domestic servants. The Irish in the countryside worked as rural labourers, cattle dealers, and shepherds. Those in the flourishing sheep-farming business of 1840–1890 were most likely to succeed working as shepherds and sharing a half or a third of the produce in wool and lambs. In this way, some of them managed to rent and later purchase land.^{[citation needed]}

InCurumalal,Buenos Aires, andVenado Tuerto,Santa Fe,Eduardo Casey helped populate the agriculturally barren provinces, inviting more Irish and other immigrants to Argentina to work for him. This recommendation system was very active, and, with almost limitless amounts of land available, many Irish immigrants went on to do very well economically. This industry expanded to other places, eventually flourishing in the rest of Santa Fe,Entre RíosandCórdoba.^{[citation needed]}

TheDresdenAffair[edit]

TheDresdenAffair marked the end of mass Irish emigration to Argentina.^[6]Less fortunate Irish immigrants were recruited in the 1870s and 1880s among poor segments in Dublin, Cork and other counties, and sent as colonists to Argentina. Irish-Argentine agents hired by the Buenos Aires provincial government actively worked in Ireland and were paid by the state and the shipping companies. In 1889, theDresdenAffair occurred when agents Buckley O'Meara and John Stephen Dillon sent 1,774 emigrants in the steamerCity of Dresden.Many died due to the conditions of the journey or upon arrival in Buenos Aires. About seven hundred were carried to Bahía Blanca to establish the Irish Colony of Napostá, which in a few months was a failure. The vast majority of these immigrants did not stay in the country, and struggled to go back to Ireland or re-migrated to the United States and other places.^[7] Following theDresdenAffair, in 1889, Archbishop of Cashel,Thomas Crokewrote: "I most solemnly conjure my poorer countrymen, as they value their happiness hereafter, never to set foot on the Argentine Republic however tempted to do so they may be by offers of a passage or an assurance of comfortable homes."^[8]

Irish immigrants began arriving inArgentinain the 19th century, largely asgauchosand ranchers on thePampasofBuenos Aires Province.^[9]

Culture and sport[edit]

The earliest reference tohurlingin Argentina dates from the late 1880s in the ranching town ofMercedes, Buenos Aires,a major center of the Irish-Argentine community. However, the game wasn't actively promoted until 1900 when it came to the attention of author and newspapermanWilliam Bulfin.Under Bulfin's patronage, theArgentine Hurling Clubwas formed on 15 July 1900. On 17 August 1900, Bulfin printed the rules and a diagram of a hurling pitch inThe Southern Cross,the official newspaper of the Argentina's Irish community. Enthusiasm spread rapidly and teams were quickly established in both the neighborhoods of Buenos Aires and the surrounding farming communities. ThePassionistandPallotineOrders took a major role in promoting the game.^{[citation needed]}

Games of hurling were played every weekend until 1914 and received frequent coverage even from Argentina's Spanish language newspapers likeLa Nacion.After the outbreak ofWorld War I,however, it became very almost impossible to obtain hurleys from Ireland. An attempt was made to use native Argentine mountain ash, but it proved too heavy and lacking in pliability. Although the game was revived after the end of the war, the golden age of Argentine hurling had passed.^{[citation needed]}World War IIfinally brought the era to its close.

In the aftermath of the Second World War, immigration from Ireland slowed to a trickle. In addition, native born Irish-Argentines assimilated far quicker than in other places, Hispanicising their names and frequently marrying outside the community, something unheard of in the past. Although the game continued to be occasionally played into the 1960s, it would never regain its former popularity. In 1980 the Aer Lingus Hurling Club conducted a three-week tour of the country and played matches at several locations, including theChristian Brothersschool atBoulogne, Buenos Aires.^[10]

In January 2002 for the first time The Hurling All-Stars Teams 2000 y 2001 came to theHurling Clubin Argentina making an outstanding exhibition.^[11]

The Argentine Hurling Club counts now with a Hurling and a Gaelic Football team, this last one won the first World Games held in Abu Dhabi in the non-Irish division.^[12]