William Brown
1777–1857
The Mayo-born founder of the Argentine Navy, who broke the Spanish blockade off Montevideo in 1814 and commanded the fleet against Brazil.
Irish link: DocumentedNavy and wars
Two nationsShared futures
Irish ArgentineProject
Building on centuries of shared history to forge new connections between Ireland and Argentina.
Start here
Where do you want to explore?
History
Explore the history
Five centuries on one timeline, every date with its source and where the accounts disagree.
People
Meet the people
The register of the Irish and Argentine men and women who built communities and bridged two cultures, each with a grade for the evidence of their Irish link.
Places
Find the places
The towns, churches and monuments where the story can still be seen, in both countries, and whether a visitor can see each today.
Settling in
Life in Argentina
Money, housing, health, paperwork and work, for the first weeks in Argentina and after.
Roots
Trace an Irish ancestor
From Argentine partidas back to Irish parish books, one record at a time.
Moving
Move to Argentina or Ireland
Residency routes, working holidays and the embassies, every rule dated and sourced.
Two facts to know first
The size of the Irish Argentine link
people of Irish descent in Argentina
An Irish Government estimate: the largest such population outside the English-speaking world.
A diaspora shaped by generations of migration
Lower concentrationHigher concentration
Each glow is one of the 20 places in the register in Argentina. Its page gives the source. All the places
Explore the connection
A shared history. Written in people and places.
Discover the lives that connected two nations, and the places where their stories endure.
01 — People
The people
The lives behind the Irish Argentine story.
Anthony Fahy
1805–1871
The Loughrea Dominican who was chaplain, banker and matchmaker to the Irish of Buenos Aires from 1844 to 1871, and a supporter of Rosas.
Irish link: DocumentedChurch
02 — Places
The places
The landscapes where the history lives on.
Foxford
Co. Mayo, Ireland
The Mayo town where William Brown was born in 1777, with a 1957 bust, a riverside statue and an annual Argentina Day on a Saturday near his birthday.
Recoleta Cemetery
Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
The Buenos Aires cemetery where Admiral William Brown and Fr Anthony Fahy lie a few steps apart, and where the navy pays an annual tribute to Brown.
The community calendar
What's on
Parades, anniversaries, matches and festivals connecting Ireland and Argentina.
Be part of the connection.
Membership is free and takes one email. Join to be part of the connection between Ireland and Argentina: its community and events, the stories that make up its history, and the tools to plan a move in either direction.
- Be part of the community and keep up with its events
- Tell your story and help write the shared history
- Find and plan your route to Argentina or Ireland
- Explore the resources and tools that help you understand both countries