The major political movements of the nineteenth century in Ireland were reflected in Argentina. Daniel O Connell s activities and the Catholic Emancipation cause were supported in the 1820s, and Irish Relief Fund for the great famine was established in the 1840s. A Fenian Prisoners Fund, a Land League and Gaelic League branch, Sinn Fein clubs and a march in Buenos Aires City after the death on hunger strike of Terence McSwiney in 1920, are examples of their continued interest in Ireland, especially in Ireland s independence movement. The Irish Argentine Nowadays, the large number of over 500,000 Irish-Argentine descendants are spread all around the country. It is the most important Irish settlement in a non-English speaking country.
Different associations reflect the wide range of interest of the Hibernian-Argentine community.
The oldest one is the Irish Catholic Association founded in 1883 which takes care of the education of the poor Irish-Argentine people. It is always honoured by the presence of the Irish Ambassador to Argentina. Traces of Irish presence are everywhere to be found. It is also quite usual to find in some cemeteries various graves with Celtic crosses and inscriptions in English in homage to Irish ancestors. The Southern Cross, founded in 1875 by Monsignor Patrick Dillon, the oldest Irish newspapers published outside Ireland, provides a lively forum for communication between members of the community.