Documentary on Newstalk presents - ‘The Southern Cross – The Irish Argentine Connection’. Telling the story of the longest running publication of the Irish diaspora in the world.

In ‘The Southern Cross – The Irish Argentine Connection’, radio producer Ciarán Ryan travels to Buenos Aires, Argentina to find out more about The Southern Cross, a newspaper that was launched in 1875 by an Irish priest.

The Southern Cross has had a lively and fascinating existence since, and this is unpacked in this one-off documentary. A newspaper with a Catholic ethos at its core, The Southern Cross has been a significant part of the Argentine-Irish community for almost 150 years.  In a pre-internet era, we will hear that it was very much a part of every Irish household in Buenos Aires and beyond.

‘The Southern Cross – The Irish Argentine Connection’ will air on Newstalk on Sunday December 11th, repeated Saturday December 17th at 10pm And will be available as a podcast on GoLoud and all major platforms. 

The documentary meets eminent historians and scholars both in Ireland and Argentina who have researched the role of the newspaper in the lives of the Irish diaspora. It also features contributions from some of those who have written, or indeed continue to write and edit The Southern Cross, which is now a more sporadic publication.

The contributions of those who are part of the Irish community today gives interesting insights into their sense of an Irish identity, while simultaneously exploring the future of such a publication will over a century since the last mass migration of Irish people to Argentina.

‘The Southern Cross – The Irish Argentine Connection’ was produced by Ciarán Ryan. The project was supported by a grant from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, as part of the Sound and Vision Scheme.