[1] Richard "Ricardo" Wall y Devereux was born at Nantes to a family of Irish Jacobite refugees, supporters of the Catholic James II, deposed King of England, Scotland and Ireland.

He was baptized two days after his birth at the Cathedral Church of Saint Nicholas in unfavourable circumstances: his father, Matthew "Matías" Wall of Killmallock, County Limerick, a long-serving officer in King James II's cavalry, was absent.

In 1716, he left France and joined the Royal House of Spain following a letter of request from the Prime Minister, Cardinal Alberoni, signed by the 38-year-old Dowager Duchess of Vendôme, Marie-Anne de Borbón-Condé.

Wall's diplomatic mission to London was for negotiating peace between the Bourbons and Great Britain, but it soon ran into difficulties not least because of reservations in British ministerial quarters about his Irish and Jacobite roots, but also from infighting on the Spanish side by the Marquess of Tabuérniga later de La Ensenada who had coveted his position.

Wall is depicted in a portrait by Van Loo (now at the National Gallery, Dublín), and he sponsored the Arts in general, commissioning a "Santiago" by Tiépolo for his private chapel (now hanging at the Szépmüvészeti Múzeum in Budapest), as well as written works such as those by Smollett, including the translation of Don Quixote (1755) which is dedicated to him.

A few months later he played a part in driving Carvajal's successor the Marquess de La Ensenada from office, thereby also helping Huescar and the British Ambassador, Sir Benjamin Keene.

When Spain declared War in 1761, Wall as Prime Minister naturally carried out his King's decree, although he later confessed to Lord Bristol, the British Ambassador, some regret with the benefit of hindsight that he could see the failure of his efforts in preserving the peace.

Throughout his Spanish government service Wall built a network of relationships which survived his tenure for several decades perhaps even helping Spain during the following reign of King Charles IV.

Among his committed Irish supporters were the engineer William Bowles (1720–84) who studied the geology of Spain, Pedro Fitz-James Stuart, the de Lacy family, Alejandro O'Reilly, Arnold later Lord Mahoney, Carlos McCarthy, Francis Nangle, Ambrosio O'Higgins and Bernard Ward.

[citation needed] General Wall spent the rest of his life, until 1777, between homes in Alhama de Almeria and near Granada, welcoming all visitors and particularly English travelers exploring Spain's culture.

NB: some clarifications on General Wall's life: contrary to Coxe's writings he was never sent on a mission to Spanish America nor did he lay plans for retaking Jamaica from the British.