Irish - Argentina Connections and Sports
Truth be told, I'm not much of a sportsman or a trivia buff. I play a mean game of 8 ball pool when the mood strikes and at times I can play Texas Hold'em poker like a pro. However, I struggle with golf, gym, jogging and most physical exercise bores the crap out of me. I forget people names 20 seconds after meeting them. Most people don't consider any of those 'real' sports or useful qualities anyway.
My cousin whacked me with a hurley in the face at an early age and knocked a tooth thru my cheek flesh and I needed 6 stitches to patch the damage. I reckon that must have been what turned me off sport. It might have been a wisdom tooth knocked out, which probably explains the memory lapses too.
Photo: A Hurley and Sliotar
Here are some interesting titbits about Irish Argentine relations and sports you may or may not know:
An Irishman from Co. Mayo, William Browne, founded the Argentine Navy.
Edelmiro Juan Farrell grandson of a Co. Longford man, became president of Argentina in 1944.
William Bulfin from county Offaly formed the Argentine Hurling Club on July 15, 1900 and on August 17, 1900, Bulfin printed the rules and a diagram of a hurling pitch in his newspaper called 'The Southern Cross', the official newspaper of the Argentina's Irish community.
The club and the newspaper still exist today
http://www.hurling-club.com.ar/ and http://www.thesoutherncross.com.ar/
His son Eamon Bulfin, born in Buenos Aires in 1892 hoisted the tricolour over Dublin’s General Post Office during the 1916 Insurrection.
None other than Che Guevara (born in Argentina) came from Basque and Irish descent.
A lot of Irish settled here during the famine exodus and beyond - Lots more info here http://www.irlandeses.org/
There ends the history and trivia lesson for today - more to come if I can remember any of it!
I can't help finishing my posts with a question recently (bad Irish habit).
Q. Is it true Irish people finish every sentence with a question?
A. Who told you that?
I am curious how many countries your immediate family is spread over? (Mine is currently three) and were you and your ancestors born in the country where you now live? i.e. where do you hail from?
Tags: Irish - Ireland Argentina relations Connections and Sports immigration emmigration
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10 comments:
Depends how far back you allow the trace. We still got some peeps in Eglish...but they are like nineteenth cousins twelve times removed...
my problem with trivia is that I can never remember it longer than a day. Right now we're just spread out among two countries but it has been up to five!
God you Irish are everywhere! Can't wait to get outta the place eh! Fancy Che being of Irish descent. I'm English, family's Welsh, now a citizen of Australia with a daughter on a bus somewhere in Germany, Nephew in London most of us here and also have a brother on another planet! (and I never really understood hurling)
Mine is Luxembourgh and Norway.
My family hails from different parts. My paternal great grandfather left Francos Spain came to Cuba, settled in Puerto Rico and met my greatgranma here, she is of Spanish and Irish descent. My mothers family are of Corsican and Spanish descent. Contrary to what most Americans think, in the island of Puerto Rico there is a bit of everything, Irish, Scottish, Italian, Lebanese, etc.
Beef. You forgot beef. We eat loads of Argentine beef.
@ Megan: I had to google "Eglish" - had never heard of it
@ Conortje: I'm the same with Trivia Pursuit - I forget a question and answer played 24 hours ago. 5 that's widespread!
@ Xbox: I predict another little exodus from Ireland if the recession continues as it is.
@ Baino: That's some trip yer yung un is doing. hurling is simple - hit the ball or the person with a stick and run
@ VE: those are not your run of the mill locations - interesting!
@ LoN: That's quite a mix. I spent only a long w/e in Puerto Rico. The people were very friendly indeed. If I ever go back I'd like to get more off the beaten path.
@ Primal: yes of course - the beef. They jack up the price ten times to what you pay here though!
I've got family every where:
US
Australia
UK
Cavan
Everywhere.
You want a bit of trivia?
I should be a millionaire by inheritance.
My great great grandfather invented mayonnaise and it became so popular a friend reccommended he have it patented. So he went to the patent office and put in an application, but the clerk in the office had heard about this great mayonnaise and re-submitted the application in his own name, stealing the rights and the recipe.
It went to court and my grandfather lost, screaming in the courtroom:
"You have stolen my life's work and made it your own. You have robbed my children of their legacy. May you burn in hell, man."
Everybody erupted in laughter but the slimy office clerk took that and made it the final insult to my grandfather calling his newly awarded patent:
Hellmann's Mayonnaise
We came from Caven to Canada looong ago. Despite the majority of my kids' blood actually being Scottish, they embrace only the Irish. Boo-Yah!
@Maxi: That's a 'hell' of a tale. ah sure money only makes you miserable anyways ;-)
@Trooper: Welcome! yer kids have great taste - don't knock 'em!
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