July 8 - 14, 2000

Michael Hogan, author of "Irish Soldiers of Mexico," and Brigadier General Clever Chavez Marin were honored this week by the Mexican Society of Geography and Statistics for their contributions to Mexican history, and for "meticulous scholarship." They were each presented with a gold medal from the society and given lifetime memberships.

The Society, founded in 1833, is the oldest professional society for historians, geographers, natural scientists and anthropologists in Mexico. Membership is exclusive and comes only from internal nomination to the board of directors for notable contributions in the field. The nomination is then followed by a "trabajo de ingreso" or entrance work, which presents new data in the field of history or science.

Hogan provided new material on the Mexican - American War from his study of archival documents never published. In addition, he premiered his documentary "The Soldiers of St. Patrick" for the society which, along with his book, had been translated in Spanish by Chavez Marin. Both Hogan and Chavez were instrumental in persuading the Mexican government to place the "Batallon de San Patricio" in gold letters in the Camera de Diputados in Mexico City alongside the other "Heroes of the Republic" such as Hidalgo and Morelos. In addition, they convinced both the Irish and Mexican governments to issue a commemorative postage stamp honoring the Irish heroes.