In the 18th and early 19th centuries, thousands of Irish men and women arrived in Mexico and South America lured by the promise of adventure, fame and fortune.
They were soldiers, spies, sailors, merchants and diplomats, and they and their children fought for independence and helped shape modern Latin America.
Today, the names of streets, towns, schools, and football teams on the continent bear witness to their influence.
In his new book, Paisanos, Tim Fanning, an exciting new voice in Irish historiography, uncovers their extraordinary tales of romance, adventure, war and rebellion.
Among those from County Derry who crossed the Atlantic to fight for South American independence were Sergeant John Hall, a 30-year-old weaver from Magherafelt, and Private William Burnes, a 38-year-old labourer from Derry city.
Like hundreds of other volunteers from across the island of Ireland, they were stationed in the patriots’ headquarters in southwest-Venezuela and were forced to contend with food and water shortages, and tropical diseases such as yellow fever.
Paisanos tells the story of these Derry natives and the countless other Irish men and women who helped fashion the New World and sowed the seeds of Ireland’s revolutions to follow.
Paisanos is published by Gill Books, priced at €24.99.
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