Irish immigration to Puerto Rico

Irish in the service of Spain

Since the early 16th Century, the Irish, who were predominantly Catholics were suffering horrific injustices at the hands of their English overlords and authorities who were Protestant. William Stanley, An English Catholic, was given a special commission by Queen Elizabeth I to organize an Irish regiment of solely native Irish soldiers and mercenaries in Ireland.

This was intended to get rid of Irish men who the English authorities wanted out of Ireland, where the English crown considered them a threat to their control over Ireland. These Irishmen were sent to fight as mercenaries on behalf of England in support of the Dutch United Provinces.

However, in 1585, motivated by religious factors and bribes offered by the Spaniards, Stanley defected to the Spanish side, taking his many Irish regiments with him. These Irishmen who fled the English Army to join the armies of other foreign nations came to be known as "Wild Geese."

Among these "Wild Geese" was Alejandro O'Reilly, an Inspector-General of Infantry for the Spanish Empire who as a military reformer who became known as "The Father of the Puerto Rican Colonial Militia" with the assistance of another Irishman, Colonel Tomas O'Daly.

18th century

In 1765, the King of Spain, Carlos III sent Field Marshal Alejandro O'Reilly to Puerto Rico, to assess the state of the defenses of that colony.

O'Reilly, known today as the "Father of the Puerto Rican colonial militia", took a very complete census of the Island, and recommended numerous reforms, including the instilling of strict military discipline in the local troops.

He insisted that the men serving the defense of the Realm receive their pay regularly and directly, rather than indirectly from their commanding officers, a long-standing practice that had led to abuses.

Some of O'Reilly's other recommendations resulted in a massive 20-year program of revamping San Felipe del Morro Castle in San Juan, now a World Heritage Site.

The training which he instituted was to bring fame and glory to the Puerto Rican militias 30 years later during the English invasions of Puerto Rico in 1797.

O'Reilly's civilian militias had become known as the "Disciplined Militia." O'Reilly was later appointed governor of colonial Louisiana in 1769 where he became known as "Bloody O'Reilly."

Another Irishmen Colonel Tomás O'Daly joined O'Reilly in Puerto Rico in the quest of further revamping the fort and was named chief engineer of modernizing the defenses of San Juan, which included the fortress of San Cristóbal. Later he was granted land in the vicinity of Guaynabo and O'Daly developed it into a thriving sugar hacienda.

O'Daly and another fellow Irishman Miguel Kirwan became business partners in the "Hacienda San Patricio," which they named after the patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick.

The plantation no longer exists, however the land in which the plantation was located is now a suburb called San Patricio with a shopping mall San Patricio Plaza.

O'Daly, following the example of the other Irishmen in Puerto Rico married a local woman of social standing, Maria Gertrudis de la Puente, herself of Spanish background and had three children, Isabel, Manuel, and Demetrio.

Easily, he joined an growing and thriving embryonic Irish immigrant community in Puerto Rico that would come to be associated with the growth of commercial agriculture. Upon his untimely death in 1781, his brother Jaime took over the property and helped raise Tomás' children. Jaime O'Daly was named Director of the Real Fabrica de Tabaco (Royal Tobacco Factory) in Puerto Rico by the Spanish Crown.

Jaime O'Daly became a successful sugar and tobacco planter. His nephews, Julio and Arturo O'Neill, moved to Puerto Rico in 1783 with their slaves and plantation equipment and were later followed by Tomás Armstrong, another Irishman and planter in 1791.

O'Daly 's connections with the non-Hispanic Caribbean and European nations helped him economically, but hindered his nomination to a post on the prestigious San Juan city council.

However, in 1787, the Spanish Crown appointed him director of the Royal Tobacco Factory. O'Daly remained in Puerto Rico, where he died of natural causes in 1806 and was buried in the San Juan Cathedral.

Another Irishman, Joaquín Power y Morgan, came to Puerto Rico in connection with the Compañía de Asiento de Negros which regulated the slave trade in the island.

He married María Josefa Giralt of Spanish and Irish descent and they settled in San Juan. In 1775, they had a son, whom they named Ramon Power y Giralt.

Ramon Power y Giralt, distinguished himself as a captain in the Spanish Navy when he defended the Spanish colony of Santo Domingo against an invasion from French forces by enforcing a blockade from 1808-1809.

Power y Giralt, who according to Puerto Rican historian Lidio Cruz Monclova, was the first native born Puerto Rican to refer to himself as a "Puerto Rican," was named Puerto Rico's representative to the Spanish Cortes in 1808 and later president of the same legislative assembly. He served in the Corte's until his death in 1813.

Demetrio O'Daly, Tomas O'Daly's son, as a young man went to Spain where he received his military training. O'Daly participated in the 1809 Peninsular War and was promoted to the rank of brigadier general during Spain's war for independence. Defender of the Spanish Constitution of 1812, O'Daly was considered a rebel and exiled from Spain by King Fernando VII in 1814.

In 1820, he participated in the successful revolt against the Spanish monarchy which resulted in his promotion to Field Marshal. He was then appointed the Representative of Puerto Rico before the Spanish Cortes. One of his accomplishments as representative, was the creation of a law which separated the civil authority from the military authority in the island.

In 1823, O'Daly was exiled by the restored Spanish Crown only to return to Puerto Rico in 1834. He returned to Spain in 1836 where he died the following year.

Miguel Conway, Patricio Fitzpatrick, Felipe Doran, Jaime Kiernan, and Antonio Skerret, were other Irishmen involved in commercial farming around northern Puerto Rico, which they expanded with help of additional Irish immigrants to the Island that they brought to work on their farms and plantations.

Their properties covered areas from Toa Baja in the northeast to Luquillo in the east. At one point, Kiernan managed to acquire 400 acres (1.6 km²) of land in Hato Rey, which increased his total area to 800 acres (3.2 km²).

Irish influence in Puerto Rico's sugar and tobacco industry

Undoubtedly, Irish immigrants played an instrumental role in the expansion and development island's economy and trade with Europe and other European colonies on the North and South American continents.

One of the most important industries of the island was the sugar industry. In addition to Tomás O'Daly whose plantation was a huge financial success, other Irishmen became successful businessmen in the industry, among them Miguel Conway, who owned a plantation in the town of Hatillo and Juan Nagle whose plantation was located in Río Piedras.

Not surprisingly, Puerto Ricans of Irish descent also played an instrumental role in the development of the island's tobacco industry. Miguel Conboy is credited with being the founder of the tobacco trade in Puerto Rico and another Irish family, the Quinlans established two very profitable tobacco plantations, one in the town of Toa Baja and the other in Loíza.

Brief expulsion of the Irish from Puerto Rico

On February 17, 1797, the appointed governor of Puerto Rico, Brigadier Ramón de Castro, received the news that England had invaded the island of Trinidad.

Believing that Puerto Rico would be the next English target of invasion, he decided to put the local militia on alert and to prepare the island's forts against any military action.

After the Spanish colonial victory in San Juan against England in what is known as the Battle of San Juan of 1797, Castro illogically became suspicious of all English-speaking European foreigners, mistakenly believing that they supported the anti-Spanish military campaigns of the English and ordered some of the local residents and foreigners, especially those of English and Irish descent, to be placed under surveillance. Many were given eight days to leave the island and those who did not leave were imprisoned.

The people in Puerto Rico, among them Treasury official Felipe Antonio Mejía, were so outraged by Castro's irrational actions that they sent special envoys to Spain in defense of the Irish immigrant and merchant community on the Island and made their views known to the Spanish Crown where they condemned Castro's pronouncement as legally unjustified and economically counter-productive, promoting the strongly-held conviction to the Spanish Crown that the Irish immigrants had already proven their allegiance to the Spanish colonial government and were valuable integral economic and trade partners that expanded Puerto Rico's trade horizons with Spain and the Western Hemisphere colonies.

Eventually, the temporarily-banned Irish and their families returned to the island including the O'Dalys, Dorans, Kiernans, Quinlans, O'Ferran, Butler, Killeleigh and Skerrets, among many others.

In 1823, Irish brothers, Robert and Josiah Archibald, imported and introduced to Puerto Rico the island's first steam operated mill, which they successfully used in their already profitable Ponce sugar plantation, further establishing the Irish immigrant colonist community on the Island.

Royal Decree of Graces of 1815

By 1825, the Spanish Empire had lost all of its colonial territories in the Americas with the exception of Cuba and Puerto Rico.

These two possessions, however, had been demanding more autonomy since the formation of pro-independence movements in 1808. Realizing that it was in danger of losing its two remaining Caribbean territories, the Spanish Crown revived the Royal Decree of Graces of 1815.

In this second incarnation, The original decree was printed this time in three languages, Spanish, English and French with the absolutely fervent intent to immediately attract Europeans of non-Spanish origin, with the hope that the independence movements would lose their popularity and strength with the arrival of new settlers.

Additionally, free land was offered to those who wanted to populate the 2 islands on the condition that they swear their loyalty to the Spanish Crown and allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church.

Among the hundreds of Irish immigrant families who received free land was that of Angus McBean. The McBeans became involved in the cultivation of the sugar cane and established a huge plantation in the city of Bayamon. In 1821, the slaves owned by McBean were involved in a failed slave revolt planned and organized by Marcos Xiorro, a bozal slave.

During this time, the O'Neill family who had arrived in Puerto Rico from Spain and other locations in the Caribbean, among them the islands of Tortola and St. Croix arrived to join the already thriving Irish immigrant community. However, many Puerto Ricans with the O'Neill surname can trace their ancestry to Colonel Arturo O'Neill O'Keffe. O'Neill O'Keffe was the son of Tulio O'Neill O'Kelly and Catherine O'Keffe y Whalen.

On August 8, 1828, O'Neill O'Keffe, a Knight of the Royal Order of King Carlos the 3rd of Spain and 2nd Marques del Norte, served as a lieutenant colonel in the Spanish garrison of the City of Bayamón. He was married to Joanna Chabert Heyliger.

The descendants of Arturo and Joanna O'Neill were Tulio Luis, Arturo, Micaela Ulpiana and Gonzalo, all of whom had the surnames of O'Neill (their father) y Chabert (French mother). All, with the exception of Tulio Luis, were born in Puerto Rico where they established their families.

Irish Potato Famine

Because of the many economic and political changes occurring in Europe during the latter part of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, hundreds of agricultural farm workers and their families abandoned their work in their homeland agricultures and moved to the larger cities with the advent of the Second Industrial Revolution in search of better paying jobs.

Those who stayed behind and tended to their farmlands, but suffered the consequences of the widespread crop failures brought upon as a result of long periods of drought and diseases such as the cholera epidemic and the potato fungus which caused the Great Irish Famine of 1840. Mass starvation was widespread in Europe. Specifically, in Ireland, the Irish Potato Famine killed over one million Irish people and created nearly two million refugees.

These refugees went to Britain, the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and of course the Caribbean. One of the islands that many Irish families emigrated in large numbers to throughout this period continued to be Irish-friendly Puerto Rico.

Additionally, being a Spanish colony, the island had a primarily Roman Catholic population which appealed to the Irish immigrants, as opposed to the Protestant majorities of most of the colonies of the British Empire and the United States at the time that were openly hostile to Irish immigration.

20th century

After Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain to the United States at the end of the Spanish–American War in 1898, many Irish-American soldiers who were assigned to the military bases in Puerto Rico chose to stay and live in the island upon meeting other Irish-descended relatives on the Islan. Unlike their counterparts who settled in the United States in close knit communities, both the Irish immigrants and migrants in Puerto Rico quickly became part of the immigrant community in Puerto Rico and adopted the language and customs of the island, thereby completely integrating themselves into the society of their new homeland.

The Irish influence in Puerto Rican politics is also notable. After Pedro Albizu Campos was honorably discharged from the United States Army, he attended Harvard University in Boston, Mass. While in Boston he established clubs and centers where young Irish people congregated and discussed the independence of their homeland. Albizu was invited by Éamon de Valera to assist as a consultant in the drafting of the Irish Free State constitution. After Albizu returned to Puerto Rico, he joined the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party and soon after became the party's president. Albizu adopted the Irish Republican Movement as the model for the Nationalist Party to follow.

Irish influence in Puerto Rican and popular culture

Besides having distinguished careers in agriculture and the military, Puerto Ricans of Irish descent have made many other contributions to the Puerto Rican way of life. Their contributions can be found, but are not limited to, the fields of education, commerce, politics, science and entertainment.

Kenneth McClintock was the Secretary of State of Puerto Rico. McClintock served as co-chair of Hillary Clinton presidential campaign's National Hispanic Leadership Council in 2008, co-chaired Clinton's successful Puerto Rico primary campaign that year and served as the Thirteenth President of the Senate of Puerto Rico until his term ended on December 31, 2008. In late 2008, he served as President of then-Governor-Elect Luis Fortuño's Transition Committee. He was sworn into office as Secretary of State on January 2, 2009 by Chief Justice Federico Hernández Denton, fulfilling the role of Lieutenant Governor, (first-in-line of succession) in the islands, until January 2, 2013.

The Coll family played an important role in shaping Puerto Rico's politics and literature. Dr. Cayetano Coll y Toste was a historian and writer. He was the patriarch of a family of Puerto Rican, educators, politicians and writers. Both Coll y Toste's sons were notable politicians. José Coll y Cuchí was the founder of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party and Cayetano Coll y Cuchí, was a President of Puerto Rico House of Representatives. His grand daughter, Isabel Cuchí Coll, was a journalist, author and the Director of the "Sociedad de Autores Puertorriqueño" (Society of Puerto Rican Authors), his other grand daughter, Edna Coll, was a notable educator and author. She was one of the founders of the Academy of Fine Arts in Puerto Rico.

Among the members of the O'Neill family whose contributions to Puerto Rican culture are evident today are Hector O'Neill, politician and Mayor Ana María O'Neill an educator, author and advocate of women's rights. and María de Mater O'Neill an artist, lithographer, and professor.

Puerto Rican beauty queens of Irish descent who represented their island in the Miss Universe beauty pageant are the following: Ada Perkins - Miss Puerto Rico (1978); Deborah Carthy Deu - Miss Universe 1985 and Laurie Tamara Simpson - Miss Puerto Rico (1987).

The Irish element of Puerto Rico is very much in evidence. Their contributions in Puerto Rico's agricultural industry and in the field of politics and education are highly notable. In the city of Bayamón, there is an urbanization called Irlanda Heights (Ireland Heights). For the last several years, the town of Luquillo has hosted a day-long Saint Patrick's Day festival which includes a Parada de San Patricio (St. Patrick's Parade) honoring Ireland's patron saint. There are various Irish pubs around the island which also celebrate the holiday and serve the typical green colored beer on the occasion. Amongst them are Shannon's Irish Pub in San Juan, and Logan's Irish Pub in Río Piedras.

Common Irish surnames in Puerto Rico

According to the written work "La Comunidad Irlandesa en Puerto Rico en el Siglo 18" (18th Century Irish Community in Puerto Rico) the following surnames were common amongst the first Irish settlers in Puerto Rico: