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The outbreak of the Spanish Civil War threw Irish politics, north and south of the border, into turmoil. Ireland sent large organised bodies of men to fight on opposite sides in the Spanish Civil War, essentially enemy crusades.
A comprehensive account of the experiences of the volunteer Irish Brigade, founded and led by General Eoin O'Duffy, fighting under the Nationalist flag in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). The Brigade comprised Irish nationals who, like their leader, regarded the War as primarily a Christian crusade against Communism, with the very survival of Catholic Spain at stake. General O'Duffy, an experienced political activist, soldier, and ex-police Commissioner, was responsible for recruitment and transportation to Spain where the men were barracked at Cáceres, provided with uniforms and received basic military training. The Brigade of some 700 men remained in Spain for about six months, experiencing front-line fighting at La Marañosa and Ciempozuelos, with losses of fifteen dead and many wounded. By this time new Irish law forbade Irish citizens to join the Brigade, and with Nationalist forces well in control, it was time for the Brigade to return to Ireland. In his book the author reveals a deep concern for the welfare of his men, a patriotic love for his country, and a strong devotion to his Catholic faith. He is proud of the courage and demeanour of his troops, echoing the praise received from Spanish military, civil, and religious authorities. History has been ambivalent in its views on the role of the Irish Brigade, but in the words of O'Duffy: "We have been criticised, sneered at, slandered, but truth, charity and justice shall prevail, and time will justify our motives. We seek no praise. We did our duty. We went to Spain." This republication is enriched with a foreword by noted independent academic Michael McCormack, historian and archivist of the Ancient Order of Hibernians.
One of the enduring myths of the Franco state was that the Nationalist forces that won the Civil War consisted of patriotic Spaniards while the Republic was defended by a rag tag army of foreign 'reds.' During the Spanish civil war, however, many groups on the European right were galvanized by the Nationalist cause. European fascists, conservative Catholics and those uneasy with liberal democracy in general rallied to the figure of Franco, who appeared to be holding the line against secularism, modernism and Bolshevism. This book recounts the experiences of a number of foreign volunteers, including the brigades of White Russians, Romanians, Irish and the French volunteers in the Jeanne d'Arc battalion, all of whom saw their engagement in Spain as a means of promoting their own political causes at home. As well there were individual women and men, from the New World and the Old, who were moved by religion, politics or simply adventurism to join up with Franco. Fighting for Franco reconstructs their motivation and the mind set which took them to Spain. It thus casts a new light on Nationalist Spain and on the specific concerns of a wide variety of right-wing movements between the wars.
The Spanish Civil War (1936-39) has been described as the last great cause and as a poet's war. This text examines the links between these two descripts through a critical analysis of the role of the International Brigades as defenders of the Spanish Republic against tyranny and fascism.
Introduction / McLoughlin and O'Connor -- Ireland and the SCW: the setting, Spain and Europe in 1936, clericalism and anti-clericalism in Spain and Ireland, politics in Ireland / O'Connor -- Northern Ireland and the SCW: contrasting perspectives of Unionists and nationalists on Spain / O'Connor -- First actions: Madrid, Lopera, and the defection of the Irish from the British battalion to the Lincoln battalion in January 1936 / O'Connor -- Blood and Boredom at the Jarama: February-June 1937 / McLoughlin -- Frank Ryan and the politics of the SCW in Ireland / O'Connor -- Republican offensives (I): Pozoblanco, Brunete / McLoughlin -- Republican Offensives (II): Aragón, Teruel / McLoughlin -- Retreat and Capture, March 1938: Irish POWs / McLoughlin -- Frank Ryan's trial and imprisonment, 1938-1939 / McLoughlin -- Attempts to Frank Ryan Released, 1939-1940 / McLoughlin -- The Irish volunteers: discipline, desertion and punishment / McLoughlin and O'Connor -- Over the Ebro: Last battle of the Internationals, July-September 1938 / McLoughlin -- Withdrawal, homecoming, and the politics of commemoration / O'Connor -- Conclusion / McLoughlin and O'Connor.
Most of the prominent figures from Ireland's revolutionary generation have been endlessly profiled and commemorated but the controversial General Eoin O'Duffy remains a pariah. Despite reaching the heights of leadership in the republican movement during the Irish revolutionary period--and subsequently becoming a key state-builder in early independent Ireland as head of the national police force--O'Duffy's legacy retains a whiff of sulphur. It has been tarnished by his controversial political career in the 1930s, including his leadership of the fascistic Blueshirts and his pro-Franco involvement in the Spanish Civil War. Using a blend of well-charted and previously overlooked or unavailable material, this book examines the tumultuous periods of Ireland's struggle for independence and the early Irish Free State. It foregrounds O'Duffy's place within pro-treaty Irish nationalism. A militarist and supporter of Michael Collins, he became a safe pair of hands relied upon to rescue the pro-treaty regime during crises.The book offers new interpretations on his involvement with international fascism and provides a much needed nuance on the prevalence of crypto-fascist outlooks in the 1930s. It seeks to blow away the cobwebs of mythology and recalibrate our understanding of this most controversial Irishman.
The author of Fighting for Spain delivers “a military history focused on three major battles, Brunete, Belchite and Teruel . . . meticulously researched” (Historical Novel Society). Why did the Spanish Republic lose the Spanish Civil War—and could the Republic have won? These are the key questions Alexander Clifford addresses in this in-depth study of the People’s Army and the critical battles of Brunete, Belchite and Teruel. These battles represented the Republic’s best chance of military success, but after bitter fighting its forces were beaten back. From then on, the Republic, facing the superior army of Franco and the Nationalists, aided by Germany and Italy, faced inevitable defeat. This tightly focused and perceptive account of the military history of the Republic and its army is fascinating reading. As well as providing a broad overview of the strategy and tactics of the People’s Army and its Nationalist opponents, Alexander Clifford quotes vivid eyewitness testimony to give the reader a direct insight into the experience of the frontline soldiers on both sides during these three critical battles. Their recollections reveal to the reader what it was like to fight in the scorching heat of the plains around Brunete, in the shattered streets of Belchite—still ruined to this day—and in the frozen hills of Teruel.
