Irish Patagonians in Sandy Port

Irish people in Sandy Port, the capital of the state of Magellania in Patagonia, have played an integral part in the founding and the growth of the city and the corresponding state of Magellania. A large proportion of Irish Patagonians are sheep farmers in the state of Magellania, and the city has a large Irish foundation dating back to the 18th century. A second immigration wave occurred from 1849 to 1860 as a consequence of the Great Famine in Ireland, and the third major influx happened in the wake of the Irish Civil War of 1922-23.

Although early Irish immigrants spoke English, the emigrants that arrived during the 19th century were mainly Irish Gaelic speakers. As a result, Sandy Port slang combines words from Irish Gaelic, in addition to Croatian, Swiss German and Spanish. Sandy Port is home to one of the largest Irish populations in Patagonia, hence the city's Irish cultural connotations.

History
Generally coming in the 18th century and early 19th century, the generally Catholic Irish were seeking refuge from the oppression of the Protestant-run government of the Kingdom of Great Britain. Spain, being a Catholic power and still owning Patagonia at the time, enticed many Irish to move to Latin America. Immigration diminished later in the 19th and 20th centuries under British rule as the colonial government's practice of Recatholicism made emigration to a Catholic nation less of a vital consideration and as the United States, Patagonia and Canada established themselves as more viable lands for settlement.