Nineteenth-century South Africa did not attract mass Irish migration, but Irish communities were to be found in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Kimberley, and Johannesburg, with smaller communities in Pretoria, Barberton, Durban and East London.

As one would expect, a fair number of those in British colonial service in the sub-continent were Irish. A third of the Cape's governors were Irish, as were many of the judges and politicians.

Today the city of Durban has a large and active Irish community, and many famous Irish South Africans have come from this city.

The descendants of Irish immigrants to South Afirca have lived in the country for generations. Here are just a few examples of what the Irish diaspora in Africa looks like.