County History
San Patricio County Was Founded by an Irish Catholic Colony
The county takes its name from an 1829 Irish Catholic colony called San Patricio de Hibernia, making it one of the few Texas counties with Irish roots.
In 1828, John McMullen and James McGloin signed a contract to bring 200 Irish Catholic families to land in what is now South Texas. McMullen and McGloin were empresarios — land agents who recruited settlers under Mexican colonization law. The first families came from the Irish community in New York. They landed on the Texas coast in late 1829.
They named their settlement San Patricio de Hibernia. The name honors Saint Patrick. Hibernia is the Latin name for Ireland.
By 1836, about 500 people lived in the area and 84 land grants had been issued. The Republic of Texas Congress created San Patricio County that same year. The county name, and the small town of San Patricio that still exists today, both carry that Irish heritage.
The Handbook of Texas has a full account of the colony's founding and early history.
Source to confirm: TSHA Handbook — San Patricio County