The Relationship between irish people & Somalis (Irish of Africa)( 150 years ago)

I was often wondering, being a Irish myself, what may be behind when Sir Richard Burton-not today’s Celtic thespian, but the explorer and linguist who discovered one of the sources of the Nile, mapped much of Africa, and was the first non-Muslim to visit Mecca and survive-left Aden in 1854 and traveled across the Gulf into an unknown land. Five months later, with a Somali spear having pierced his jaw and with one of his companions dead on the beach at Berbera, he returned to “civilization.” Burton had visited the holy city of Harar, had recorded the customs and language of the Somali, and described the people as “a fierce race of Republicans, the Irish of Africa” (see his classic First Footsteps in East Africa). In addition to their possessive love of the land, the Somali had other typical Celtic qualities: great respect for poetry, religion, song, democracy, and age. They loved to talk and had a highly developed sense of humor. They were brave but reckless. As Burton noted, they had “an unquestioned-if not occasionally injudicious-warlike manner.” Above all they had a fanatic pride in Somalia and the Somalis. Burton wrote: “they are full of curiosity and travel the world accepting almost any job without feeling a sense of inferiority, perhaps because they believe that they are superior to everyone else.” Irish indeed.

 It is not irrelevant that Burton’s background included a grandfather who was the Protestant pastor of Tuam in Galway and a father who “was a thorough Irishman.” Burton noted that his father constantly spent the family fortune “on the wildest speculations,” and on two separate occasions, after wounding an adversary in a duel over a minor matter, he devotedly nursed his opponents back to health. Clearly, Burton was the right man to initiate Western contact with the Somalis and open the area for exploration

1907-  The first  Irish International Exhibition  which was held 1907 in Dublin A party of Somalis has been imported from British Somaliland, which is situated in the Horn of  Africa  it was first black Africans landed the irish soil, the Exhibition of 1907 was  happened because of the vision of one man, the commitment of another and the management skills of a third. Their names are William Dennehy, William Martin Murphy and James Shanks, together with many people who helped in the creation of the Exhibition, they made the Exhibition the sensation of 1907. The purpose of the exhibition was to highlight the Irish industrial endeavour-

The exposition ran from 4 May to 9 November 1907,  received 2.75 million visitors[  covered 52 acres  and made a loss of about £100 000 sterling, although this was underwritten by guarantors.

As well as contributions from countries including Canada, France and New Zealand there were displays of motor cars, electric and gas lighting and machinery; fine art displays including work by Eva Henrietta Hamilton; funfair amusements;  a display depicting life in British Somaliland, the ‘Somali village’, was the exhibition’s most popular attraction.

You can only imagine how distressing the situation must have been for younger members of the community who were essentially put on exhibition for Dubliners to gawk at. This newspaper report from 14 May 1907 shows that rumours of ill-health existed during the period of the International Exhibition  Irish times on 14  may 1907 reported :

         The Irish Times, 14 May 1907

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 In  recent years Irish Non-Governmental organisations such as Goal, Trócaire, Concern Worldwide, and Action Aid have contributed to humanitarian and development programmes in somali regions in Ethiopia,Somaliland,Somalia, & Kenya. Through Irish Aid, the Government of Ireland annually provides €6.5 million to NGOs working in Kenya.

that  is why traditionally the relationship between Irish and somalis were always good & friendly.