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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Thomas Telford & Oisin Doherty

Mayo pub with Argentina roots backing Lionel Messi to make history on Sunday

A Mayo pub with Argentinian connections was dancing for joy last night after the South American country cruised into the final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Galway Beo reports that Guirys pub in Foxford was once again packed to the rafters with supporting cheering Argentina on as Lionel Messi turned back the years and dominated in a 3-0 win over Croatia.

Plenty of Argentine flags covered the walls of the pub, while many patrons donned the famous blue and white stripes in homage to their Argentinian roots..

READ MORE: Luka Modric gives Lionel Messi verdict which speaks volumes on World Cup respect

The connection between Foxford and Argentina goes all the way back to Mayo native William Brown.

Brown left Foxford in 1783 and eventually found his way to Argentina where he would revolutionise the countries navy and became one of the key leaders of their independence movement from Spain.

Admiral Brown is commonly referred to as "the Father of the Argentine Navy".

A post on Guirys Bar Facebook page reads: "Come on Argentina we’ll be supporting all the way from Foxford."

Beneath that post, many Irish-Argentinians thanked Foxford for their unwavering support.

One person commented: "Thanks for the support. Love you guys! From BA Argentina."

Santiago Morhan posted a picture of himself at home in Argentina wearing a Republic of Ireland jersey with the comment: "Thanks for your support! Cheers!"

A third person commented: "Thanks you! Viva Irlanda ! Viva Argentina !"

Argentinians clearly haven't forgotten Admiral Brown and his Irish roots with one person saying that every major city in Argentina has a street called Almirante Brown.

Others tried to put into context just how large an impact this son of Foxford had on the country: "We have a municipality in Buenos Aires called Almirante Brown, also a university and many streets with his name"

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