Foxford

Foxford, on the River Moy in Co. Mayo, is the birthplace Argentina's navy records for William Brown, born on 22 June 1777. A Mayo heritage page places his birth in a small whitewashed cottage on Providence Road and says the family emigrated to America in 1788; Mayo County Library says his father took him to the United States at nine. His Irish biographer John de Courcy Ireland notes that the Foxford birth and the date rest on Brown's own testimony. Brown returned once, in 1847, and was distressed by the Famine; de Courcy Ireland says he brought relief.

Argentina gave Foxford a bronze bust in 1957, the centenary of his death, according to the Western People. The same paper describes a second statue, made in Rosario and donated by a Bohola man, standing on a ship-shaped River Moy promenade with 20 bronze plaques. The Irish Times reported in 2006 that one of two identical statues had been left in Buenos Aires for lack of funds; the sources tell the statue's journey differently.

An exhibition on Brown's life is held at the Foxford Woollen Mills Visitor Centre. Whether the town still has a museum is unclear: a 2018 report described a museum and park, a later report said it had closed for lack of funding, and 2026 coverage mentions only a planned community hub.

The Admiral Brown Society, supported by Mayo County Council, holds Argentina Day on a Saturday near 22 June. The 2026 programme listed prayers at Craggagh Cemetery, Mass at St Michael's Church, a wreath at the Brown monument, a walk on the Admiral Brown Trail and a reception in Admiral Brown Hall. The Western People says commemorations are also held each 3 March, the Navy's date for his death. His 250th anniversary falls in June 2027.