society for irish latin american studies

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Society for Irish Latin American Studies (SILAS)

IRISH MIGRATION STUDIES IN LATINAMERICA

Society for Irish Latin American Studies

The Argentine countryside strike of 2008

Demonstration at roundabout linking national routes N 8and N 33, Venado Tuerto, 15 May 2008(Archivo Sociedad Rural de Venado Tuerto)

Volume 7 Number 1March 2009

The Irish in Latin American Politics,

Government and DiplomacyGuest Editors: Jorge Cernadas Fonsalas and Carolina Barry

Editors: Edmundo Murray, Claire Healy

ISSN 1661-6065

Smoorbeg, Kill, Co. Waterford, IrelandThis journal is available online at SILAS website: www.irlandeses.org


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Irish Migration Studies in Latin America

CONTENTS

The Irish in Latin American Politics, Government and Diplomacy, by Jorge Cernadas Fonsalas andCarolina Barry................................................................................................................................. 1Irish News in the New Spanish Kingdoms: The Circulation of Political Information

about William Lamport and Diego Nugent, 1642-1667, by Natalia Silva Prada............................ 5

Arthur Griffith and Patrick McManus, by Rebecca Geraghty.................................................................. 21The Irish Struggle for Freedom as Seen from the Pampas: The formation of the Irish Free State and

the Perception of the Irish-Argentine Community (1916-1922), by Jorge Cernadas Fonsalas...... 31Sean Lester, Ireland and Latin America in the League of Nations, 1929-1946, by Yannick Wehrli .......... 39Irish Diplomacy in Argentina, by Maria Eugenia Cruset ........................................................................... 45I am an Argentine: Irish Catholics in Buenos Aires, 1906-1913, by Brad Lange...................................... 51Damned Irishman: John William Cooke, by Mara Jos Punte................................................................... 61The Argentine Countryside Strike of 2008: the Success of a Large Interest Group and

the Irish-Argentine Dimension, by John Kennedy ......................................................................... 69Madden and the Abolition of Slavery in Cuba, by Jos Antonio Quintana Garca ................................... 81Under Three Flags The Diplomatic Career of Daniel Florence O'Leary, by Moiss Enrique Rodrguez.... 85Ethnic Identity and Integration among Brazilians in Gort, Ireland, by Olivia Sheringham.......................... 93Santiago FitzSimon: Promoting Technical Education in Argentina, by Nancy R. Escobar .......................105Review of Enrique Garca Hernn and scar Recio Morales (eds.), "Extranjeros en el Ejrcito:

militares irlandeses en la sociedad espaola, 1580-1818", by David Barnwell.............................. 109Review of Lourdes de Ita Rubio's "Viajeros isabelinos en la Nueva Espaa",

by Cristina Borreguero Beltrn.................................................................................................117Review of Jean Ziegler's "La haine de lOccident", by Edmundo Murray .................................................. 123Review of James P. Byrne, Philip Coleman and Jason King (eds.) "Ireland and the Americas:

Culture, Politics and History", by Maria Graciela Adamoli and Maria Graciela Eliggi.......... 127

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The Irish in Latin American Politics, Government and Diplomacy

By Jorge Cernadas Fonsalas and Carolina Barry (1)

Guest EditorsTranslated by Claire Healy

The activities of the Irish and their descendentsin Latin America has been studied on the basisof their commercial, professional, religious andmilitary pursuits. Although these areas areimportant, they also made a significantcontribution in political participation. This goes

some way in explaining the level of cohesionthat they had or sought to enjoy in receivingcountries, particularly in Argentina, the country

with the greatest number of Irish migrants in theregion. Political participation impliedparticipating and mixing, associating themselves

with and taking an active part in the public lifeof the community. Therefore, in a strict sense,political participation refers to situations in

which the individual contributes directly orindirectly to a political situation (Sani 1983:

1181). It is important to take into account thatpolitics is not solely confined to participationalong formal or strictly electoral channels butrather also by other methods.

However, it should be noted that foreigners ingeneral were reluctant to participate in politics,and it is probable that one of the causes hasbeen the limited political space that the Stategrants to immigrants - and their own disinterestin enjoying political rights throughnaturalisation. The majority of sending countriestake away nationality from people who adopt anew one. Domingo Faustino Sarmientomaintained that immigrants not only decided toremain isolated from political life, but acommon feature was the systematic abstentionof foreigners from taking part in social life(Cneo et al 1967: 72). (2) Sergio Kiernan arguesin relation to the low level of naturalisations thatthe first generation was so reluctant to become

Argentine that it attracted the ire of PresidentSarmiento, who wrote article after articledamning the Irish as ungrateful (Kiernan 2004).It is noteworthy that today for some

descendents their Irish identity is worth morethan their Argentine one.

At any rate, as maintained above, the electoralroute is not the only form of politicalparticipation, as, from the final third of thenineteenth century, foreigners claimed anddefended their interests through alternativepolitical channels to voting, such as the press,community associations and publicdemonstrations (Sabato 1998). In this sense, wecan observe in the articles presented here howthe Irish played an active role in the political lifeof Latin American receiving countries.

The majority of Irish people arrived betweenforty and fifty years before the onset of massimmigration between 1880 and 1914. As well as

the circumstances that favoured their arrivalbefore the great migratory flows, the Irishcommunity was quantitatively smaller comparedto the others. However, in the case of

Argentina, their insertion into the most dynamicsector of the economy of the time was a vitalactivity, on the basis of which a limited numberof people made great profits, and gainedprestige in the life of the new country.Nevertheless, their political intervention pointedto how Irish migration was still an isolated case.

Preliminary research allows us to affirm thatboth the Irish and their descendents wereinvolved in numerous political events, within abroad ideological range. Among the mostemblematic personalities were GuillermoBrown, the founder of the Argentine Navy;Edelmiro Farrell, president of Argentina; andthe revolutionary Ernesto (Che) Guevara Lynchde la Serna, to name but a few. It is interestingto highlight that the military were present in onemanner or another in politics, albeit from

different places and with different objectives.

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In Argentina the Irish had their own politicalparty, the Admiral Brown Club, founded byDean Dillon and others in 1884, with theobjective of occupying a place in the Senate. Thesame Dillon had created a newspaper, The

Southern Cross, which, together with communityobjectives, also reflected the political situation inIreland and Argentina, and played a significantrole during the process of independence on theisland. (3) The editorial line of that newspapermaintained this characteristic of a politicaltribune. Although over the years it changed itsideological content, the imprint left by Dillonfrom the first edition remained. Apart from thisparticular experience, the main Argentinepolitical parties had both Irish men and Irish

women in their ranks, occupying electedpositions as well as participating in uprisings andinsurrections. (4)

Argentina was the country with the greatestnumber of Irish migrants in Latin America,though this is not to say that they were notimportant in other countries where they werealso involved in local politics. One of these was

Juan ODonnohue y ORyan, from Seville but ofIrish origin, selected as the last Viceroy of NewSpain. (5) In the same location, the activity of

William Lamport was of significance (of whommore will be said below). In independentMexico, John OReilly commanded the SanPatricio Battalion; (6) and John Devereuxcommanded the Irish Legion in Colombia. (7)Daniel OLeary, an Irishman, fought in the warsof independence in South America together withSimn Bolvar and was the representative ofGran Colombia in England. We can alsomention Peter Campbell in Uruguay, and JamesOKelly, Leopoldo ODonnell and RichardMadden in Cuba. (8) There was also BernardoOHiggins, national hero of Chileanindependence and Chile also had a descendentof Irish immigrants as president of the nation,Patricio Aylwin. In more recent years therelationship between the FARC and the IRA (9)represents a relationship between Ireland andLatin America, or, better said, between Irishpeople and Latin Americans. EdmundoOGorman, as a historian, generated a politicaldebate that marked new and revelatory visionsof the history of Mexico. Various generations ofthe influential OConnor family in Bolivia

continue to undertake important politicalactivity, at this moment in opposition toPresident Evo Morales. In many of theseexamples, the relationship between the militaryand political contexts is significant, not only as a

military strategy in itself, but also as a form ofcreating power. It was not only a case ofpolitical action by the military but also militaryaction by civilians.

How important was Irish ascendency andinsertion in local politics? It was a result of thenecessity for integration in the new lands. Cancausal relationships be established or are wesimply dealing with a list of names with acommon origin in extraordinary situations? Toprovide definitive responses would be too hasty;it is hoped that there will be new researchprojects that respond to old and new questions.

This first special issue on the Irish in politicsseeks answers to these questions and proposesnew perspectives on a theme that is still beingexplored.

As we mentioned above, political participationis understood to mean any activity in which theindividual contributes directly or indirectly to apolitical situation. The articles selected for this

special issue represent distinct forms of politicalparticipation by Irish people and theirdescendents in Latin America. These studies donot come exclusively from the fields of historyand political science but rather they build uponthe strong presence of politics in peoples lives,prioritising an interdisciplinary analysis toapproach this theme, without temporal orthematic limits.

Jorge Cernadas Fonsalas studies how attentiveto Irish politics and immersed in the Argentinecontext the Irish-Argentines were during theperiod of the creation of the Irish Free State andthe role that they adopted. Along the same lines,Mara Eugenia Cruset analyses the role of thediaspora as agents of diplomacy. Another articlerelated to the role of the Irish-Argentines duringthe revolution in Ireland is the contribution ofthe researcher Rebecca Geraghty who analysesthe relationship between the Irish revolutionary

Arthur Griffith and Patrick McManus who livedin Argentina and was a link to the localcommunity. Brad Lange, for his part, presentsan article in which he examines the social and

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political participation of the Irish Catholiccommunity in Argentina, and their identificationand involvement in their adopted country.

Yannick Wehrlis article focuses specifically onthe relationship between the Free State, createdin the 1920s, and Latin American countries. The

work of Sean Lester in the League of Nations ishis main object of study, taking as an examplehis intervention in the Chaco War and theconflict between Colombia and Peru.

Another historical article that we include is thatof Natalia Silva Prada who conducted researchin the archives of the Spanish Inquisition inorder to investigate two cases against Irishpeople: William Lamport and Gilbert Nugent.

As a backdrop to the lives of these two menborn in Ireland, Inquisitorial disputes andEuropean monarchical tensions are revealed.

Jos Antonio Garca Quintana presents arevelatory article, illustrating the Abolitionistactions of Richard Madden in Jamaica and Cuba,on the basis of reports, legal testimonies, a bookand the stimulus for the creators of a nascentanti-slavery literature. Moiss EnriqueRodrguez's article about the diplomatic careerof Daniel Florence O'Leary illustrates theflexibility of one of the Irish officers in SimnBolvar's army of independence in adapting tochanging conditions.

An article that plays on the borders of thehistorical and the literary is that of Mara JosPunte, who presents the figure of John WilliamCooke, leader of the Peronist resistance of Irishdescendents, through a novel by Jos PabloFeinmann La astucia de la razn, which hasamong its protagonists a delegate of Pern. In

the area of Argentine educational politics, NancyEscobar presents work undertaken by SantiagoFitz Simon, an Irish educator who undertookactivities in the country during the nineteenthand twentieth centuries and whose contribution

was fundamental for the development oftechnical education in the country.

A sociological perspective is provided by OliviaSheringham, who analyses recent Brazilianimmigration to Gort, Ireland. A countryaccustomed to emigration, it is now, due to theups and downs of neoliberal economic policies,attracting Brazilians escaping the crisis, who findin the Celtic Tiger a new place to live thoughravaged by the crisis itself.

Also in reference to the Latin American crisis we cannot lose sight of the countryside vs.Government conflict initiated in Argentina oneyear ago. John Kennedy analyses the role playedby the descendents of Irish people who are

connected to the agrarian sector and who led aprotest that is ongoing against the nationalGovernment due to the rise in deductions onthe exportation of soya and the absence of anagricultural policy.

The issue is completed with four book reviews:Jean Ziegler's La Haine de lOccident, reviewed byEdmundo Murray; Enrique Garca Hernn andscar Recio Morales's (eds.) Extranjeros en elEjrcito: militares irlandeses en la sociedad espaola,1580-1818, reviewed by David Barnwell;Lourdes De Ita Rubio's Viajeros Isabelinos en la

Nueva Espaa, reviewed by Cristina BorregueroBeltrn; and James P. Byrne, Philip Collemanand Jason King's (eds.) Ireland and the Americas:Culture, Politics and History, reviewed by MaraGraciela Adamoli and Mara Graciela Eliggi.

We hope that this first issue on the Irish andtheir descendents in Latin American politics willresult in the appearance of new studies on thetheme, the derivations and reaches of which we

are just beginning to unravel.

Jorge Cernadas Fonsalas and Carolina Barry

Notes

1. Jorge Cernadas Fonsalas (Universidad de Buenos Aires), and Carolina Barry (Universidad Nacionalde Tres de Febrero). We are grateful to Edmundo Murray and Claire Healy for their support andguidance in the editing of this issue. We are also thankful to the translators Shane Byrne, Ita Dagger,David Barnwell, Tony Phillips, and Conor Kerin.

2. la abstencin sistemtica de los extranjeros de tomar parte en la vida social.

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3. Barry, Carolina. "Ciento Treinta Aos andando su senda" in The Southern Cross130: 5896 (January2005), pp. 1-2. A short history ofThe Southern Crosson its 130th anniversary; "El nacimiento de unaterrible belleza: Repercusin de la Pascua de 1916 en TSC y los hiberno argentinos" in The SouthernCross313: 5915 (August 2006), pp. 1-2.

4. See, among others, MacLoughlin Brard, Guillermo. La presencia irlandesa en las invasiones

inglesas in The Southern Cross132: 5927 (August 2007), 2; Coghlan, Eduardo A. El Aporte de los Irlandesesa la Formacin de la Nacin Argentina (Buenos Aires, 1982). Dandan, Alejandra and Silvina Heguy. JoeBaxter: del nazismo a la extrema izquierda (Buenos Aires: Editorial Norma, 2006). Barry, Carolina:"Politically Incorrect: Irish Argentines in the Early Peronist Period" in Irish Migration Studies in Latin

America (www.irlandeses.org), cited 18 October 2005. "Lorenza Reynaf, una cuestin de gnero" inThe Southern Cross131: 5917 (October 2006), p. 2; Los borbones argentinos in The Southern Cross131:5912 (February 2006), p2. Murray, Edmundo, 'Baxter, Jos Luis [Joe] (1940-1973)' in Irish MigrationStudies in Latin America November-December 2005 (www.irlandeses.org). 'Guevara, Ernesto [Che](1928-1967)' in Irish Migration Studies in Latin AmericaNovember-December 2005 (www.irlandeses.org).Can, Gonzalo, 'O'Farrell, Juan Adrin (1866-1942)' in Irish Migration Studies in Latin AmericaNovember-December 2005 (www.irlandeses.org). Another example of the broad participation in local

political life of Irish immigrants was the nomination of Michael Duffy as the intendant of Carmen de Areco in 1866 (Coghlan, 1987: 287), (Hannon, 2007: 293) and Juan Bautista Dowling (an Irish-Argentine) as a military commander (Coghlan, 1987: 273); (Hannon, 2007: 283).

5. Diego Tllez Alarcia, D. Juan Odonoj, El ltimo Virrey de Nueva Espaa (1821), paper presentedat the Second Symposium of Irish Studies in South America: Irlanda y Amrica Latina: Hacia NuevasPerspectivas, 5-7 September 2007.

6. Jaime Fogarty, Voices of Mexico magazine, April-June, 2000.

7. Brown, Matthew, 'Crusaders for Liberty or Vile Mercenaries? The Irish Legion in Colombia' in IrishMigration Studies in Latin America(2006). Available online (www.irlandeses.org).

8. Burton, Gera, "Libertys Call: Richard Robert Maddens Voice in the Anti-Slavery Movement (1833-1842)" in Irish Migration Studies in Latin America5:3 (November 2007), pp. 199-206.9. Murray, Edmundo, 'Explosive Journey: Perceptions of Latin America in the FARC-IRA Affair(2001-2005)' in Irish Migration Studies in Latin America2006.

References

- Cneo, Mafud, Snchez Svori and Schallman, Inmigracin y Nacionalidad (Buenos Aires, Ed Piados,1967).

- Sabato, Hilda, La Poltica en las calles(Buenos Aires, Sudamericana, 1998). Vol. 1.

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Irish News in the New Spanish Kingdoms:The Circulation of Political Information

about William Lamport and Diego Nugent, 1642-1667

By Natalia Silva Prada (1)Translated by Claire Healy

Abstract

This article explores the origins of the formation of the legend created around the life of William Lamport, an Irishmanburnt at the stake by the Mexican Inquisition in 1659. In order to study the origin of the legend, an analysis will be

provided of the Inquisition trial of another Irishman and contemporary of Lamport, the Franciscan Diego Nugencio(Diego Nugent), born in Dublin and tried for having made declarations in favour of his compatriot. The study is based

on an unpublished file of the National Historical Archive of Madrid, covering the years 1657 to 1667. For the analysis,the author uses methodological reflections pertaining to cultural history, and particularly focuses on those elements thatcontribute to understanding the political culture of the modern period, which are present in the reconstruction of theInquisition trial of fray Diego de la Cruz (Diego Nugent): the rumours, conspiracies and prophecies. The article thereforeexamines a series of important news items that circulated in the Atlantic world: the problems of dynastic succession,tensions between Portugal and England, and the circulation of forbidden books. Indications throughout the text leave openthe possibility of the existence of a connection between Diego Nugent and William Lamport.

The spectacular life of William Lamport, betterknown as Guillermo or Guilln Lombardo, isalready familiar among specialised academic

circles and lovers of literature and fictionalcinema. The spread of information on this Irishadventurer has grown exponentially at thebeginning of the twenty-first century. Thepublication and dissemination of the works ofthe Italian historian Fabio Troncarelli since 1999have contributed notably to the publicity aroundLombardo.

At the end of the twentieth century, Guillnslife began to be the subject of professionalhistorical work, improving upon the curiousreconstructions that brought positivist history tooccupy itself with the Irishman during thecentury and a half preceding that publication.Interest in the character of Lamport, anexcellent humanist exponent of the Renaissance,has notably increased during the last twodecades. A specific list of work dedicated tounravelling his life and actions can already becited.

The most well-known reference is that of

Troncarelli cited above, who has constructedone of the most voluminous biographies, on the

basis of documentation in European and American archives. Despite the internationalsuccess ofLa spada e la croce: Guilln Lombardo e

l'inquisizione in Messico, it has had little circulationin Mexico, despite the presentation of the workat two Puebla universities and its translation intoSpanish. The most widespread informationcurrently in Latin America is the significantnumber of European reviews of the book LaSpada, along electronic channels.

Even lesser known is a series of theses indifferent contexts and at different educationallevels. (2) Among these, the thesis of AndrewKonove is significant, which, using little original

documentation, presents very pertinent political-cultural reflections. Other biographical worksthat predate that of Troncarelli are those ofGerard Ronan and Ryan Dominic Crew.

My analysis of the life of William Lamportderives from research related to political dissent,in which the pamphlets he wrote against theinquisitors act as irrefutable evidence of thephenomenon. His brilliant personality points tothe political relevance not only of this singular

person but also of those who surrounded himand of the circumstances that led to him

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emerging from anonymity in the history of theNew Spanish seventeenth century. (3)

In academic circles, the most commonperception of the Irishman, even among those

who admire him, is of a rather crazy, perfidiousand womanising man. This is the image thatGuillermo Riva Palacio, a Mexican writer,created of him in the second half of thenineteenth century. And this was none otherthan the transposition of the representation thatthe offended inquisitors portrayed of Lamport,the targets of his criticisms.

It was the least they could do, in view of thevalues of the time. Don Guilln, as he is betterknown, wrote harsh words against the Court of

the Inquisition, related to the scant motivationsthat were given on the imprisonment of theaccused, the seizure of their properties, theextension of reasons to despair and make thedefendants confess, and other series of practicesthat did not accord with the Catholic faith,

which are summarised in the followingparagraph:

[] and Mahoma if he came with them could becalled angels in comparison to them [the inquisitors]as Mahoma taught his sect by force of arms to the

public, while they (speaking of the inquisitors) arein breach of the Catholic faith with secret arms andsacrileges that are more horrendous than theinvectives of Nero and with the cloak of the same

faith (AHN, Inquisicin, 1731, exp.53, i.365 r yv). (4)

In the descriptions of his trial, it is repeated inmultiple ways that he was a false expert, aserious liar and idealist, a falsifier of signatures,

whose political plans were chimeras (AGI,

Mxico 36, n. 54). During his time he wasconsidered in essence to be a bad man(Archivo General de Indias, AGI, Mxico 36,n.54, i.21) and a witness even referred to theaccused as Don demonio (Mr. Demon)(Archivo Histrico Nacional, AHN, Inquisicin,1731, i.161). His own brother, fray JuanLombardo, confessed that they had never had abrotherly connection, neither in their humoursnor in their way of living (AHN, Inquisicin,1731, exp.53, i.9) (5). This fact, and that of not

putting up with his nonsense and lies, would be

the reasons that prevented him from defendinghis brother at the Inquisition.

Despite the differences between William andJohn Lamport, their genealogical information iscompatible and without the exaggerations of thenarrative of the condemned brother, they allowus to ascertain that they were from a noblefamily with land and inheritance, perhapsimpoverished and dedicated to mercantile,military and religious activity.

In his testimonies to the Inquisition, fray Juan was also imprecise. He affirmed that he hadarrived with a group of Franciscans led by fray

Juan Navarro on 26 March 1640. However, hisname does not appear in the delegation that

went to Michoacn, while he alleged that therehad been no place for him in Mexico and forthat reason, he was subsequently sent toZacatecas (AGI, Pasajeros, Leg.12, exp. 119).

One of the crucial aspects, and one that has notyet been studied in relation to Lamport, is thelegend that induced Riva Palacio to explore thelife of this man. The nineteenth-century writerdeclared that his interest in the Irish man wasborn of the amazing stories he had heard duringhis childhood. A century and a half later,

Troncarelli would attempt to follow his lead andto demystify the misinformation about his life.He left in his work a series of signs destined to

verify Guillns relations with personalities ofthe Court and of high politics, as well as withother Irish in New Spanish territory. One ofthese is the words of praise that a Franciscanfriar from Nicaragua apparently spoke of theIrish man, after his death. Although Professor

Troncarelli made mention of the strange case ofDiego de la Cruz, he does not cite sources(Troncarelli 1999: 328 & 334).

Thanks to the stimulating call for contributionsby the Society for Irish Latin American Studies,I have once again taken up research on thisperson and I have managed to locate some filesthat could contribute to shedding some light onthe obscure life of Lombardo. The revelation ofthe documentation held by the NationalHistorical Archive of Spain (6) and by theGeneral Archive of the Nation of Mexico (7) is

crucial for understanding the functioning of thehistory of political culture in the seventeenth

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century, where rumours and conspiracies, as wellas behaviour of a prophetic type, nourished thescene of political life in the modern world. Theindications that are contributed by the case ofthe friar Diego de la Cruz, also Irish, permit us

to open a small window on the internal politicsof the Ibero-American Kingdoms and theirpolitical connections in the internationalcontext. The news that we examine here wascurrent in the kingdoms of New Spain andGuatemala and puts us in contact with Ireland,England, Portugal and peninsular Spain.

Biographical Data on William Lamport andfray Diego de la Cruz (Diego Nugent)

William Lamport is the real name of Guillermo

Lombardo de Guzmn, who was born inWexford, Ireland in 1615 (or 1611 according to Juan Lombardos information) and died inMexico City in 1659. Of those forty-four years,seventeen were lived in the prisons of the HolyOffice of Mexico, which he left just two times:once he escaped in 1650 and the other time it

was in order to be burnt for the multiple crimesattributed to him based on his different roles:sedition of the Spanish Crown, a heretic andinventor of other heresies, defender of heresies,

apostate, and a wicked and obstinate man.

The thorny issue of his presumed contacts in theCourt in Madrid between 1632 and 1642 remainto be explored, together with the relations hemaintained with a group of Irish people whoarrived in America on the same date that heclaimed to have arrived: 1640.

The details of Guillns biography provided byhis brother, a Franciscan friar, form part of thereconstruction necessary to collect evidence on

the complicated theme of the imputation. Therefore the news items contributed by thecase of fray Diego de la Cruz will prove relevant.

According to the genealogy composed with theinformation of the Lamport brothers, some ofthe names of the relatives given by Guillncoincide perfectly with those provided by hisbrother. The difference lies in the perspective.

While Guillermo showed himself proud that heand his kin had been equal in nobility to all of

the kings and princes of the world (AGN,Inquisicin, v.506), (8) fray Juan refers to the life

of someone like his maternal grand-uncle,Clement Sutton, as someone who had misspenthis estate because he occupied himself withacts of bravery and in travel. However, he saidthat he had been second lieutenant of a ship and

married to a noble woman. Of his maternalgrandfather, Leonard Sutton, he affirmed thathe was a merchant of note (AHN, Inquisicin,1731, fols. 308-312). Therefore the opinion ofthe Inquisition on his genealogy was totallyfalse:

As to men to whom the title of illustrious and other greater titles with advantageous posts, merits andservices never heard of are attributed, as they

pretend of their ancestors, all of this is false andchimerical, as this defendant is an unfortunate lowlycharacter [] and he has never been a person ofaccount, and to have claimed nobility, service and

grandeur of himself and his kin is [] completemalice in order to make a distinction between himand the inquisitors to whom he owes humility inlineage (AHN, Inquisicin, 1731, exp.53, fol.363v.).

For Guilln, the inquisitors used the argumentof the common people in order to give apretext for their fallacies. The issue of whether

Guilln was a person of account or not,followed its own course in the rumours spreadthroughout the kingdom and as we will seebelow, in the accusations levelled at fray Diegode la Cruz.

About his brother, fray Juan confirmed his greatinterest in studies, saying that he was always astudent, at the cost of his fathers estate.Indeed, he studied with Augustinians,Franciscans and Jesuits. Nevertheless, it is onhis life in England and Spain that little is known.

Relations between the brothers haddeteriorated, because of the separation andmore recently, Guillns living with a woman,doa Ana Godoy Rodrguez, to whom he wasnot married, and who, although she was noble,

was of possible Jewish convert origins, of whomit was said, she could be of the Portuguese race(AHN, Inquisicin, 1731, fol. 309v). In fray Juansreport it is further perceived that there was astrong rivalry between them in relation to

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Although fray Juan and don Guilln had notseen each other for ten years, and according tothe friar, in Madrid, he scorned him with his

words, they had various meetings in the yearsthat they shared on the peninsula: in Madrid, in

Seville and in Cdiz. Both communicatedmutually that they would go to the Indies. Afterwards they would see each other in Veracruz, and in Mexico City, where Guillnoffered him letters of reference for theCorregidor of Zacatecas, don Sancho de vila.However, it emerges that Guillns activities

were secret, as in Spain it was said that he didnot say that he was his brother, he did not even

write of his brother in letters (AHN, Inquisicin,1731, fol.311). (9)

On the same date as the meeting betweenGuilln and fray Juan in Madrid, 1639, theformer had also contacted the mysteriousFulgencio Nugencio, an Irish man who wasreally called Gilbert Nugent and who hadintersected with his life prior to the voyage toNew Spain. Gilbert Nugent had even beenaccommodated at Guillns house. Troncarellialludes to this person as a distant cousin ofLamport, who had been charged with a secretmission, that of the rebellion of Irish noblemenagainst England (Troncarelli 1999: 138). In fact,it is Guilln himself who says - although he doesnot specify that the relationship is distant - andon that occasion the baron don GilbertoFulgencio arrived in Madrid, cousin of theconfessant, with a secret embassy to HisMajesty, of the kingdom of Ireland and thisconfessant was hidden in his house for ninetydays (AHN, Inquisicin, 1731, i.216 and 217).(10)

The fascinating thing about all that is describedhere is that the friar who was introduced intothese peoples lives, fray Diego de la Cruz, alsohad the surname Nugencio and like the Lamportbrothers and a Carmelite friend of the JesuitMichael Wadding, would travel to America inthe same year 1640.

Fray Diego was not just a humble Franciscan.His family tree, reconstructed on the basis of thediscourse on his life (11) is revealing. Born inDublin, it is said that before being religiouslyordained he was officially called DiegoNugencio and he had been raised in the town of

Mullingar, where his parents had their house(AHN, Inquisicin, 1732, fol.26v.y 27). It isprobable that Diego, the name of Latin origin ofthe friar, is not the true one, but he neverreferred to himself in any other way. Meanwhile

it is very clear that his paternal ancestorsbelonged, like those of Lamport, to ancientCatholic families of Norman origin, theNugents. Also his maternal ancestors wererecognised as the Plunketts. Both families hadsacrificed soldiers and religious for the Irishcauses against England and in favour of Spainand Catholicism.

It is very probable that Gilbert Nugent was aclose relative of fray Diego. He declared that hisfamily had settled in the province ofGuesmedia, which is none other than thelatinisation of Westmeath, a region in which theNugent family consolidated importantproperties. At the beginning of the seventeenthcentury, Richard Nugent had obtained theBarony of Delvin, in the kingdom of Meath, theregion of origin of Alfonsa Plunkett, frayDiegos mother. The idea that the mercenaryGilbert Nugent was fray Diegos cousin derivesfrom his own family tree. Both had ChristopherNugent as a grandfather. The only uncle thatfray Diego remembered was a certain GeraldNugent. Guillns Jesuit master in Dublin wasprobably a relative of fray Diegos mother,Henry Plunkett.

Diego Nugencios education was like that ofLamport, careful and erudite. He made his firststudies in Dublin and subsequently in SpanishFranciscan houses. He was probably a few yearsolder than Lamport. Based on the age he said he

was when the Inquisition trial took place, he

would have been born between 1602 and 1603.His first studies were on grammar. At the age of18, he entered the Monte Fernando Convent inthe same province, of the order of Saint Francis,

where he studied arts for five years. Hisprovincial, Valentn Bruno, gave him permissionto move to Spain. He arrived in Madrid in 1630

where he contacted the general of the order,fray Bernardino de Sena (12), who marked himand gave him a patent for the province of

Andalusia where he studied arts and theology,

first in Cdiz and then in San Franciso deSevilla. (13)



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It should be remembered here that the Irishmobilisation in the Iberian Peninsula was part ofan organised management by the Court. In thecase of ecclesiastical personnel this has evenbeen called the Irish Continental College

Movement (Walsh 1973).The European life of fray Diego changed whenhe was assigned to a Franciscan mission that

would leave for the province of Seor San Jorgede Nicaragua, where he entered as a reader.Both here and in the province of Guatemala he

was commissioner and justice of many causes,occupying on various occasions the posts ofdefinidor, custodian and guardian. The Inquisitioncommissioner who followed the case describedhim as of the Irish nation, a native who isneither quiet nor truthful (AHN, Inquisicin,1732, exp. 33, fol.2v.) (14). At the moment thathe was called by the Court of Inquisition ofMexico, he was the definidorof the province ofNicaragua and Costa Rica, as well as theguardian of the Asuncin de Nuestra SeoraConvent in the village of Viejo (AHN,Inquisicin, 1732, fol. 26v.).

At the heart of the origin of the legend

The arrival of William Lamport in Mexico is partof the mystery of his life but it could beconnected to the system of espionage in placeduring that time. Neither his baptismal namenor the hispanicised version appear in thearchives of the House of Trade and ofpassengers to the Indies. If, as he says, hearrived in the ship that transported the ViceroyMarquis of Villena, his name does not appear inthe list of his delegation. However, we havelocated a detail of some importance. In a royal

cdulaof Phillip IV, it says that don Guilln hadgone to America with the fleet that left Cdiz,commanded by General Roque Centeno yOrdez (15). At his first hearing at theInquisition in 1642, Guilln himself testified tothis, adding that he arrived on the largeBiscayan ship of Captain don Toms Manito(AHN, Inquisicin, 1731, i.208). Indeed, we havefound in the Seville archives that this Biscayanship was that of Nuestra Seora de la Concepcin,of six hundred and fifty tonnes, master Toms

Manito, which sailed from Cdiz, with the Fleet

of Roque Centeno y Ordez, for New Spain(AGI, Contratacin, 1184, n.1, r.2).

The system of espionage presupposed the useof people close to the Court, who arrivedanonymously to the Spanish possessions andsent news directly to the Council of the Indiesor to the Monarch. Fray Juan left some leads.He said that when they saw each other in Spainafter 1638, - consisting of three meetings, one inMadrid (1638), one in Seville (1640) and anotherin Cdiz (1640) - his brother had said, as wehave seen above, that he concealed theirrelationship. Guilln declared in 1642 before theinquisitors that he went to America in the spiritof expecting that the capitulations that the saidambassador [Gilbert Nugent] had offered to HisMajesty would be completed (AHN, Inquisicin,1731, i.218), (16) while he had said to hisbrother in 1639 that he was going to America tobe paid some debts by the relatives of doa

Ana (AHN, Inquisicin, 1731, fol.309). (17)

Both the Lamport brothers and fray Diego, anIrishman of the Nugent clan, left the Iberianpeninsula in the same year of 1640. An IrishCarmelite, who knew another Irishman, the

Jesuit Michael Wadding or Miguel Godnez, also

went. The Nugencio surname of the friar wasnot unfamiliar in Guillns life, as we have seenabove.

Burnt at the stake in 1659, we again receivenews of Lamport, in the Inquisition trial of hiscompatriot, the Franciscan Diego de la Cruz,accused of having declared words of praise inhis favour.

The denunciation of fray Diego occurred twoyears before William was burnt at the stake

(1657). When he was called to give evidence atthe Court of the Inquisition, at the beginning of1662, Guilln was already dead (1659). The fouryears that passed between the moment ofdenunciation and that in which the friar wasapprehended are the years in which the inquiriesand taking of testimonies from witnesses in theprovinces of Guatemala, Nicaragua andHonduras were taking place. This circumstancemust have made the process more difficult buton the other hand it is another element that

contributed to the formation of the rumourabout the fate of Guilln Lombardo.



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Recently, a news item has begun to circulate insome blogs in reference to astonishing lives orthe film. There it is said that Lombardos famespread throughout the colonial world and servedas the inspiration for various revolts, some

intimate and patriotic, such as that of fray Diegode la Cruz, an Irish Franciscan who said massesin Managua, and who was taken into prison

when he said a prayer from the pulpit forGuillns soul. (18)

It is very probable that Jos Toribio Medina wasthe first to highlight the Franciscan friars praiseof Guilln. Of the publications of his History ofthe Inquisition in Mexico he only makesmention of the event in La espada y la cruz.

Troncarelli takes up the news item in his bookand it is from this text that some websites havedisseminated it. We do not yet know what theorigin is of the idea that he was taken prisoner atthe moment that he was saying a prayer in hisname. In the historical document with which I

worked it simply says that fray Diego wasnotified in Granada, in the province ofNicaragua at the residence of the InquisitionCommissioner himself, decreeing to him that hehad four months to present himself in MexicoCity, on threat of major excommunication, from25 January 1662 (AHN, Inquisicin, 1732, exp.33,fol.24).

The file that we found allowed us to locate thetrue origin of the legend and establish somepossible links between Lamport and other Irishpeople present in New Spain between 1640 and1667, many of whom were Franciscans.

The presence of these Irish people in the Americas makes it ever more evident that thiswas not casual or based on individual initiativesby impassioned adventurers. In some way thisis connected to the political processes takingplace in Europe and particularly among thecommunity of exiled Irish in Spain. Amongthese, there were two distinct groups, that of theOld Irish, affectionate to Spain, and that of theNew Irish, with loyalties to England. Tworeligious communities were identified with thesetendencies, the Franciscans with the former andthe Jesuits with the latter. The colleges had beenthe scene of this severe struggle (Recio 2004: 9).

The famous story of Thomas Gage, an Englishman with an Irish father, illustrates this

distinction very well. He recounted that beforereceiving the offer to go to America, he hadreceived a letter from his father in which he

wrote, furious that he had declined to enter theCompany of Jesus, and that he would have

preferred to see me as a simple kitchen boy withthe fathers of the Company, rather than adirector of the entire order of Saint Dominic(Gage 1838: 28).

It should be noted that Gage, although he wasnot attracted to the Jesuits, subsequently actedin favour of England and not Spain.Nevertheless, before his trip to America, heexpressed his enormous affection for a dearfriend, whose presence would be indispensablein the acceptance of the invitation extended tohim by fray Antonio Melndez of the college of

Valladolid. The friend without whom Gagecould not take the trip was fray Toms de Lenand was Irish. This would be repeated in anarticle subsequent to the work, where hecommented that he could not conceal from fray

Toms de Len the decision not to travel to thePhilippines, as although it is a secret that weshould all keep, it was impossible for me toconceal it from fray Toms de Len, an Irishreligious and one of my intimate friends (Gage1838: 268) (19). The type of relations describedby Gage should be carefully studied as it is inthis context that the connections betweencompatriots and about their political interestscan be explained.

On Guilln, his brother declared that when theysaw each other in Madrid, he had shown him apoem written in homage to the Count-Duke ofOlivares. When he lived in Mexico City it isknown that he kept close contact with don

Fernando Carrillo, the scribe of the city council, who gave him lodgings in his house in returnfor grammar lessons for his son. Yearspreviously, the scribe had denounced aconspiracy against the Marquis of Cerralvobefore the Council of the Indies. (20) In 1640,similar events occurred. Salvatierra accused thespecific opposition of the two ministers of the

Audienciawho were ready to obstruct the visit ofJuan de Palafox, already before his arrival, alsoin 1640 (AGI, Mxico, 35, n. 15, fol. 6, i.10).

Guilln himself during this period denouncedthe Viceroy Marquis of Villena and according to



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a witness at the trial, he had been instrumentalin his dispossession (AHN, Inquisicin, 1731,i.190).

We return to fray Diego. By his owndeclarations, we know that his first trip to

America did not occur in 1646 but in 1640. It was in the year 1646 that he specified hisnationality, but there is another list in the Houseof Trade for 1640 in which his name appears

without reference to his place of origin. Heembarked then, the same year as Lamport. Thefirst group of Franciscans with whom frayDiego signed up for the mission in the provinceof Nicaragua were in the charge of fray Pedro deZiga, founder of various convents in the sameprovince (AGI, Pasajeros a Indias, Leg.12, exp.250). We know that Ziga, on his departurefrom Spain in July 1640, was attacked by theFrench armada (AGI, Indiferente, 112, n.115, i.2).

In his discourse of his life, fray Diego relatesthe reasons why he returned to Spain. He didthis in the year 1644 in order to attend thegeneral chapter of the order celebrated in thecity of Toledo in 1645, exercising the roles ofcustodian and procurator of his province, thatof Seor San Jorge de Nicaragua. After this, the

friar requested his second trip to America withother Franciscans, on 21 July 1646. On thisoccasion, he was the head of the missiondestined again for Nicaragua (AGI, Pasajeros aIndias, Leg.12, exp.760).

We still do not know with absolute certaintywhether the denunciation that occurred againstfray Diego in 1657 was the first (21). In 1643, aFranciscan denounced fray Diego de la Cruz, anIrishman, in Cartago for blasphemies, for sayingthat the souls of heaven could sin, that inheaven all souls have equal glory, as well asother scandalous propositions (AGN,Inquisicin, vol. 416, exp. 30 and 35) (22). Thefriar, according to his own declarations, had hadmany posts in the province of Nicaragua and inthe best houses. This, however, is not proof, asin his defence he himself commented that there

was another friar in the province who was alsoIrish, called fray Diego de la Concepcin butknown as fray Diego de la Cruz. Nevertheless,this was a young friar who had been ordainedmany years later (around 1660) and who lived in

the village of Nacaome in the province ofHonduras.

The purgatory endured by fray Diego during thesix years that he was prisoner in the convent ofSan Francisco in Mexico City and from whichemerged the many details connected to the lifeof William Lamport and the Court, began as anyother denunciation during that time.

In 1657 in the Guatemalan village of SanFrancisco Panajachel, the Franciscaninvestigator fray Juan de Torres received fromhis own investigation assistant a denunciationagainst fray Diego de la Cruz, relating a series ofconversations that had occurred ten days beforein a cell at the nearby convent of Tecpan Atitln

in Guatemala. The witnesses called to giveevidence were all Franciscan fathers occupyinghigh-level positions in their respective housesand coming from various regions in theprovince. This leads us to think that theconversations that implicated fray Diego in thepraise that he had made of William Lamporttook place during the Provincial Chapter of theFranciscan order. As well as that conversation,the witnesses added others that had occurred in

various cells, in a street in Mexico City and at a

bar on the way from Mexico City to Guatemala.It was fray Nicols de Santoyo, thirty-three yearsof age, who did the denouncing, and the mainaccusers were three fathers from the order:Francisco Becerra from Tecpan Atitln, Gabrielde Amaya (23) from San Miguel de Totonicapaand Ambrosio Salado from the province of San

Jorge de Nicaragua.

Pedro Robredo, preacher and guardian of San Antonio Nexapa and Pedro de Crdenas, (24)

preacher and definidorof the village of San Juande Guatemala, did not implicate fray Diego. According to their declarations, they onlyremembered having heard some talk of theinquisitors and absolutely nothing in respect ofthe theme of the dynastic succession, the themeof another dangerous conversation in which theIrish friar was involved.

The praise that was imputed to fray Diego isreconstructed basically on the basis of fourtestimonies: that of the denouncer and those ofFathers Becerra, Amaya and Salado. The othertwo were not sure of having heard everything



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they were asked about and only remembered aminimal part of those conversations. From thesedeclarations, the Court of Inquisitionconstructed a series of dialogues in which frayDiego was to have alluded not only to

Lombardo but also to the problems of thesuccession to the Spanish Crown.

The reports concur on the type of conversation,emanating from questions related to recent actsby the Inquisition and edicts published in 1650,in which some prison escapees were persecuted.

The denouncer said that it was fray Diego whofirst introduced the name of Guilln and that his

words expressed regret about the situation.According to the sum of testimonies collected,the friar had said that Guilln was a verycapable student and theologian and had writtenagainst the inquisitors, that he had a beautifulface and figure, that he had been a friend of theCount Duke who had sent a cdula so that he

would go to Spain, that they had taken DonGuilln because he had written against theinquisitors and that he had not left in the lastact, nor was it known where he was, that hepresumed they had returned him to Spain andthat he was more Christian than the inquisitorsand he had great capabilities and talent, that thesaid Don Guilln had had such a knack that hehad left the prison of the Holy Office ofMexico, that he had gone to the Palace and hadplaced in the hands of the Viceroy a documentfor the King (AHN, Inquisicin, 1732, ii.1-182).(25) These phrases express the essence of thefirst dialogue, which took place in the cells ofthe Tecpan convent.

These allow us an initial view of theconstruction of the legend, in which it is still not

clear that fray Diego said everything that wasimputed to him. He maintained for years that it was calumny. One day in 1662 he decided todeclare that although he did not know whetherhe was Irish or English, he had spoken to himof another Franciscan and Irish friar: Miguel deSanta Mara.

Beyond the real knowledge that fray Diego mayhave had about Guilln, various points shouldbe specified. For 1657 and before his death, thedramatic events of the Lamport case were oneverybodys lips. The dissemination of edicts inthe process of persecution of the escapee

defendant and of the denunciations in MexicoCity brought the case to light at least from 1650.From these first conversations and although noteverything was expressed by fray Diego, it isinteresting to note the circulation of

information that was generated around thiscrafty person. It is important to note theexchange of news between the two Irishmenabout their compatriot, one of whom had first-hand information. It was the Irishman from

Wexford, Miguel de Santa Mara who, accordingto fray Diego, told him that the said donGuilln was competent and that he madedivinations (26) and had said bad things aboutthe Holy Court [] and that he knew from thesame friar that the said don Guilln was the

brother of a religious who has been in theprovince of Zacatecas. (27) What is interestingis that this, said fray Diego, was heard in MexicoCity after he had arrived there (AHN, Inquisicin,1732, fol.39): and that all that was heard in thiscity was the voice that was here speaking incommon of the badness of the said don Guilln(AHN, Inquisicin, 1732, fol. 49). (28)

Indeed, the witnesses who accused him alsomentioned these other conversations, but thosein which the protagonist was once again ourfriar. Another conversation that he hadaccording to Amaya, witnessed by him and byfriars Becerra and Salado, occurred some threedays later in Becerras cell. Equally, there wasanother outside the convent in which Nugent,conversing with a layperson, expressed regretthat the above-mentioned was unjustlyimprisoned and that he was a man of great qualityand well connected in Spain and that the reasonfor his imprisonment was for having denouncedand declared things that the inquisitors haddone, making it known that they were not just(AHN, Inquisicin, 1732, fol.50). (29) And onanother further occasion in the village of

Tepeaca, once they had left Mexico City, whenthey were at a bar, they heard that theinquisitors had apprehended a man of great

wealth, on which the friar Diego intervenedsaying he had an estate - that was enough forthe Holy Office to arrest him (AHN, Inquisicin,1732, fol.11v.). (30)

This information reveals that as well as frayDiego, there were people in Mexico City who



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were very well informed of Guillns case, apartfrom the inquisitors. In relation to the moresecret information it would be difficult for it notto have been communicated by someone highup in the Holy Office and who knew perfectly

well that Guilln had submitted some papers tothe Viceroy and that there had been a royalcdulain which he requested to be sent to Spain.His relationship with the Count-Duke ofOlivares, his relations with Spain and his socialprestige, similarly did not originate in the vox

populi.

It was unsurprising that fray Diego had receivedthis information from a direct source, as,according to his own declarations, he acted as anInquisition commissioner in the province ofNicaragua and Costa Rica. (31) It is alsoreasonable to think that Diego Nugent hadpersonally known William Lamport during theyears that they both lived in Spain. Although theidea that the inquisitors were hungry forsomeone elses estate was made public in thelibel cases, Guillns words in his own defence

were not along that vein, such as: my zeal forthe Church is notorious and for His Majesty,more so than that of the Inquisition (AHN,Inquisicin, 1731, fol. 366), (32) which isdisturbingly reminiscent of the phrase attributedto fray Diego in which he had said that Guilln

was more Christian than the inquisitors (AHN,Inquisicin, 1731, fol.53).

The culmination of the accusations against frayDiego was not, however, the moment at whichhe was incriminated for praise of a defendantstill being tried by the Inquisition. Althoughthese comments resulted in extreme danger forthose who made them, because they could be

associated with the crime of being an accessory,(33) they were less delicate than the ironies andcriticisms of the monarch himself, as they couldbe branded as a crime against His Majesty. Thisaccusation in the trial is the one for which there

was least proof, but it is also complicated toreduce this to a simple staging by fray Juan de

Torres and the three monks who made the mainaccusations. Although there were numeroustrials of religious people at that time, this doesnot seem to have been a sufficient motive to

charge fray Diego with such a serious crime. (34)

The friar from Honduras, fray Gabriel deAmaya, related that days before they had spokento Guilln in fray Diegos cell, they had beenconversing about the lack of a male successor inthe royal house of Spain. There, fray Diego

made a prophetic declaration: that a foreignking had to be sought, whereupon Amaya askedhim why he said that. Fray Diego responded:how bad for Spain has Charles V been? To

which Amaya responded: give me anotherCharles V! Fray Diego was of the opinion that ifthe monarchs could not have a male child with afirst wife, they should marry again after two orthree years. His companion responded ironicallythat if it did not work out with the second wife,did he believe that he should marry a third and a

fourth what would the Moors and the Turkssay about a Catholic monarch being able to havethree or four wives? (AHN, Inquisicin, 1732,fols. 5-10).

The theme of the succession of the monarchshad been part of a private conversation betweenfray Diego and fray Gabriel and this is thereason why they could not retrieve moredeclarations. This represented a political themeof great interest at the time. Apart from theblasphemous and heretical character of these

words as they were opposed to the sacramentof marriage these opinions lead us to face acontemporary discursive reality. Philip IV, oneof the longest-governing Spanish monarchs, wasalso a controversial king, both in hisinternational policy and in dynastical affairs. Atthe moment that it is presumed that de la Cruzexpressed his dissident opinions, the monarchhad still not had a male child to succeed him tothe throne. With his first wife, Elizabeth ofBourbon, he had six daughters and one son,Prince Baltasar Carlos, who died at a young age.

After Elizabeths death, he had a secondmarriage to Mariana of Austria, but his onlymale successor would not be born until 1661,five years after fray Diego expressed hisdisapproval. The words of the friar wereprobably part of a polemic voice that wasrunning through the Court and the streets,denunciations that criticised his libertinecharacter and the numerous children that he hadoutside of wedlock.



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On the other hand, the idea that this would leadto the seeking of a foreign king in Spain endedup as a premonition, in view of the fact that thisindeed happened in the case of the marriage ofhis son, the bewitched Charles II, bringing

about the end of the dynastic house of theSpanish Habsburgs.

This theme is also present in the prophecies ofthe famous nun Mother Mara de greda,spiritual counsellor of Philip IV. It would nothave been unusual for the Irish friar to havecome across her texts in Spain. His ownprovincial, who had received him in Spain, frayBernardino de Sena, was the notary of the nunsbook.

In his defence, fray Diego allowed an issue ofsome interest to emerge. This is that of thenational loyalties and the relationships of theIrish exiled with the king and with Spain, as theyhad always loved the monarchs of Spain andSpain itself very much as they have lived therefor so much time in the service of the Lord ourGod (AHN, Inquisicin, 1732, fol.39v.): (35)

[...] This confessor wished and wishes that the Kingof Spain lives a long life until he leaves great heirs

for the conservation of Christianity and also as hehas never known another king and has received

goods from his generous hand, as for twenty-twoyears he was maintained in the Indies as a chaplainand preacher of doctrine to the Indians [] howlittle he loved the monarchs of England and those ofhis nation, as they had tyrannised the kingdom ofIreland and had robbed them of their estates and inmany cases of their lives (AHN, Inquisicin,1732, fol. 45). (36)

The point of view of the friar needs no further

explanation. Nevertheless, the inquisitors didnot mention the possible relations of Spain orIreland to England. It is he who provides thesedetails in the questioning that was undertaken ofhim on the arrival of a foreign king. At a hearinghe admitted having spoken of the king, but saidthat the only thing he could have said was Godprotect His Majesty until he has heirs becausehis kingdoms could not be seen with works(AHN, Inquisicin, 1732, fol. 49). (37)

These points leave a trace of doubt around thetotal innocence of fray Diego in relation to hiscapacity to question political events of the

dynastic type and even to covertly criticise theproceedings of the inquisitors against one of hiskind. The phrase is also relevant because in hisproclamation of rebellion, Guilln not onlysought to make himself king, but also said that

he was the son of Philip III and the Countess dela Rosa. A witness declared to have heard himspeak with very little respect and much audacityagainst King Philip IV our Lord, gossipingabout his government and saying that he onlyawarded flatterers and that there was no Spanishperson who was not a traitor, that only the Irish

were loyal and Catholic (AHN, Inquisicin, 1731,i.190). (38) Other denunciations, such as those

we have highlighted above, lead us to believethat criticism of Philip IV was widespread, and

went beyond the borders of Peninsular Spain.One denunciation based in Rome in 1639 andwritten by a religious, contained among its manyharsh criticisms and warnings, [] God knowshow much more your kingdom and your loyalservants can take / see it is just that they arerelieved / before another king inherits it [](Castro 1846: 116). (39)

The friars concern for international affairs isalso apparent in the trial. Diego de la Cruzthought that the summons from the Inquisition

was related to the knowledge that he had of aPortuguese Franciscan named Juan de Fonseca.

The case narrated by fray Diego to theinquisitors occurred in the first half of the1640s, precisely during the period when theuprising happened in Portugal, which hadgenerated a climate of strong tension with Spainand her American possessions. Before knowingthe reasons why the Inquisition had summonedhim, fray Diego presumed it was because of theanimosity that had emerged between him andFonseca, whose religious vows had been put inquestion. In relation to this possible enemy andauthor of calumny, fray Diego told of his travelsofTierra Firme. He related how in the year 1640he had met him at the convent of Cartagena,leaving him there when he left for Nicaragua.He met him again in Panam in 1644 when he

was going to the general chapter of the order inSpain. Subsequently, Fonseca had lived in theprovince of Nicaragua where he had quarrels

with other religious and with the Corregidor ofthe village of Realejo, don Diego de Ibarra. Inthese quarrels, they insulted him, shouting



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Jewish dog. He therefore required permissionto enter the priesthood, and information on him

was required in Spain. Fray Diego presumed thatFonseca was his denouncer as he threatened topresent himself before the Court of Inquisition

in order that they restore his honour. (40)However, the fact is that he never did that, nordid he ever meet fray Diego again. Nevertheless,the case breeds doubt, as fray Diego recountedthat he defended the friar Fonseca fromCorregidor Ibarras harassment although he

was also involved in the request of the requireddocumentation that would authorise him to be apreacher of the doctrine.

Another curious story that emerged during thetrial is that which leads us to establish arelationship between fray Diego and anotherIrishman, his namesake, who was really calledDiego de la Concepcin - whom he could havebeen confused with. Fray Diego had met thisFranciscan in Guatemala, and possibly wroteletters to him. We know that his namesake couldhave had in his hands the first edition of

Thomas Gages work, saying of the descriptionthat he gave of the chaplain Andrs Lins: that itcontained heresies and that the author was afollower of Saint Dominic called fray Thomas,his surname is not remembered, of Englishnationality and born in London, dedicated toCromuel [Cromwell ], who did not know who he

was (AHN, Inquisicin, 1732, fol. 38r.). (41)

Therefore, the case of fray Diego also providesinformation about the circulation of a forbiddenbook in the provinces of Central America. AnEnglish sailor who died on don Nicols

Justinianos ship that came by the gulf, had left itin the hands of a member of St. John of God.

He knew English and held on to it. Then, it fellinto the hands of fray Diegos namesake, towhom the previous keeper entrusted the book,for him to see it (AHN, Inquisicin, 1732, fol.38v.), as he also understood the language in

which the book was written. The reputation ofboth religious was tarnished by this information,as, according to the chaplain of the Bishop ofGuatemala and fray Diegos informer, the firstreligious had sought to marry, and the secondhad taken with him on the way to El Salvador a

work that contained many heresies. These werethe reasons why Linz and fray Diego may have

thought that the young religious had beenconfused with the other, our protagonist of 53or 54 years.

Final Considerations

From the news items that appear in DiegoNugencios trial, the importance of the rumoursof the time are in evidence, rumours that werenot insignificant and on the contrary, point to anotable network of communication of news,some quite dangerous. Therefore it is clear thatthe Lamport case did not go unnoticed in itstime, and that it was used to promote loyaltiesand disloyalties. Although Nugencio did not sayeverything that it was said that he said, it is truethat at some moment he expressed regret for his

compatriot. On the other hand, Guillns name was able to produce reactions that could havebeen used for political causes, such as displacingundesirable candidates for religious posts. Inthis case the religious dynamism of fray Diego,as well as his nationality, played an importantrole against him.

Equally, this informs us of the existence of closenetworks of communication between people ofGaelic origin in American territory. From this

case it is clear that Diego Nugencio, JuanLombardo, Diego de la Concepcin, Miguel deSanta Mara, Thomas Gage, Toms de Len andGuillermo Lombardo himself, as Fabio

Troncarelli suspected, exchanged impressionswith those of their nation.

Fray Diegos defence was based on theequivocal idea that those who testified againsthim were surely his sworn enemies, revealingthat he had many. He was so convinced of thisthat he mentioned in a detailed way the name of

each one of them and the crimes that he hadseen in the exercise of their functions internally

within the Franciscan order and as anInquisition commissioner. He also makes aparallel list of lay enemies. These data providefurther details on the mobility of fray Diego inthe Franciscan provinces of the Audiencia ofGuatemala. From these two lists, no namecoincides with those of the declaring witnessesin his Inquisition trial. None of those appear,

who, like the Corregidor don Diego de Ibarra,

had threatened him more harshly. Neither didthe Portuguese friar Juan de Fonseca, fray



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Nothing would prevent him from being takenfrom the hall of the Inquisition with neithercord nor chapel and with one candle in hishand, for the crime of slight suspicion of crimesagainst the Catholic faith. He was obliged to

renounce de leviin front of the members of eachreligious order of the city. This outcome led himto lose his positions, his honour and his esteem.Even so, the Irish Franciscan did not give upand the last news we have of him is that afterthe trial and the renunciation, he requested acopy of the trial in order to seek the assistanceof the general provincial of his order in Spain.

There we lose trace of him forever.

Antonio de Sierra or fray Cristbal Lpez de laRaza appear, with whom he had disputes for notsupporting them in their upwardly mobilecareers in the province. Equally absent were thefriars put on trial for crimes such as the

unspeakable sin, sale of a free black, setting fireto the mayors house, killing the livestock of theconfraternities or the abuse of indigenouspopulations.

The inquisitors who finalised fray Diegos trialwere not the same ones who passed judgementon Guilln. While in Guillns trial, inquisitors

with a black list of crimes were implicated, suchas Bernab de la Higuera y Amarillas or Juan deMaozca himself, in that of fray Diego, theauditor of the Inquisition intervened, Pedro deMedina Rico, subsequent author of thedenunciation of the faults of the formerinquisitors. Nevertheless, neither he nor Juan deOrtega Montas accepted the innocence of frayDiego and assured that they were convinced thatbehind his obstinacy in not confessing otherserious crimes were hidden. The many lettersthat he wrote pleading for mercy during theyears of his trial were not enough, theintervention of his lawyer was not enough, andneither was the letter written to the Council ofthe Indies. The witnesses of his conversations

were all prestigious preachers in the province.He lived for six years as a recluse in the conventof San Francisco in Mexico, and as soon as thesentence was established he did not manage toget it modified. The only consideration that theymade for him was because of his history inserving the Catholic faith, which was part of theecclesiastic privilege. This was to not applytorture, for him to remain a prisoner in theconvent and to permit him just once to visit thechapels of the virgin of Guadalupe and of losRemedios. The crime examined and thesentence given left an indelible mark on thefuture life of fray Diego de la Cruz.

With us remains the slight suspicion that thisIrishman, though without malice, spoke of hiscompatriot, with whom it is possible that thereexisted more than a blood tie and they wereconnected by some political relationship or acorporative nexus of the territorial type. In LordBaltinglasss rebellion in 1581 and in the contextof the uprising in Ireland against Elizabeth I,

various members of the Nugent, Sutton andLamport families participated and wereexecuted (Catholic Encyclopedia, Fernndez 1991).Some of the witnesses who testified against frayDiego had expressed that he spoke of Guillnas an impassioned supporter of his nation. Atany rate, this episode contributed sui generisto ascandal, spreading the fame of William Lamportin Hispanic America in the seventeenth century.

A scandal promoted by a member of thereligious community that threatened theinterests of the defenders of the faiththemselves, as the inquisitors referred tothemselves, and whose reputation in those days

was quite dubious.

Natalia Silva Prada

Notes

1 Natalia Silva Prada, Autonomous Metropolitan University. Doctorate in History from the College ofMexico. Titular Professor at the Autonomous Metropolitan University, Iztapalapa in Mexico, D.F. andmember of the National System of Researchers of Mexico. Areas of interest: Cultural history ofSpanish America, sixteenth to eighteenth centuries.

2 Other works are cited in the bibliography.



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3 On Silva Prada, see the articles in the bibliography.

4 y Mahoma con ellos si viniera pueden ser llamados ngeles en comparacin de estos [losinquisidores] porque Mahoma ense su secta por fuerza de armas a lo pblico y por lo que era, msestos (habla de dichos seores inquisidores) prevarican de la fe catlica con armas secretas y sacrlegasmas horrendas que las invectivas de Nern y con capa de la misma fe.

5 nunca tuvieron conexin fraternal ni en los humores ni en el modo de vivir.6 AHN, Inquisicin, 1732, exp. 33.

7 AGN, Inquisicin, vol. 416, exp. 35 y vol. 512, exp. 4.

8 iguales en nobleza a todos los reyes y prncipes del mundo.

9 no dijese que era su hermano, ni le escribiera de hermano en las cartas.

10 y en aquesta ocasin lleg a Madrid el barn don Gilberto Fulgencio primo de este confesante conuna embajada secreta a su majestad, del reino de Irlanda a quien este confesante tuvo noventa dasescondido en su casa.

11 Expression used to get to know the genealogical past of people on trial at the Inquisition, of whom

it was always suspected that they had bloodlines that affected their Catholic beliefs. It refers to theday-to-day life and today has become an excellent source for biographical reconstruction.

12 He was on the commission that studied the orthodoxy of the text Mstica ciudad de Dios by MotherMara de Jess de greda, which Philip IV was fond of.

13 Founded in 1596 by fray Buenaventura Calata Girona. In 1600 it was relocated to San VicenteStreet.

14 de nacin irlands, el natural poco quieto y poco verdadero.

15 Letter from the king in request of Guilln de Lombardo. 1643. There were 18 ships in the fleet andonly the captains are mentioned. AHN, Inquisicin, 1731, exp. 53.

16 se fue a Amrica con nimo de esperar que se cumplieran en Irlanda las capitulaciones que el dichoembajador [Gilbert Nugent] ofreci a su Majestad

17 cobrar unas libranzas de los parientes de doa Ana.

18 la fama de Lombardo se expandi por todo el mundo colonial y sirvi de inspiracin para variasrevueltas, algunas ntimas y patriticas, como aqulla de fray Diego de la Cruz, un franciscano irlandsque oficiaba misas en Managua, que fue llevado a la crcel en el momento en que elevaba desde elplpito una oracin por el alma de Guilln - Ana Victoria Moraless Blog, Viajar por Irlanda. La islaesmeralda (http://unariocuartenseenirlanda.blogspot.com).

19 es un secreto que todos debamos guardar, me fue imposible ocultrsela a fray Toms de Len,religioso irlands y uno de mis ntimos amigos.

20 Letter addressed by the Viceroy Salvatierra to the king. Carrillo wrote to the king that Cerralvowanted to rise up against the kingdom. AGI, Mxico, 35, n. 15, fol.6, i.10.

21 My sabbatical in Europe prevented me from consulting the sources during the composition of thisarticle. I think that it will be very useful to do this in the future.

22 las almas del cielo podan pecar, que en el cielo todas las almas tenan igual gloria. In the sameyear and place, fray Juan de Bustos was denounced for saying that it was common to preach storiesfrom the pulpit. AGN, Inquisicin, vol. 503, f.15. In 1625 there were scandals in Cartago because of alack of knowledge of censorship and excommunications. Cartago belonged to the jurisdiction of theBishopric of Nicaragua and Costa Rica.


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23 In 1650 he was guardian of the convent of Santiago Atitln. He had conflicts with the CorregidorFrancisco de Castellanos, who seems to have tried to murder him. In 1657 he was named ProvincialCustodian in Comayagua, Honduras (Aguirre 1972).

24 Native of Guatemala, considered a great master of Indian languages. He died in 1666 (Adams 1952).

25 era muy hbil estudiante y telogo y que haba escrito contra los inquisidores, que era de lindacara y talle,que haba sido amigo del conde duque que haba enviado cdula para que fuese aEspaa, que haban cogido a Don Guilln porque haba escrito contra los inquisidores y que nohaba salido en el auto ltimo, ni se saba a donde estaba, que presuma le haban despachado a Espaay que era ms cristiano que los inquisidores y era de muy buena capacidad y talento, que dicho DonGuillen haba tenido tal ardid que se haba salido de la crcel del Santo Oficio de Mxico, que haba idoa Palacio y puesto en manos del Virrey un pliego para el Rey.

26 This refers to the astrological exercises by which Guilln attempted to divine the future of variousimportant personages.

27 que el dicho don Guilln era hbil y que levantaba figuras y que haba hablado mal del SantoTribunal [...] y que supo del mismo fraile que era el dicho don Guilln hermano de un religioso que ha

estado en la provincia de Zacatecas.28 y que solo oy en esta ciudad la voz que ha estado aqu hablar en comn de las maldades del dichodon Guilln.

29 lastimndose del susodicho que estaba injustamente preso y que era un hombre de muy grancalidad y bien emparentado en Espaa y que la causa de haberle preso era por haber denunciado ydeclarado las cosas que haban obrado los seores inquisidores dando a entender no eran justas.

30 ya tena hacienda, pues basta para que el Santo Oficio le prenda.

31 For example, one of his enemies was fray Juan de Bustos, whom fray Diego himself had put on trialfor sedition and who was also accused in Cartago in 1643.

32 es notorio mi celo a la Iglesia y a su Majestad ms que cuanta Inquisicin ha habido.

33 Basically this was the crime of providing assistance, favour and refuge to someone considered to bea heretic, although it also includes the act of obstructing the decisions of the Holy Office.

34 One fray Juan de Torres, Franciscan, managed to be named Bishop of Nicaragua and Costa Rica butdied before taking up the position in 1659.

35 que a los reyes de Espaa y a Espaa ha amado siempre y ama mucho porque en ella ha vividotanto tiempo en el servicio de Dios Nuestro Seor

36 [...] Este confesante ha deseado y desea que viva el Rey de Espaa largos aos hasta dejarherederos grandes para la conservacin de la cristiandad y ms cuando nunca conoci a otro rey y harecibido bienes de su liberal mano pues ha veintids aos que le sustenta en las Indias por capelln y

doctrinero de los indios [...] cuan mal quiere a los reyes de Inglaterra y a los de su nacin, pues tienetiranizado al reino de Irlanda y a todos quitndoles sus haciendas y a muchos las vidas.

37 Dios guardase su majestad hasta que tuviese herederos porque no se viesen sus reinos contrabajos.

38 con muy poco respeto y mucho atrevimiento contra el rey Felipe IV nuestro seor, murmurandode su gobierno y que no saba premiar sino a los lisonjeros y que no haba espaol que no fuese traidor,que solo los irlandeses eran los leales y catlicos.

39 [] sabe Dios que ms no puede tu reino y fieles vasallos/mira que es justo aliviallos/antes queotro rey lo herede []


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40 On this act, this could be the report on insulting a Portuguese religious, before a numerous audience as recounted by fray Diego in Tegucigalpa in the year 1646. AGN, Indiferente virreinal, exp. 95, caja5713.

41 que contena herejas y que era el autor un religioso de Santo Domingo llamado fray Thomas no seacuerda del apellido de nacin ingls y nacido en Londres, dedicado a Cromuel, que no sabe quien

fuese.

References

- Adams, Eleanor, Franciscan Authors in Colonial Central America in: The Americas, 8:4 (April 1952),pp. 431-73.

- Aguirre, Gerardo, La cruz de Nimajuy: Historia de la parroquia de San Pedro la Laguna (Guatemala, 1972)(Michigan University electronic resource).

- Backal, Alicia G. de, La Inquisicin en Nueva Espaa vista a travs de los ojos de un procesado: Guilln de

Lampart, siglo XVII(Mxico: Comunidad Ashkenazi de Mxico, 2000).- Crewe, Ryan Dominic, Lamport, William [Guilln Lombardo] (1610-1659) in Irish Migration Studies inLatin America, 5:1 (March 2007), pp. 74-6. (Available online at: www.irlandeses.org).

- Fernndez Collado, ngel, Gregorio XIII y Felipe II en la Nunciatura de Felipe Sega (1577-1581). Aspectospoltico, jurisdiccional y de reforma(Toledo: San Ildefonso, 1991).

- Gage, Thomas, Nueva relacin que contiene los viages de Tomas Gage en la Nueva Espaa: Sus diversas aventuras, y su vuelta por la provincia de Nicaragua hasta la Habana: con la descripcin de la Ciudad de Mjico [...](Paris:Librera de Rosa, 1838).

- Garca Hernn, Enrique, El Colegio de San Patricio de los irlandeses de Madrid, 1621-1937Available online at www.irishinspain.org (accessed 12 October 2008).

- Gonzlez Obregn, Luis, Rebeliones indgenas y precursores de la independencia mexicana en los siglos XVI,XVII y XVIII(Mxico: Fuente cultural, 1952).

- Konove, Andrew Philip, The Devil and the Irish King: Don Guilln Lombardo, the Inquisition andthe Politics of Dissent in Colonial Mexico City. Senior Thesis: Haverford College, 2004.

- Lombardo, Alberto, D. Guilln Lombardo. Estudio Histrico (Mxico: Tipografa Econmica, 1901).

- Medina, Jos Toribio, Historia del Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisicin en Mxico (Santiago de Chile:Imprenta Elzeviriana, 1905).

- Mndez Plancarte, Gabriel, Don Guilln de Lmport y su Regio Salterio. Manuscrito latino indito de 1655(Mxico: bside, 1948).

- Meza Gonzlez, Javier, El laberinto de la mentira: Guilln de Lamporte y la Inquisicin (Mxico: UniversidadAutnoma Metropolitana - Xochimilco, 1997).

- Riva Palacio, Vicente, Memorias de un Impostor. Don Guilln de Lampart, rey de Mxico (Mxico: Porra,1946).

- Ronan, Gerard, The Irish Zorro: The Extraordinary Adventures of William Lamport(1615 - 1659) (Dingle:Brandon, 2004).

- Recio Morales, Oscar, Una nacin inclinada al ruido de las armas. La presencia irlandesa en losejrcitos espaoles, 1518-1818: La historia de un xito? in Tiempos modernos, 10 (2004), pp. 1-15.

- Silva Prada, Natalia, La oposicin a la Inquisicin como expresin de la hereja: reflexiones sobre ladisidencia en el mundo colonial americano in: Herejas, nmero monogrfico de la revista electrnica

Vitral (Buenos Aires: GERE-Prohal, 2008).


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----------, Placer y dolor en la escritura de reclamo poltico: cartas, pasquines y otras especiesnovohispanas del siglo XVII in: Lillian von der Walde et al (eds.), Injerto peregrino de grandezas admirables.Estudios de literatura y cultura espaola e hispanoamericana (siglos XVI al XVIII) (Mexico: Universidad

Autnoma Metropolitana, Iztapalapa, 2007), pp.683-716.

---------, El disenso en el siglo XVII hispanoamericano: formas y fuentes de la crtica poltica in:

Riccardo Forte and Natalia Silva Prada (eds.), Cultura Poltica en Amrica: Variaciones temporales y regionales(Biblioteca de Signos) (Mexico, D.F.: Universidad Autnoma Metropolitana Unidad Iztapalapa-Casaeditora Juan Pablos-GEHCPA, 2006), pp.19-42.

- The Original Catholic Encyclopedia, Available online at: http://oce.catholic.com (accessed 1December 2008).

- Troncarelli, Fabio, El mito del zorro y la Inquisicin en Mxico: la aventura de Guilln Lombardo, 1615-1659(Lleida, Spain: Milenio, 2003).

---------, La spada e la croce: Guilln Lombardo e l'inquisizione in Messico (Rome: Salerno editrice, 1999).

- Walsh, Timothy John, The Irish Continental College Movement: The Colleges at Bordeaux, Toulouse, and Lille(Dublin: Golden Eagles, 1973).


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Arthur Griffith and Patrick McManus

By Rebecca Geraghty (1)

Abstract

On 13 June 1912 Irish revolutionary Arthur Griffith wrote to Patrick McManus in Argentina requesting financial aidfor the Sinn Fin newspaper. Griffith was a prominent leader of the Sinn Fin nationalist movement that advocated forIrish independence from the British Empire. The newspaper was the forum through which Griffith articulated his views,and a vital lifeline of the struggle for Irish freedom. In an acute hour of need, Griffith appealed to an Irish-Argentine forsupport. McManus immigrated to Argentina from Ireland in the 1880s, achieving great prosperity and actively promotingIrish cultural activities. McManuss connections to one of the foremost architects of the independent Irish state points to thesignificance of the Irish-Argentine community in this revolutionary struggle. This transnational connection betweenGriffith and McManus widens the traditional interpretive lens applied to the early twentieth century, indicating that alongwith rebels in Ireland and the United States, Argentina was also host to individuals who contributed to Irish freedom.

The Irish War of Independence relied upon anetwork of agents that stretched outside ofIrelands borders and across the Atlantic. Astandard paradigm portrays this war as thecooperation between the Irish and Irish-

American physical-force republicans against theBritish Empires domination of its island-neighbour. The wealth of scholarshipdocumenting the Irish-American contributionsto this war has placed the branch ofrevolutionary agitators in the United States at

the centre of the independence struggle. Absentfrom this traditional narrative, however, remainthe other outposts of the Irish diaspora acrossthe world.

If we broaden this conventional paradigm, andask what the implications are of treating thisindependence struggle in a global context, wecan reveal the transnational currents thatinfluenced this conflict. The Irish nationaliststruggle invoked a variety of global participants,

and these expatriates approached the war withan anti-colonial mentality gleaned from theirimmigration destinations. At a critical juncturein the nationalist movement, one of Irelandsprincipal proponents of separatism, ArthurGriffith, appealed to Argentine citizen PatrickMcManus (2) for support. McManuss presence

within Griffiths network of contacts signals that Argentina played a role in Irelandsrevolutionary efforts. By turning our glance tothe Southern region of the Americas in the year

1912, the Irish War of Independence can be

seen as an anti-colonial struggle with globalresonance.

Emerging from the cultural revival blossomingin Dublin throughout the early twentiethcentury, Arthur Griffith founded the politicalparty Sinn Fin to agitate for an independentIreland. The movements title translates fromthe Irish language as We Ourselves, andpoints to the charged cultural atmosphere from

which Griffiths vision materialised.

Over the course of British colonial rule, theIrish language had been suppressed and deridedas a primitive custom antithetical to the civilisedmanners of Empire. The language received anadditional blow from the 1840s potato famine,as many of the poorer, predominantly Irish-speaking population died of s

society for irish latin american studies

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