Galway, Ireland, May 2, 2024. The Cuban ambassador to Ireland, Bernardo Guanche Hernández, developed a replica, in three languages (Spanish, Gaelic and English) of the plaque dedicated to the Irishman Alexander O'Reilly, located on the famous street Havana of the same name.
With the presence of authorities from the city of Galway, Cubans residing in the western town and Professors Eddie Higgins and Nuala Keher, the Cuban diplomat thanked the latter two for the initiative that perpetuates the ties of brotherhood between the Cuban and Irish peoples.
He also recalled the parallels between Ireland and Cuba that were summarized by the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins during his visit to Cuba in 2017, when he referred to our colonial, Catholic pasts and postcolonial experiences.
Surnames, such as O'Farrill, O'Bourke, O'Halloran, O'Neal, O'Kelly and O'Reilly, the latter a who the plaque is dedicated to are components of Cuban genealogy and the mark of the Irish in the history of Cuba.
O'Really arrived in Cuba after Havana fell under British rule in 1762. He specialized in the design and updating of military fortresses and was in charge of supervising the defensive situation on the island, recovering various plazas and modernizing the castles of Morro de the Cuban capital and Santiago de Cuba. In this way, his name would remain linked to the largest of the Antilles and would end up identifying the Havana artery to this day.
The ambassador also thanked Ireland for its solidarity with the Cuban people in their fight against the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba, as well as for its exclusion from the List of countries sponsoring terrorism.