THE LIFE OF ADMIRAL WILLIAM BROWN
(1777 - 1857)
"He came to Argentina to find a safe place to live but found himself
fighting to help Argentina win its freedom"
Ireland, though it has been largely forgotten over the years, has many historical
ties with Argentina. Today there is over 400,000 people of direct Irish descent
in Argentina and Irish surnames are not uncommon. Undoubtedly the most ‘famous
Irish Argentinian’ was Admiral William Brown who was the founder of the
Argentine navy and is a national hero in Argentina.
William Brown was born in Foxford, a small town on the River Moy in County Mayo
in 1777. Late 18th century in the west or Ireland was a period of hardship and
poverty for the catholic community due to infamous ‘penal laws’.
Brown was only 9 years old when he and his father left Ireland for America to
seek a better existence. They settled in Boston. His father succumbed to yellow
fever and the young Brown was left to fend for himself. He became a cabin boy
on commercial ships and gradually moved up the naval ladder, by joining the
Navy, then becoming a merchant seaman. At this time, that other famous Irishman
of naval legend, Commodore John Barry, was making a name for himself in the
American Revolution.
By the early 1800’s Brown was married and was a warrior
on the high seas. He was renowned in leading his crews to victories in the face
of enormous odds. He was imprisoned several times during his pirate days. In
1809 he found himself in Argentina where he was involved in skirmishes with
the Spanish who blocked his coastal trading exploits. Upon request by the Argentinian
government Brown founded the Argentinian navy in 1813. Over the following years
he helped Argentina break away from Spanish rule and kept the threat of neighbour
Brazil at bay. Brown never forgot his native country.
During the Famine in the
1840’s he returned to Ireland and supported Daniel O’Connells campaign
for Repeal of the Act of Union. Brown died in 1857 in Buenos Aires where a large
statue of him stands today. A naval museum bears his name and streets throughout
Argentina are named after him. He is buried in the country’s premier cemetery
at Recoleta. In November 1998 a memorial to William Brown, a bronze bust by
the Argentininan sculptor, Vergottini, was unveiled in his birthplace in Foxford.
The Foxford Admiral Brown Society is currently planning to open a museum and
visitors centre in honour of Brown.
In 1995, Dr John De Courcy Ireland published
a biography of William Brown, entitled ‘The Admiral from Mayo.’
Today, his birthplace of Foxford has strong ties with Argentina. During the
1998 Soccer World Cup the town was decorated in the blue and white Argentinian
colours ! In August 1998 the Argentine naval ship, ‘Libertad’, with
300 Argentine sailors on board, visited Kilala Bay