It might come as a surprise to many that there are any links between Ireland, the small country that led the 20th century in achieving independence from rapacious, subjugating overlords the English, and Argentina, a large, South American Spanish-speaking country - but there are.

Buenos Aires, the Argentine capital, is home to many Irish dancing schools, and a cursory look through the phone book will find many Irish surnames such as Kenny, Cullen, Dillon, Furlong, Walsh and Lynch (the name of an ancestor of Che Guevara).

In 2022 the main interest is in World Cup finalists, Argentina, and one of their star players, no not Lionel Messi, but Alexis MacAllister. 

The name is often taken as Scottish, but the family have no knowledge of a Scottish ancestry as they have a direct link to Donabate in County Dublin, including to an old cottage that their ancestor left from and family in the area today.

They claim Irish ancestry and are quite proud of it, despite the common misconception that they have Scottish heritage.

Mac or Mc mean 'son of', often Mac is taken to be of Scottish origin and Mc of Irish origin but there are no real rules here and it can come down to who filled in the forms. 

Ireland of course never made it to the World Cup this year but there are probably more than a few people supporting Argentina based on the Irish connection.

Irish influence around the world is no just in the Anglosphere, notable figures in Irish history went to Argentina, Italy, France, Spain and beyond.

Join me, Panoramic Ireland, to photograph and explore in the Irish countryside, Dublin, Cork, Foxford and other cities.