IRISH INFLUENCE FOUND IN ARGENTINEAN NEWSPAPER – EMIGRANT

The story’s headline reads: “Dreadful news from the South, invasions of Indians, danger in the pampas.”

Not the typical headline you would expect to see in an Irish-centric newspaper, even from one of its editions dating all the way back to the end of the 19thcentury. However this is no ordinary newspaper; it’s as far flung from the nation of its creator as it is long in years and practice.

The Southern Cross or “La Cruz del Sur” is an Argentine newspaper founded in 1875 by Father Patrick Dillon, a Roman Catholic priest, from Tuam, Co. Galway.

He first arrived in Buenos Aires in 1863 among the second wave of Irish emigrants to the Latin American country. At the time the business of independence in Ireland was a major question and there was a clear political division among emigrants, with the early wealthy settlers pro-Home Rule in Ireland, with this expressed through The Buenos Aires Standard newspaper.

The new arrivals of the 1860’s tended to be more nationalistic. This led to the foundation of another English language paper, The Southern Cross with Father Dillon at the helm of its establishment.

“The Southern Cross will diligently watch over the Irish in the river plate”, was its mandate, referring to the 170 mile long estuary that separates Argentina from Uruguay. From its base in Buenos Aires it kept the diaspora informed about everything that happened back in their native Ireland as well as cultural and social issues in their new found and much vaster adopted home of Argentina.

In it’s over 130 years in print the TSC has had many noteworthy members of staff but its longevity goes far beyond the input of any single contributor. The paper has remained far from static in its approach and the current crop of staff are a testament to this skill at managing to adapt themselves to the evolving angles of their news agenda, while maintaining the key mission of the newspaper.

In talking to the editor Santiago ‘Jimmy’ O’Durnin, despite being born and bred Argentine he speaks flawless English, with the slightest hint of a midlands accent he says “The paper kept the community together and it’s the community that has kept it together all these years.”

He goes on to explain that, “While the descendants of German or British emigrants that came here, still three or four generations after their arrival they continued to talk about going home, sort of an expatriate mentality, but the Irish didn’t have anywhere to go to, I think that’s what built our strong sense of togetherness.”

Jimmy holds true to the mould of this community growing up very much within its walls. He was educated by the Palatine priests who in his final years asked him to help out with the paper. “I felt a debt to the school and then you can’t break away from it. It began to fascinate me.”

The priests not only kept their view of what Catholicism was but also their own view of what Irishness means. Not easily swayed TSC has maintained this mentality down through the generation.

Nonetheless, the paper is very far from focused on the language of shamrocks and shillelaghs.

Critic of regime

Over the years the paper went from being 100 percent English to a transition towards Spanish, while today it is mixed language.

“We are talking about liberty of expression and we really use it.” Jimmy emphasises. This has rung true very much down through the history of the paper. During Argentina’s military dictatorship in the 1970’s it was one of the most trenchant critics of the regime and was often a target of stinging rebuke from the military leaders.

The papers news agenda is also very much on the pulse of recent topics. The most recent edition includes an article that takes to task the current Argentine government over an ongoing dispute with the leaders of the country’s agricultural sector.

It’s a very comprehensive read and is also not shy in pointing out challenges that exist between Ireland and Argentina, regularly having articles addressing what it views as Ireland’s unfair migration policy. As well as its editor, Jimmy is a passionate historian for the paper and repeatedly rushes off to get this article or that snippet from the vast archive of all its editions; everything from visits to Argentina by Irish Presidents to reports of infamous hurling matches in Buenos Aires, “Where the priests weren’t afraid to wallop each other.” But all the time we are surrounded by the future of TSC. With the Web site in full view, the breaking news of Ireland’s No to the Lisbon treaty is flashing on the screen.

By Paul Byrne for the Irish Emigrant

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