Book Talk: The Irish in Hong Kong

Since its foundation, Irish people have played an extraordinary role in the construction and development of Hong Kong, in government, the army, police, judiciary, finance and in civil society – schools, hospitals, churches and welfare institutions. Ireland provided nine Governors, five Chief Justices, nuns who cured the city of tuberculosis and priests and ministers who founded high-quality schools that have transformed the lives of thousands of Hong Kong people. They are still flourishing today and are the choice of many Hong Kong parents. In sport, also, the Irish have made a great contribution to the territory – in racing, the Rugby Sevens and, most famously, Siobhan Haughey, the first Hong Kong athlete to win four Olympic medals.

This is the first book to give a comprehensive and detailed account of this Irish history. It fills a hole in the rich and multinational story of Hong Kong.

Mark O’Neill was born in London, England and educated at Marlborough College and New College, Oxford. He worked in Washington, DC, Manchester and Belfast before coming to Hong Kong in 1978. He has lived in Asia ever since. He worked as a journalist for 30 years here, in Taiwan, India, the PRC and Japan, for Reuters, SCMP and many other publications. Since 2006, he has been writing books on Chinese, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau history and society. He has completed 20 so far in English. Eight have been translated into traditional Chinese and three into simplified Chinese. He speaks French, Mandarin and Cantonese.