Happy Saint Patrick's Day, y'all! On this day in 1836, San Patricio County was established, with the town of San Patricio de Hibernia on the Nueces River named the county seat. "San Patricio," of course, is Spanish for "Saint Patrick," and the town and county received this name because "Saint Patrick" was the patron saint of the Irish Catholic families who settled the area in the late 1820s, when it was still part of the Mexican state of Coahuila and Texas.
In the 1840s, a small number of Irishmen from San Patricio County actually deserted the US Army and headed south to fight for Santa Anna in the Mexican War. See the link below to read a fascinating article Bud Kennedy of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has written on the subject.
In celebration of Saint Patrick's Day, here is the old Irish song, "The Bard of Armaugh," the tune of which was later used for "The Streets of Laredo."
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