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Witness History: The small Irish town known as ‘Little Brazil’

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The small Irish town known as ‘Little Brazil’

15/02/2024 GMT

BBC World Service - Witness History, The small Irish town known as ‘Little Brazil’

How Gort in the west of Ireland became home to so many Brazilians

In the late 1990s, hundreds of out-of-work butchers left their homes in Brazil for a new life in Gort, a small town in the west of Ireland.

Gort in the west of Ireland is known by the nickname ‘Little Brazil’ because it’s home to so many Brazilians.

They first came to Ireland in the late 1990s to work in the town’s meat factory.

Lucimeire Trindade was just 24-years-old when she and three friends arrived in the town, unable to speak a word of English or Irish.

Nearly 25 years later, Lucimeire considers Gort her true home.

She tells Vicky Farncombe how being in Ireland changed her outlook on life.

“I learned that a woman can have their own life, especially going to the pub alone without their husbands!”

(Photo: Traditional Brazilian carnival dancers strut their stuff in Gort. Credit: John Kelly, Clare Champion)

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The small Irish town known as ‘Little Brazil’

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