Irish Passengers to Argentina

As it has already been well documented,  most of the Irish who went to Argentina were from concentrated areas in Ireland, making their origin documentable. Some 60% came from counties Westmeath, Longford and North Offaly, 15% from County Wexford, 3% from County Cork, 3% from County Clare and 15% from the rest of the country. It is now easier than ever to document their arrival in Argentina, and for some periods of time, their leaving Ireland.

The passenger lists arriving in Buenos Aires (1821-1870) are on microfilm at the Family History Library: www.familysearch.org The records list the name, age, place of birth (usually country) and relationships between persons traveling together. Sometimes passport information is provided (FHL Microfilm #1840670-84).

The compilation “Irish Passengers to Argentina (1822-1929) includes 7,159 passengers. It is actually a published version of a database compiled from several sources including Eduardo A. Coglan’s El Aporte de los Irlandeses a la Formación de la Nación Argentina (Buenos Aires, 1982). It is online at the website for the Society for Irish Latin American Studies: www.irishargentine.org/passenger.htm This is a free database. When studying the database, remember in Argentina, the Irish were often listed as English. Part of this compilation comes from these passenger arrival records.

Now concerning leaving Irish ports, these are part of the British Board of Trade records (BT 27) and include ships leaving the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (Northern Ireland after 1922) beginning in 1890. This large archive of records is indexed with digitized images on the FindMyPast website: www.findmypast.co.ukas  “Passenger Lists Leaving UK 1890-1960.” This is a subscription or “Pay as You Go” website. 

From the UK ports, ships in this database were bound to the Argentine ports of Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Campana, Gallegos, Ibicuy, La Plata, Puerto Madrya, River Plate, Rosario, Tierra Del Fuego, Villa Constitucion and Zarate.

Documenting your family or the branch of your family arriving in Argentina  has never been easier.