Faith and ahora — the one that got away

Early last summer, I was asked to write a short article on John Riley and the San Patricios for an Irish historical publication.  Alas, other things kept interfering and, having pushed back my deadline to September, and now it being nearly Christmas, I have the feeling the project may be permanently shelved.

Still, it isn’t a complete wash.   One primary source I’d intended to use, and one I’d read with great benefit when writing Gods, Gachupines and Gringos, was Michael Mack Hogan’s “Irish Soldiers of Mexico,” published in Guadalajara in 1996.  My own copy having disappeared along with most of my Mexican history library in the course of writing my own book (and moving between Houston, Cuernavaca, Mexico City, Fort Worth, west Texas and Mazatlán), I’ve been rebuiding the library here, and acquiring several new sources.

When I decided to write my article,  I also was considering another article on Don Pedro Alonso O’Crouley y O’Donnell, a Cadiz merchant of Irish descent who traveled through north-west Mexico (which in his time also included today’s Arizona, New Mexico and west Texas).  In one of the on-line catalogs, I found an English translation of  O’Crouley’s 1774 Idea compendiosa del Reyno de Nueva España had been done by Irish writer, Seán Galvin, as  “A Description of the Kingdom of New Spain”  and printed in a limited, rather lavish hard-back (with some gorgeous color plates and a big honkin’ map of 1774 Nueva España), which was impossible to resist.

After shelling out more than I should, I was in a bind when the least expensive copy of The Irish in Mexico back then was around a hundred U.S. dollars. I could take the bus to Guadalajara, stay overnight, buy the book from the publisher and return to Mazatlán for less than that.  Which I would have done, if they still had copies… which they didn’t.  I looked everywhere for something less expensive, and was ready to beg (I’m not particularly proud) when I sent an e-mail to Dr. Hogan, who managed to find a slightly water-damaged copy of the final press run for a book that should have been in print.

Of course, the logical publisher of books on Mexico, especially by writers living in Mexico is Editorial Mazatlán.  And, perhaps we still will snag a book from Dr. Hogan.  But, in the meantime… why be churlish.  Tis the season and all that… and I’m happy to see The Irish Soldiers of Mexico made available at a reasonable price.  Dr. Hogan passes this along:

The Irish Soldiers of Mexico which has been out of print since 2004 is now available in a Kindle Edition at Amazon. This is a revised edition with maps, photographs, hundreds of references. In addition, it also has the following:

1.      Historical updates including the death of John Riley and the certification by a parish priest in Vera Cruz.

2.      Information about John Riley’s last days, his mustering out and the location of his remains.

3.      New commemorative events and activities of the San Patricio battalion including films and documentaries.

4.      The dedication of a bust of John Riley in Mexico City by the Irish Ambassador in 2010.

5.      Irish/Mexican commemorations by the Irish Friendship League of Chicago.

6.      A new San Patricio CD by the Chieftains.

7.      New novels on the San Patricios and the Mexican War.

The original book published in 1996 went out of print in 2004 when the Mexican university press lost its U.S. distributor.

That 9.99 USD is the price in the United States.  It’s 11.99 in Mexico, but still worth every centavo.  Buy it… after buying Gods, Gachupines and Gringos (in paperback or “kindle” edition… or both!) of course.