We came to San Lucar de Barrameda in Andalusia, Spain, to visit a friend who had left New York to make this once-booming southern Spanish town her new home. Her house, which was more construction site than residence, wasn’t ready for guests, so we booked a local hotel, the elegant Casa de Arizon de San Lucar. Andalusia was the last place on earth I expected to find an Irish presence, but how very wrong I was! When I checked in to the hotel, the receptionist, seeing my Irish passport, shocked me saying, “This hotel was once owned by one of your countrymen.” In the 17th and 18th century, lots of Irish people sought exile in Andalucia, mostly in the main cities of Seville, Malaga, and especially Cadiz and Irish traders soon became a familiar presence. Quickly, San Lúcar de Barrameda became an important trading center following Columbus's discoveries.
It turned out Arizon was the Spanish version of Harrison, a family of wealthy Irish merchants who fled the persecution of Catholics in 17th-century Ireland and took refuge in Spain. The Harrisons became rich enough to own this sprawling baroque residence that once combined a magnificent home with a thriving import business.
In 1709, Felix Arizon, the grandson of Irish refugees, who had amassed a lot of money as a trader with Latin American, bought the residence that later became this hotel, a sign of his considerable wealth. In 1748, his son, Jacinto Salvador de Arizón, received the title of Marqués de Casa Arizón, becoming Spanish nobility. The family grew not only successful in business, but also famous for their philanthropy. Arizon built one of San Lucar’s most charming plazas and rebuilt an important local bridge. The family also made substantial donations to various religious institutions, including the local Carmelite convent and the local Catholic church the Sanctuary of Nuestra Señora de la Caridad, but they Arizon family wasn’t the only local Irish family who achieved greatness. Today the Arizon residence is a landmark and one of the very few surviving merchant homes in Andalusia.
We took a taxi to the amazing sherry producing town of Jerez, where we became a little tipsy sipping the local sherry at the town fair. Learning that I was Irish, a friendly local insisted I join him in drinking San Patricio fino sherry, a strong dry, white, local wine from Jerez known for its delicate, yeasty flavor and slightly nutty taste. And you guessed it the Irish developed it!
San Patricio was a product of the famous Garvey family of Jerez. William Garvey, from New Ross Co. Wexford, came to Spain in 1776 to buy merino sheep for his herd. According to legend, his ship was wrecked in a dreadful storm in the bay of Cadiz and William was rescued by Spaniards. A captain in the Spanish Navy, Rafael Gómez, generously offered to have the Irishman nursed by his daughters in his house in Puerto Real. During his recovery, Garvey fell in love with one of the captain's daughters, Sebastiana Gómez Jiménez, married her in 1794 and became a wine merchant. Knowing that the British preferred sweet wines, Garvey began selling large quantities of local wines in the British market and soon became wealthy enough to purchase land. In 1780, he bought vineyards that stretched for miles just outside the town of Jerez de la Frontera with dreams of producing wine. A local legend claims that William prayed to St Patrick for guidance and promised that if he succeeded in producing a local wine, he would name his vineyard in honor of Ireland’s patron saint. Shocking the skeptical local vintners, Garvey mastered the production of fino, marketing it to the British as ‘pale’ sherry, naming his vintage “San Patricio.” It soon became an international best seller.
In 1824, his son Patrick took over the company and grew even wealthier than his father selling Fino San Patricio. Patrick built the sprawling Bodega San Patricio, the largest warehouse in Jerez at the time, holding around 8000 casks of sherry. In the 840s and ‘50s Garvey became the largest sherry exporter in Jerez, which led to his company building the luxurious Palacio Garvey, now a chic boutique hotel. In the early 1970s, Garvey acquired many local vineyards and built the Complejo Bellavista, a giant modern winery whose warehouse could accommodate 25.000 casks and bottle an amazing 38,000 bottles of sherry in an hour! More than two centuries later, sherry lovers still savor fino San Patricio. I raised a glass and toasted the Garveys and Ireland while savoring this unique Irish contribution to Spanish wine culture.
