San Patricio

Since today is St. Patrick's Day, I thought I might take a moment to think about the history between the Irish and Mexicans. Many people don't know there even is a connection, but it's true. I started thinking about it last night.
When the Irish first started immigrating to America, they were treated very, very badly. The people living in the U.S. didn't like the Irish, and called them all sorts of names. They thought they were dirty and ignorant, and they didn't like that the Irish were Catholics. The Irish took all the jobs that no one else would work, and often lived in very poor conditions.
When a war broke out in the 1840s between America and Mexico, some Irishmen decided they were sympathetic to the Mexican cause, not only because the Mexicans were Catholics, but because the treatment Mexicans received at American hands mirrored the Irish experience.
Those Irish who deserted for the Mexican side formed a group call the San Patricio Batallion, named by the Irish leader of the group, John Riley. They fought successfully during the war, and eventually enough deserters came to the Mexican side that two battalions were formed.
Eventually, a number of the men were captured by the American side and put to death. Some of the men who escaped hanging were returned to Mexico, where they remained, settled and married.
Today, Irish immigrants and Mexican immigrants share something else in common. Many of them have started protesting a bill before Congress that would make it a criminal offense to help an illegal immigrant in need, even churches and aid organizations, as well as making being an illegal immigrant a federal crime, equal with rape and murder. Because many Irish immigrants are also in this country without documentation, the law will effect them as well as the many farmworkers who would be punished under the new legislation.
So you can see the Irish and the Mexicans, with their shared history, still have a lot of common links. Something to think about on St. Patrick's Day.