John McKay was born in County Wexford in 1830 and by 1867 had managed to arrive in Mocorito, Sinaloa. Other Irish had preceeded him to Mocorito but we do not know if he knew of them (I did not write down the information; the Irish names can be seen in church records of the early 19th century). Based on his wedding information record, we know McKay was initially a blacksmith or iron monger. A family story was that when McKay arrived at the dock in Topolobampo, a Mayo indian woman sewed his torn pants and he subsequently married her. The event might have happened, but his wife, Maria Avila Felix, was listed as "Espanola" on her baptismal entry. They had two daughters, Alberta and Teresa, the latter my grandmother, who married Pedro Inzunza Gaxiola (two of the many Basque families that settled Mocorito). Alberta is buried in the Mocorito cemeteery; Teresa died in Mexico City in 1949. The notarial records show John McKay, usually as Juan Mecay, in various commercial transactions, often working with his son-in-law in the importation of mining equipment from Germany, and also in one case posting a bail bond for two assailants who may have been in the employ of McKay to collect money. His Mocorito townhouse bordered the Pedro Inzunza home on Calle Juarez and as of 1994 still stood. It is unlikely that McKay ever returned to Eire. A few of his descendants, however, have attended boarding schools in Ireland.