Mayo town get huge shout out from Argentinian World Cup winner

An Irish town has been given a huge shout out by World Cup-winning ace Alexis Mac Allister.

The link between Foxford and Argentina goes all the way back to Mayo man William Brown. And, Mac Allister, whose lineage can be traced to Donabate in Co Dublin, shared a short clip of himself signing jerseys. He said: “Hello Foxford, this shirt is for you.”

One of Mayo’s most famous sons, Brown left Foxford as a teenager in 1793 and found his way to Argentina after being press-ganged into service for the British Crown in the Napoleonic Wars.

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Almirante Guillermo Brown, as he is known in Argentina, would revolutionise the South American country’s armed services and is commonly referred to as “the Father of the Argentine Navy”. Today, there are more than 1,200 streets named in his honour around his adopted homeland.

Foxford, which has around 1,500 residents became famous outside of Ireland and Argentina during the 2022 World Cup, which Lionel Messi’s side won, as one direct descendant of Foxford emigrants, Inter Milan forward Lautaro Martinez, played a central role in the Albisceleste’s route to victory.

As scenes of joy erupted in Foxford during the tournament in Qatar, many Argentines shared their love for the tiny town, and emphasised the impact that its most famous sons had on the country. One proud Argentine said at the time: “Every big city has a street called Almirante Brown. We never forget.”

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