Held prisoner of war by the French for some time, he escaped and after this went to Uruguay and then to Argentina where he ran shipping operations between those two countries before being given a commission in the Argentinian navy in 1814. He won many battles against Spain including ending their blockade of Buenos Aires; later against Brazil and other enemies of the recently independent Argentina.

Mind you, it's interesting, I have read a completely different account of his early life that involves his having joined the Royal Navy, both seem like credible stories so maybe more investigation is required.

He became governor of Buenos Aires and is buried in Recoleta and in Argentina was known as Almirante Brown, one of the country's heroes.

It was on this week in 2013 that I last visited Foxford, a nice town on the River Moy and visited the statue of this impressive but not so famous Irishman who is better known in Argentina than Ireland. 

Coincidentally, it was this week that the funeral and burial took place of Laura Bernal, the Argentinian Ambassador to Ireland who died during the Coronavirus / COVID19 outbreak and whose family wanted her to buried in the country she so loved and in this part of Ireland, Foxford, that has such strong connections with Argentina.

I will definitely have to revisit Foxford and find out more after lockdown ends, if you want to keep up to date with news on this and other subjects including photography and Ireland then subscribe to the newsletter or send me an email to say hello.

See my latest post on Ireland and Argentina here.