Cultural Theme
The cultural theme for this years Festival is the Irish-Mexican
connection.
Irish influences on the Mexican way of life can be traced back as
far as 1767 when Hugh O'Connor, who joined the Spanish Volunteer
Regiment of Aragorn, was assigned as Govenor to "New
Spain" which is the area we now know as Mexico and most of
Texas. O'Connor established a stable line of defense for the
existing missions and settlements, as well as reforming the
paymaster and promotion systems within the territorial garrisons.
In 1821 Juan O'Donoju (known as John O'Donohue in his native
Ireland) became the last Viceroy of New Spain. His priest, father
Michael Muldoon requested and was granted a fronteir assignment to
the Stephen F. Austin Colony.
In 1828 two groups of Irish Empresarios, James Power and Dr.
James Hewetson (the Power-Hewetson colony), and James McGloin and
John McMullen (the McMullen-McGloin colony) are granted Empresario
contracts. Empresario contracts defined an area in which to bring
settlers within a six year period. The settlers were to be of good
character and Catholic ... to which the Irish were predisposed, for
the most part. At the end of the period, if the settlers remained
and the land cultivated, the land was granted to each owner permanently.
The Power-Hewetson colony was mostly comprised of Wexford
Irish, recruited in Ireland. The colony was located around the
present-day town of Refugio. The McMullen-McGloin colony was mostly
comprised of "Famine" Irish from Northern cities and the New Orleans
area and was located around the present-day town of San Patricio.
Planned cultural presentations include a reading of the play
"A
Flag To Fly" written by Chris Mathews and based on the true
story of the St. Patrick's Battalion in Mexico in 1847, plus
stories, songs and workshops on the Irish influence in Mexico and
southern Texas.
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