Spanish and Irish Connection

St Patrick´s Day and the Spanish and Irish Connection

St Patrick´s Day is the only national celebration I can think of that seems to be celebrated all over the world by everyone. If you ask a Scotsman when is Paddy´s Day they can be sure to be sure to tell you exactly when it is, when it ´twas and how the night ended with an oversized Guinness hat and a £50-sized hole in the wallet. Ask about St. Andrews day and I would need a few seconds on Google…November 30th. Oh well I missed it.

Even in El Puerto de Santa María, you can celebrate by turning up at one of the three Irish Bars in town, Molly Malone´s , Shamrock or O´Donoghue´s, ironically owned by a Scotsman, an English man and an…….no not an Irish man but a Spanish man lol… No doubt you’ll end up spending it in the company of all sorts of nationalities, watching some live music, wearing a silly hat (anyone ever seen one of those in Ireland?) having lots of pints of Guiness and ending up with a small resaca (hangover) to keep you company the morning after. In tribute to St Patrick´s Day in Spain we have come up with a list of interesting Spanish and Irish connections:

It is believed that the Celts are originally from Northern Spain and the words “Gaelic” (Irish language) and “Galicia” (a province in Spain) are historically connected.
Galicia is also famous for its bagpipes and even the rhythmical way of speaking Spanish is much like the Irish way of speaking with English.
The Spanish Armada crashed and lost many men on the west coast of Ireland.
One of Ireland´s most famous Presidents, Éamon de Valera, is of Spanish descent.
When protestant England conquered Ireland a lot of wealthy Irish families would send their children to Spain for a catholic education.
Che Guevara claimed to be of Spanish and Irish descent.
Most of Sherry companies in the region where originally founded by wealthy families from what was then United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and a few of those were Irish including Terry Family.