THE JFK Trust, in association with Irish America Magazine, will induct the San Patricio Battalion, from Mexico, to the Irish America Hall of Fame on August 9.

The induction will take place during a private reception at the Dunbrody Emigrant Experience building in New Ross, Co. Wexford.

The reception will be attended by a number of special guests including the San Patricio (Saint Patrick’s) Battalion Pipe Band, the Mexican Ambassador, Carlos Garcia de Alba, Chairman of the JFK Trust, Noel Whelan, Director of the New Ross & District Pipe Band,  Brian McMahon, Cathaoirleach of New Ross Town Council, Cllr. Niamh Fitzgibbon, and Kate Overbeck VP Marketing and Events at Irish America magazine.

The leader of the band, Rafael Gutlerrez, will be presented with an embroidered emblem  featuring a harp and a shamrock – that was used in the battalion’s regimental flag which they carried into battle.

The story of the San Patricios is a moving one and tells a tale of Irish emigration born during the ‘Great Hunger’ of 1845 to 1848.

While the emigrant story in recent times has been focussed on the success of people like JFK the reality is that for many of Ireland’s emigrants the American dream never materialised.

Life was particularly difficult in the American army for young Irishmen who were sometimes despised and mistreated by a very conservative and often bigoted officer corps.

As a result when the Americans went to war with Mexico (1846-1848) over the territories of Texas and California some of the Irish soldiers questioned why they had come from a poor Catholic country to kill poor Mexican Catholics.

John ‘Juan’ Riley, from Clifden, Galway, and Patrick Dalton, formed Batallón de San Patricio and recruited several hundred Irish soldiers to fight on the side of Mexico (German Catholics were also recruited and some African Americans).

The Battalion fought with great valour albeit for a lost cause.

When Mexico lost the war the soldiers were convicted as deserters in a time of war and hanged en masse by the American army.

The survivors of these soldiers settled in Northern Mexico where their descendants live to this day.

The San Patricios’ story has always been a celebrated in Mexico with numerous commemorations and the erection of an impressive monument in Mexico City.

Commenting on the forthcoming induction CEO of the JFK Trust, Sean Reidy, said: “The induction of the San Patricio Regiment to the Hall of Fame is an exciting addition that showcases the diversity of the Irish emigration history. It is also testament to the bravery and compassion of those Irishmen who stood by their personal beliefs to aid a nation they identified with.”