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Why did contrasting views exist in Ireland resulting in Irishmen fighting on opposing

sides of the Spanish Civil War?

Timothy Molloy

Bachelor of Arts in European Studies

March 2014

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Title Page

Name : Timothy Molloy

I.D Number : 1013452

Project title : Why did contrasting views exist in Ireland resulting in Irishmen

fighting on opposing sides of the Spanish Civil War?

Internal Supervisor: Teresa Cuixeres

Degree Title : Batchelor of arts in European Studies

Date : March 6th, 2014

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Abstract

This paper looks at the rise of Socialism in Ireland from 1926 until the outbreak of the

Spanish Civil War. It shows how the Socialist Republicans came into conflict with the

highly anti-Communist right wing forces. The Cumann na nGaedheal government and the

Army Comrades Association formed the organisation the Blueshirts. The Blueshirts were

extremely opposed to the IRA because they practiced left wing ideas. It was mainly an

ideological conflict between these two groups, however the violence was heightened by

Irish civil war violence as the right wing were predominantly pro-treaty and the left wing

were anti-treaty. This paper analyses the comparison in motives of the people who fought

in the Irish Brigade and the International Brigade by tracing Irish history.

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Correction Sheet

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Table of Contents

Introduction..............................................7

Literature Review....................................10

Chapter 1................................................14

Chapter 2................................................22

Chapter 3................................................32

Conclusion..............................................40

Bibliography............................................41

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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Teresa Cuixeres for her time that she gave me to help complete this

project. It was a pleasure working with you.

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Introduction

The Spanish civil war took place between the years of 1936 and 1939 between the

Republicans and the Nationalists. The Republicans in Spain, also known as the Popular

Front came to power on February 16 in an election, defeating the right-wing Nationalist

Front . The rebellious Nationalists were under the leadership of Francisco Franco who

sought to defend law and order and the freedom and rights of the Spanish people from the

danger of a communist dictatorship. Franco’s Nationalists consisted of groups such as the

Falange and the CEDA who were predominantly Fascist and protective of Christianity in

Spain. These groups were opposed by Communist Russia, Socialists and Anarchists in

Spain. The outbreak of the war gained immediate international attention because it was

characterized mostly as a left/right ideological conflict. The right wing Nationalists were

supported by Fascist Italy and also Nazi Germany. The left wing republicans were

supported by the volunteers in the International Brigades and Soviet Russia.

The reaction to the Spanish civil war in Ireland was unique because there was also an

ideological conflict between left and right wing groups at that time. It wasn’t solely the rise

of socialism and the rise of fascism that caused Irish people to fight on opposing sides of

the war, it was the tension between these two ideologies. The Blueshirts were completely

opposed to Communism and members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) were hostile to

the ideas of the Blueshirts and claimed that they were Fascists. The tension between the

right and left wing in Ireland had the added dimension of also being divided over the terms

of the Anglo Irish Treaty. The Blueshirts and Cumainn na nGaedheal who were backed by

the Catholic church were right wing and pro-treaty. It was only some leaders of the IRA

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who wanted to express socialist ideas and these leaders formed an alliance with the

Communist Party of Ireland (CPI) in the Republican Congress. This part of the project will

describe the ways in which the left groups came into conflict with the right wing groups.

The majority of people in Ireland supported Franco’s Nationalists in the Spanish civil war.

The Catholic church in Ireland contributed greatly to the support for Franco as it was

completely opposed to communism. The church became involved in the left and right wing

conflict as it also wanted to prevent socialist ideas from expanding. The church in Ireland

was very powerful in the early 1930’s and it was highly regarded amongst the population

of Ireland. The republican left (Saor Eire and the IRA) came into conflict with the church

on numerous occasions during this time due to the radical trends within these groups. The

church and the state declared Saor Eire and the IRA unlawful because of these radical

trends. These conflicts will be analyzed in great detail and thus will show why contrasting

views about the Spanish civil war began to develop.

Another theory that will be argued is that the Socialist and Blueshirt movements did

not succeed in Ireland and that this led to their participation in the war. Those who fought

in the international brigades may have joined the war because they thought the socialist

movement was not making enough progress in Ireland. The Blueshirt movement will also

be reviewed in detail to find out if it was their failure in Ireland that contributed to their

participation in the Spanish civil war. The foundation of the Irish Christian Front in

August 1936 also significantly influenced the Irish support for the Spanish Nationalists

because it highlighted the threat of Communism through pro-catholic rallies. Patrick

Belton was the organisation’s leader and he also publicised the massacres of the Catholic

clergy and sent aid and money to Franco. Eoin O’Duffy was another important figure in

Ireland before the outbreak of the Spanish civil war. He became the second commissioner

of the Guarda síochana and he was associated with the Cumann Na gheadheal government

before he led an organisation called the Army Comrades Association or the Blueshirts.

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O’Duffy began to embrace the Fascist ideology as he was a big admirer of Benito

Mussolini. O’Duffy set up another party called the National Corporate Party after he

resigned as leader of Fine Gael. This party was principally Fascist. The motives of the

Irish Brigade were to oppose Communism and to stand up for the Catholic Church in

Spain.

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Literature Review

The most relevant books for this research topic are Irish politics and the Spanish

civil war by Fearghal McGarry, The Irish and The Spanish civil war 1936-1939 by

Robert A. Stradling, The blueshirts by Maurice Manning, Radicals and the

Republic by Richard English, The Oracles Of God by Patrick Murray, Roddy

Connolly and the Struggle for Socialism in Ireland by Charlie McGuire and In

Green And Red by Adrian Hoar . Irish politics and the Spanish civil war examines

the response of the Irish free state to the Spanish civil war in a very broad way. He

focuses most of the literature on the actual war that the Irishmen fought in Spain but

he also gives examples of right and left wing conflict within Ireland in an objective

fashion. He says how MacRory declared it a scandal and an outrage that an Irish

Catholic body should be guilty of pledging support to such a campaign’1, McGarry

then summarizes the reply of Frank Ryan to Cardinal MacRory, he says that similiar

anti-clerical outrages had occurred in Monarchist Spain in 1909 when ’reds’ were

unknown’2.

The book Oracles of God by Patrick Murray looks at the threat of the rise of

Communism in Ireland from the perspective of the Catholic church and the

governments of Cumann Na nGaedheal and Fianna Fáil. It gives evidence of

conflicts between the Church and the IRA from 1926 until the Spanish civil war in

1 Fearghal McGarry, Irish politics and the Spanish civil war, (Cork 1999)

2 Fearghal McGarry, Irish Politics and the Spanish civil war, p.94

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1936. Murray says that in 1929 there was ‘an enlistment of bishops on the side of

law and order and and public safety acts to deal with Saor Eire and the IRA’3. This

suggests that the influence of the church was needed to halt the socialist republican

movement. Murray also portrays the power of the church when he says ‘the

combined offensive by church and state caused widespread panic among supporters

of republican radicalism.

Radicals and the Republic looks at Socialism in the Irish Free state between

the years of 1925-1937. It explains how the Socialist republican movement took

flight and ultimately how it failed to gain significant progress in Ireland. The

founding of the Republican Congress in 1934 was the start of the movement and its

ideas were aimed at the ‘re-establishment of an independent Republic for a United

Ireland 4. It was a movement with the intentions of achieving national

independence but its republicanism was different from that of De Valera’s

government because it was a class-struggling version of republicanism i.e Socialist.

Radicals and the republic offers an analysis of how the socialist republican

movement failed and how that was linked to Irish participation in the Spanish civil

war. Conflict between Socialists and the Fascists gained media attention all over

Ireland. According to English the Socialists believed that the Spanish civil war was

not religious, it was merely a fight between Democracy and Fascism. Although the

Congress failed and its significance passed it did make it easier to recruit anti-treaty

IRA volunteers to fight in Spain.

3 Patrick Murray, ‘Oracles of God‘ The Roman Catholic Church and Irish Politics,1922-37 (Dublin 2000)

p.320 4 Richard English, Radicals and the republic, Socialist Republicanism in the Irish Free state 1925-1937,

(United States, 1994). p.219

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The Blueshirts by Maurice Manning gives an account of the Irish Brigades side

of the war and describes how the influence of O’Duffy led to their participation in

the war. Members of the Fine Gael party doubted that O’Duffy had what it took to

take over the party because he was a ‘Fascist at heart’5. O’Duffy then left Fine Gael

and said he was going to found a new party called the National Corporate Party. In

1935, he began the first meetings in Blueshirt areas such as Cork and Tipperary.

Their main ideas were to oppose Communism, Capitalism and those who interfered

with individual liberty. He was then asked to organise a Brigade to fight with the

Nationalists in Spain. Manning includes a range of primary sources which account

for the rise and decline of Eoin O’Duffy.

Roddy Connolly and the Struggle for Socialism gives an account of the rise of

the Communist Party of Ireland since the outbreak of the Irish civil war. McGuire

provides evidence that the CPI was completely against Blueshirtism which adds to

the argument that this ideological conflict in Ireland led to participation in the

Spanish civil war. In Green and Red gives an account of the life of Frank Ryan. It

provides evidence of the conflicts that existed between left and right wing

organisations and describes motives of the volunteers in the International Brigades.

In Conclusion, Richard English’s book describes the Socialist movement in

Ireland whereas Maurice Manning’s book describes the rise of the Blueshirts and

the decline of Eoin O’Duffy. The contrasting views existed in Ireland because of

these different interpretations of what the war actually was in Spain. Socialist

republicans in Ireland felt a connection with the Republic in Spain and according to

Gilmore there was no ‘Priest or religious molested’ in the basque province in

5 Maurice Manning, The Blueshirts, (Dublin, 1970) p.198.

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Spain6. The influence of O’Duffy and the Irish Newspapers turned a lot of people

to support the Franco side of the war. The Catholics in Ireland viewed the Spanish

civil war as a fight against Communism which caused them to fight on the side of

Franco.

6 Richard English, Radicals and the Republic: Socialist Republicanism in the Irish Free state 1925-1937

p.247

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Background

Early twentieth century Ireland represented extreme violence as the Irish republicans

sought to gain full independence from Britain. Ireland had been under british rule since

the act of union in 1801. The struggle for independence took the form of an uprising in

1916 and then a war of Independence against the British forces in 1919. This war reflected

mostly sectarian riots and murders7 . The war came to end an in 1921 when both sides

agreed to a ceasefire which resulted in an agreement that formed the Anglo-Irish Treaty

and the establishment of the first Dáil in Ireland in 1919. The Treaty led to the

establishment of an Irish Free state but it also stated that Northern Ireland was free to opt

out of the Irish Free state which they did. Eamon De Valera and Cathal Brugha, members

of Sinn Fein, refused to accept the validity of the Treaty so they withdrew from the Dáil 8.

The main reason why they would not accept the treaty was due to the fact that they would

have to take an oath of allegiance to the Queen of England. The Anglo Irish treaty caused

temporary peace in Ireland as popular opinion was in supoport of the treaty, however anti-

treaty members were fully committed to military intervention against the pro-treaty

faction.

Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith agreed to set up a provisional government and

accepted the treaty as a stepping stone to full freedom. This bitter division in Ireland soon

turned into civil war in June 1922. The pro-treatyite government had the support from

British forces who offered greater military resources to help defeat the ‘irregular’ IRA 9.

The pro treatyites were also backed by the church and popular opinion. This violent

7 Fearghal McGarry, Irish Politics and the Spanish Civil war, (Cork 1999) p.2

8 Maurice Manning, The Blueshirts (Dublin 1970) p.2

9 Fearghal McGarry, Irish politics and the Spanish civil war p.4

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conflict ended with a ceasefire by the anti-treatyites who were now a defeated force. The

two main leaders of the pro-treaty Sinn Fein, Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith died in

August 1922 during the early stages of the Irish civil war. One of the leaders who survived

the civil war was William Cosgrave and he took over the pro treaty Irish Free state under

the name Cumann naGaedheal 10

. The Cumann naGaedheal government were in power

from 1923 until Fianna Fail were elected in 1932. After the civil war the defeated

republican forces became disorganised and dispirited as many leaders emigrated or were

put in prison 11

. There was little opposition to the Free state government as Sinn Fein

followed a policy of abstentionism in the general election of 1923. The labour party

provided very little opposition to Cumann NaGaedheal after the civil war because the party

was split up. The division and violence that the civil war caused, would be a dominant

theme in Ireland until the outbreak of the Spanish civil war. More evidence will show how

the left and right wing violence escalated because of the divisions of the Irish civil war.

Eoin O’Duffy, a former IRA man who fought in the Irish war of Independence,

accepted the anglo Irish treaty along with Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith. He was

born in county Monaghan and became involved with the Gaelic Athletic Association and

the Irish Volunteers12

He took an active role during the civil war, serving as general of the

National Army for the Irish Free state side. According to an ‘irregular’ IRA member

Peadar O’Donnell, O’Duffy was an antagonist for his extreme ‘reprisals’ policy that he

carried out against the anti treaty members during the Irish civil war13

. This hatred

between Pro-treaty and anti-treaty members was to continue throughout the 1920’s as the

IRA restructured itself into a secret army whose enemy was the Irish Free state. Many

political parties saw the IRA as a ‘dangerous nuisance’ that was capable of causing

10

Fearghal McGarry, Irish politics and the spanish civil war p.4 11

Maurice Manning, The Blueshirts p.6 12

Fearghal McGarry Irish politics and the spanish civil war p.18 13

Fearghal McGarry, Irish Politics and the Spanish civil war p.19

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political instability 14

. Ultimately Ireland was a country filled with division in the

aftermath of the civil war. New radical ideologies were now about to transpire within the

IRA that would prove controversial with O’Duffy and the Cumann Na nGaedheal

government . Men like Peadar O’Donnell, Frank Ryan and George Gilmore found

expression in a socialist version of republicanism.

1926-1929 The rise of socialist ideas in Ireland. The Communist Party of Ireland and

left wing tendencies within the IRA.

Irish Socialist republicanism refers to the aim of achieving a socialist society or the

establishment of a workers republic. Socialists believe that economic inequalities and a

class based society should not exist. Socialism in Ireland gained a lot of momentum from

1926 until the Spanish civil war but it was never able to gain significant power in

government. The reasons why they failed to gain such power are numerous. The lack of

support for the socialist parties or organisations, the growing anti-communist feeling

throughout Ireland and the fact that there were various splits within the socialist republican

movements. The failure of the socialist movements is one the main reason why Ireland

participated in the international brigades. They were not making enough progress in

Ireland. The Irish socialists were all anti-treaty and wished to eliminate British rule in

Ireland. The farming industry in Ireland was a huge part of Irish society and the socialists

aimed at achieving an independent revolutionary leadership for the working class and

working farmers 15

. The Irish socialists hoped to gain full independence from Britain

through the establishment of a united front. The objectives of the various socialist

movements varied slightly depending on the leaders of the party or the organisation. The

first Irish Socialist Republican Party (ISRP) was founded in 1896 by James Connolly. He

14

Fearghal McGarry, Irish politics and the spanish civil war p.5 15

Richard English, Radicals and the republic , Socialist Republicanism in the Irish Free state 1925-1937 (United States 1994) p.127

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was able to convince his followers that the combination of revolutionary thought and

socialism were complimentary 16

. This was really the first attempt made to develop

socialist ideas in Ireland. The party lasted only seven years as it did not gain big

membership. The Socialist party of Ireland was then founded in 1910 while Connolly was

in America. This party then developed into the Communist party of Ireland (CPI) with

Roddy Connolly taking over as secretary17

. Members of the CPI fought on the anti-treaty

side of the Irish civil war as they were completely against the idea of partition. The CPI

strongly criticized labour and Trade Union leadership for their support of the treaty. Jim

Larkin, a significant Irish communist was set to return home to Ireland from America.

Connolly had hoped that he would be a supporter of the party but he was mistaken as

Larkin made clear his ‘intention to have nothing to do with them 18

. As the CPI lost

support because of this, the communists began to consider creating a new Socialist Party.

In April of 1926, there was a congress held of seventy-eight socialists who decided that the

new party was going to be called the Workers Party of Ireland (WPI). It aimed to continue

the revolutionary struggle and protect the rights of workers19

. Connolly became the

executive of the new party and he had hoped that the WPI would become the main anti

treaty socialist party in government. The emergence of Fianna Fail in 1926 quickly

dampened Connolly’s hopes. It is clear from an early stage that there were too many

changes in the leadership of the socialist parties. The emergence of the CPI and the WPI

was significant as it showed that socialist ideas were becoming more common in Ireland

but it is clear that the rise of Fianna Fáil caused the WPI to lose support. The members of

these parties would soon prove influential in the republican congress which organised the

16

A history of the Communist movement of Ireland 1864-1896, (Online) available at http://www.communistpartyofireland.ie/pairti.html accessed: (8 January 2014). 17

A history of the Communist movement of Ireland 1864-1896 (online) available at http://www.communistpartyofireland.ie/pairti.html accessed (8 January 2014). 18

Charlie McGuire, Roddy Connolly and the Struggle for Socialism (Cork 2008) p.96 19

Charlie McGuire, Roddy Connolly and the Struggle for Socialism p.102

http://www.communistpartyofireland.ie/pairti.html

http://www.communistpartyofireland.ie/pairti.html

18

Irish volunteers in the International Brigade in Spain. Similar left wing tendencies became

apparent within leaders of the IRA.

In 1926, there was an emergence of IRA socialists led by Peadar O’Donnell and

George Gilmore. Frank Ryan also became prominent later. These IRA men gained much

of their ideas from the CPI and the WPI. The economy was in serious decline at this time

and this caused men like Peadar O’Donnell ‘to look more seriously at social

questions’20

.O’Donnell was born in Donegal and his vision towards the path of social

change came from his faith in ‘mutually supportive neighbourliness’21

At this time there

was a split within the Sinn Fein party. At an Ard Fheis convention in March 1926, De

Valera made it known that he was no longer in favour of the policy of abstention. He said

that once the oath was removed, it would become a matter of policy that republicans be

allowed to enter the Dáil22

. De Valera then withdrew as president of Sinn Féin when his

suggestion that republicans might enter the Dáil was rejected and he found a new party

called Fianna Fáil. The ascendancy of Fianna Fail showed that conservative nationalism

triumphed over O’Donnell’s socialist republican movement causing it to become

obscured23

. The shift of the socialist republican movement further into the periphery

highlighted the need to give international support to the international brigade. This

manifested itself in the socialist involvement in the spanish civil war According to

Michael O’Riordan, General secretary of the Communist party of Ireland:

‘The spanish struggle was a continuation of the struggle here, I saw it as a universal

struggle in the wars of one of the champions of republican Spain, it was a brutal war

20

Charlie McGuire, Roddy Connolly and the Struggle for Socialism p.126 21

Richard English, Radicals and the republic , Socialist Republicanism in the Irish Free state 1925-1937 p.81 22

Adrian Hoar, In Green and Red, The Lives of Frank Ryan, (London 2004) p.43 23

Richard English, Radicals and the republic , Socialist Republicanism in the Irish Free state 1925-1937 p.96

19

of the rich against the poor and therefore ones duty was to assist the poor since they

were receiving no assistance from anybody’24

O’Riordan’s motives for joining the international brigades in the Spanish civil war prove

that it was a struggle for all left wing parties and associations to represent the struggle of

the workers in Ireland and that participation in the Spanish civil war was an opportunity to

gain progress in a universal struggle.

Frank Ryan was not convinced that De Valera’s strategy of using conventional politics

could continue the revolutionary movement. Ryan said that even if Fianna Fáil got into

power ‘the free state and all its institutions would still be there - nothing for it but the gun’

25. It is clear that Ryan was not interested in using politics to gain Irish independence. The

development of leftward tendencies became more apparent when O’Donnell took over as

editor of the newspaper An Phoblacht in 1926. An Phoblacht was a left wing republican

newspaper that O’Donnell used for propaganda. O’Donnell used An Phoblacht to deploy

his campaign against the the payment of land annuities to Britain. He felt that this issue

could be transformed into ‘an uprising of republican feeling’26

. In 1928, arrest was a very

common occurrence for O’Donnell and An Phoblacht was becoming increasingly

suppressed. In 1929 An Phoblacht was suppressed for almost three months until Frank

succeeded O’Donnell as editor. This is the first piece of evidence that shows that the state

authorities felt threatened by the spread of socialist republican ideas. In this case it was

suppression of the media. This conflict between the state and men like O’Donnell and

Ryan is crucial in relation to the Irish involvement in the international Brigade.

24

Cathal O’Shannon, Even the olives are bleeding, RTE television documentary (Dublin 1976) 25

Adrian Hoar, In Green and Red, The Lives of Frank Ryan, p.43 26


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Ryan continued to promote the socialist ideas of O’Donnell in An Phoblacht and ‘he

became the countries most eminent radical propagandist’ after he was released from

prison in 192927

. He became involved in working with a left wing group called the workers

defense league which was an anti-imperialist agitation. O’Donnell began to push for the

introduction of a political agitation within the IRA by means of new organisation called

Saor Éire. O’Donnell wanted the IRA to join together in a mass movement ‘against the

governments conservative politics’ and be directed towards the achievement of an

‘independent republic’28

. These initial objectives of Saor Éire were not accepted among

the less radical members of the IRA and O’Donnell was forced to temporarily back out of

his plans for Saor Éire. The IRA had made a lot of new international links in this period as

Michael Fitzpatrick, a leading member of the IRA went to Moscow to celebrate the tenth

anniversary of the Russian Revolution 29

O’Donnell was also establishing international

recognition as he went to the Lenin College in Moscow with six students to study how a

revolution should be carried out. The initial ideas of Saor Eire and the IRA’s

establishment of international links caused a reaction within the state and the Catholic

church. The president of the Cumann Na nGaegheal government, William T. Cosgrave felt

that he needed to immediately act against the IRA when he heard of ‘a conspiracy since

1929 which had its objective to overthrow state institutions’ 30

. Cosgrave informed

Cardinal MacRory that the conspirators were in contact with Communist Russia.

Cosgrave’s first reaction was to enlist bishops on the side of Law and order and introduce

public safety acts to deal with the IRA. The department of Justice claimed that O’Donnell

was anti-clerical and that most of the leaders of the IRA were atheists 31

. The fact that

Cosgrave sought the help of the Catholic Church shows that he felt threatened and the need

27



Richard English, Radicals and the republic , Socialist Republicanism in the Irish Free state 1925-1937 p.110. 30

Patrick Murray, ‘Oracles of God‘ The Roman Catholic Church and Irish Politics,1922-37 (Dublin 2000) p.316 31

Patrick Murray, ‘Oracles of God‘ The Roman Catholic Church and Irish Politics,1922-37 (Dublin 2000) p.321.

21

to strengthen law and order. The conspiracy of the left wing IRA and the reaction to it by

the state and members of the catholic church shows a clear division between them. This

suggests that that there still existed the same violence from the Irish civil war, although

this time it was more of an ideological conflict.

22

1930-1933 The official establishment of Saor Éire and the reaction to this. Conflict

between the Army Comrades Association and the Irish Republican Army.

The Irish involvement in the Spanish civil war was directly influenced by the

developments that took place between 1930 and 1933. The establishment of Saor Eire as a

political organisation in September 1931, greatly increased the threat of Communism

within the Irish Free state and the church. The general election of 1932 saw Fianna Fáil

take over power in the Dáil and Eamon De Valera was appointed new president of the

executive council. The most significant movement of this time was the Blueshirt

movement in Ireland and it directly relates to the Irish Brigade’s participation in the

spanish civil war. The main organisation that represented Fascism was the Army Comrades

Association (ACA) which was soon to be called The National Guard. The ascendancy of

De Valera in 1932 was seen by many parts of society as the victory of the gunmen of the

IRA. The growing communist nature of the IRA caused huge violence The objective of

this chapter is to give an account of the development of the Blueshirts and examine how

they came into conflict with the left wing forces of the IRA. This will assist in identifying

why General O’Duffy organised a brigade to fight on the Franco’s side of the war.

The establishment of Saor Éire in September of 1931 was highly controversial as it was

an organisation which contained the Communist-leaning members of the IRA. A national

congress was held in Dublin where the objectives of the organisation were declared.

According to Richard English the objectives were as follows:

23

‘-To achieve an independent revolutionary leadership for the working class and

working farmers towards the overthrow of British imperialism and its ally Irish

Capitalism.

-To organize and consolidate the Republic of Ireland on the basis of possession

and administration by the workers and working farmers, of the land, instruments

of production, distribution and exchange.

-To restore and foster the Irish language, culture and games’32

It is clear that the aims of Saor Éire were primarily socialist as it tried to gain the support

of small farmers. The objectives of Saor Éire were flawed however and this caused them

to lose support. First of all the objectives were not deeply rooted in republican thinking

which meant that Peadar O’Donnell lost the support of a lot republican Socialists to the

more ‘limited radicalism’ of Fianna Fáil33

. The proposals of Saor Éire were supposed to

attract the support of small farmers but because of the famine in the mid-nineteenth

century, the peasant’s tendencies became even more conservative as they refused to part

with their lands34

. Saor Éire’s answer to the land question did not satisfy anybody and this

is the main reason why Saor Éire failed. Some of Saor Éire’s own followers were

dismissive of it’s objectives as IRA members gave ‘half hearted support to the

organisation’35

. The failure of Saor Éire in 1931, the main left wing organization in

Ireland, shows that the Socialist republican movement was not making progress in Ireland

and justifies why Irish socialists would have had international interests when the Spanish

civil war commenced in 1936. Although the organization Saor Éire failed to gain any

significant support, it did however cause an immediate reaction from the Cosgrave

32

Richard English, Radicals and the republic , Socialist Republicanism in the Irish Free state 1925-1937 (United States 1994) p.127 33


Richard English, Radicals and the republic , Socialist Republicanism in the Irish Free state 1925-1937 p.131. 35

Adrian Hoar, In Green and Red, The Lives of Frank Ryan, (London 2004) p.95

24

Government. This time Cosgrave replaced the courts with military tribunals and he now

had the ability to impose the death penalty36

. Cosgrave also empowered the executive

council and declared the existence of any radical organisations as unlawful. The official

establishment of Saor Éire increased the threat of communism throughout all sectors of

government. According to the department of Justice ‘it could see the benefits accruing for

both the IRA and the Communists by their alliance’37

. In October of 1931, all information

about Saor Éire’s anti clerical behavior was given by the Cumann Na nGaegheal

government to the bishops. The bishops agreed with the governments concerns that Saor

Éire and the IRA’s methods were in direct opposition to God. According to the bishops,

Saor Éire’s objectives were to ‘impose upon the Catholic soil of Ireland the same

materialistic regime, with its fanatical hatred of God as now dominates Russia and

threatens to dominate Spain38

. It is clear that the right wing Cosgrave government was

extremely opposed to any practice of communist ideas as it was willing to use the death

penalty to suppress the Socialist republican movement in Ireland. Cumann na nGaedheal

saw Communism as a real threat to Christianity. These strong anti-communist views were

crucial in the motives of the Irish brigade volunteers.

Frank Ryan became involved in the conflict between the IRA and the government

when he challenged the government to prosecute for sedition in an Phoblacht ‘if they

prosecute us they must define the “sedition” of which we are deemed guilty. Dare they

define it? We challenge them! The masses shall be judge. LET THEM PROSECUTE

US!’39

.

This shows that Ryan was frustrated by the continuous accusations of the IRA of being

associated with Communism. By January of 1932, Ryan was imprisoned for three months

36


Patrick Murray, ‘Oracles of God‘ The Roman Catholic Church and Irish Politics,1922-37 (Dublin 2000) p.319 38



25

for being charged with ‘membership of the IRA and withholding information about his

association “if any, with the IRA, Saor Éire and the Workers revolutionary party all illegal

organisations”40

. It is clear that the government was increasing restrictions on IRA

members who were part of any left wing groups. While Ryan was in prison, he continued

to protest against the guards in the form of a hunger strike. He had overheard a guard

saying that the Cumann na nGaedheal government had called for a general election in

1932. Cosgrave felt that he could win this election on the grounds of his strong law and

order campaign. He was also confident that he would gain the support of the church for

his strong opposition to the ‘red menace’41

. The Dáil was dissolved on 19 January and an

election was called for 16 February. Fianna Fáil won the election and the transition of

power from Cumann Na nGaedheal to Fianna Fáil had begun. Fianna Fáil were successful

in the election because De Valera had won the support of the anti-treaty constituency by

offering ‘both greater independence and material advancement for the masses’42

. Cumann

Na nGaedheal claimed that De Valera was too soft on dealing with Communists as they

were ‘waiting in the wings for him to step aside’43

. This emphasizes Cumann na

nGaedheal’s anti-communist nature towards Fianna Fail and the IRA. Frank Ryan

announced at a meeting in the Army council that ‘we are in opposition to Fianna Fáil

because we represent the aims of 1916 - because we are better men’44

. It is evident that

Fianna Fáil’s radicalism and the socialist radicalism of men like O’Donnell and Frank

Ryan are different because where O’Donnellites sought ‘to define nationalism according to

anti-capitalist class conflict, Fianna Fáil sought to build a capitalist alliance45

. The left

wing of the IRA were now in opposition to Fianna Fáil, Cumann na nGaegheal and the

40





Adrian Hoar, In Green and Red, The Lives of Frank Ryan, (London 2004) p.90. 45


26

recently more militaristic Army Comrades Association (ACA). The ACA would prove to

be the most violent enemy of the IRA after the ascendence of Fianna Fáil.

The ACA experienced some significant changes in its leadership and its role as an

organisation after Fianna Fáil got elected. Dr O’Higgins was elected as the new leader of

the ACA in August 1932 and he was a Cumann na nGaedheal TD. This was controversial

as it was difficult for the ACA to claim that it was completely non-party. After O’Higgins

became elected he immediately announced the objectives of the organisation. He granted

complete support to the government of the state and he also declared a total opposition to

communism saying that ‘should an Irishman come to harm as a result of “traitor pointing”

the consequences may be a deplorable condition of reprisal and counter-reprisal which

would bring discredit on our race’46

. He also announced that the association intended to

protect the rights of free speech as he felt that free speech was under threat because of the

‘continued escalation of IRA violence in 1932 and 1933 and the governments seeming lack

of control‘47

. This was a direct attack on De Valera’s government to which he responded

that there was ‘no disorder in the country nor was there any communism’48

. An Phoblacht

expressed the opinion of the IRA on the ACA’s new policies and it described the ACA as

‘the new Fascist force’ and that it’s ‘inspiration and leadership springs right out of the

Cumann na nGaedheal Party‘49

. The IRA developed the slogan ‘no free speech for

traitors’ which meant that anyone who wasn’t republican was a traitor50

. Another example

of IRA opposition to the ACA and Cumann na nGaedheal was Peadar O’Donnells speech

in March 1932, where he welcomed the release of prisoners and described Cumann na

nGaedheal as a ‘murder government’51

It is clear that democracy was under threat in

46

Maurice Manning, The Blueshirts, p.29. 47

Mike Cronin, ‘The blueshirt movement 1932-5 Irelands Fascists?’ Journal of contemporary History. p312. 48

Maurice Manning, The Blueshirts,. p.30 49



Maurice Manning, The Blueshirts, p.32

27

Ireland and that the free state was now in a state of crisis. The tension between the ACA

and the IRA can be characterized as a left and right conflict because the ACA claimed that

the IRA was a Communist organisation and the IRA claimed that the ACA were a Fascist

organisation.

The fear of Communism was the main reason why Dr O’Higgins introduced new

policies for the ACA. Communism was becoming a common ideology in the political life

of all European countries in the 1930’s and O’Higgins felt in danger of Communist

infiltration in Ireland by people like Frank Ryan, Peadar O’Donnell and George Gilmore

who all had radical left wing tendencies. The threat of Communism was significantly

heightened by the end of 1932 as the pro-treaty, anti-communist newspaper ‘United

Irishman’ described the scene:

‘It has become all too apparent that Mr de Valera is leading the country straight

into Bolshevik servitude. We do not say that he had set out with the object of

creating a communist state. . . but whatever his intention may have been, or now

be, he is proceeding along the bolshevik path almost as precisely as if he was

getting daily orders from Moscow’52

.

This article shows that the ACA did not trust De Valera with regard to preventing the

spread of Communism in Ireland. It is also criticizing De Valera saying that he

would be willing to take orders from Communist Russia. In the early months of

1933, Eoin O’Duffy was fired as Commissioner of the civic Guard by Eamon De

Valera. O’Duffy was offered a different position within the public service but he

rejected this immediately. De Valera’s official reason for firing O’Duffy was that a

52

Maurice Manning, The Blueshirts, p.44

28

‘change of commissioner was desirable in the public interest’ and De Valera also

asserted that he did not have full confidence in O’Duffy. The newspaper ‘United

Irishman’ claimed that De Valera sacked O’Duffy because he was under pressure

from republican groups within the country. It is true that An phoblacht had been

pursuing the dismissal of O’Duffy as commissioner ‘Yo-Yo Duffy, the notorious

Chief of Police, was in charge of arrangements to secure freedom of speech for

traitors’53

. It is obvious that the conflict from the Irish civil war was still circulating

as O’Duffy was still a hated man by republicans. The violence of the IRA, the

growing threat of Communism in Ireland, the dismissal of Eoin O’Duffy and the

overall social, economic and political crisis all contributed to the formation of the

Blueshirts in Ireland54

. Following the dismissal of O’Duffy, he assumed ‘something

of a martyred status among pro-treaty supporters’ and he was invited to command the

ACA55

. Dr O’Higgins was no longer in a position to lead the ACA due to personal

reasons and for this reason O’Duffy was appointed. Apart from this, O’Duffy was a

capable leader and a well known national figure from his participation in Athletics

and the GAA56

. In July 1933, O’Duffy was announced the new leader of the ACA.

The ACA had already adapted Fascist traits before the arrival of Eoin O’Duffy.

The blue shirt was adopted by the ACA in March 1933, and the motives behind this

were that one could distinguish between Blueshirts and non-Blueshirts and it also

gave them greater identification and efficiency57

. The arrival of O’Duffy added a lot

of momentum to the Blueshirt movement as O’Duffy was a well-respected leader.

O’Duffy changed the name of the ACA to the National Guard and he set new

objectives for the association. One objective was to ‘oppose Communism and alien

53


Mike Cronin, ‘The blueshirt movement 1932-5 Irelands Fascists?’ Journal of contemporary History. p.314 55

Fearghal McGarry, Irish politics and the Spanish civil war,p.19 56

Maurice Manning, The Blueshirts, p.70 57

Mike Cronin, ‘The blueshirt movement 1932-5 Irelands Fascists?’ Journal of contemporary History. 314

29

control and influence in national affairs and to uphold Christian principles in every

sphere of public activity58

. Evidently, O’Duffy was going to come into conflict with

the IRA just as O’Higgins did. The membership of the National Guard increased

immensely after O’Duffy took over, it went from 25,000 to 30,000 within 3 days.

O’Duffy then planned on establishing a newspaper for the Blueshirt movement and

on 5 August, the newspaper was issued59

. The Fascist movement was growing in

popularity in 1933 and this posed a serious challenge to the political left. Roddy

Connolly, who was leader of the Bray Trade Unions (BTC) in 1933, saw his main

role as combating ‘the menace of Blueshirtism’60

. Connolly made a speech in

October, in which he warned people that if the Blueshirts triumphed there would be

huge consequences for Irish workers ‘If the Blueshirts succeed here there will be

plenty of work in Ireland - digging graves for the famine-stricken or the victims of

the executioners’ 61

. Connolly ended his speech by requesting that the labour party

and the republicans forge together to fight against the Blueshirts. Connolly made

some immediate progress when at a labour party conference he passed a resolution

that could build a united front of labour and and revolutionaries to oppose ‘the

reactionary dictatorship’62

. It is clear that the left wing in Ireland were as strongly

opposed to the Blueshirts as the Blueshirts were to the Communists. With the

Spanish civil war less than three years away it is easy to see how this prolonged

ideological conflict in Ireland influenced their decision to join the war. According to

a statement by Frank Ryan, before departing to Spain:

‘It is a demonstration of the sympathy of revolutionary Ireland with the Spanish

people in their fight against Fascism. It is also a reply to their intervention of Irish

58





Charlie McGuire, Roddy Connolly and the Struggle for Socialism p.141

30

Fascism in the war against the the Spanish Republic, which if unchallenged,

would remain a disgrace on our own people. We want to show that there is a close

bond between the the democracies of Ireland and Spain63

It is clear that the left wing in Ireland were highly motivated to join the Spanish

civil war to continue the fight against the Irish Blueshirts. The fact that Eoin

O’Duffy was the leader of the Irish Brigade also motivated men such as Peadar

O’Donnell and Frank Ryan to fight in the international Brigades because of the long-

term ideological and republican conflict that existed between them. All of the

conflict that has been described throughout this chapter contributed to the Irish

participation of the International Brigades in the Spanish civil war. The conflict

between the Blueshirts and the IRA did not motivate O’Duffy to join the Spanish

civil war; however it did show his strong anti-Communist nature. As has been

illustrated, his main role as leader of the ACA was to oppose Communism and to

promote Christian principles. The leaders of the ACA, O’Higgins and O’Duffy were

willing to come into conflict with the Irish left wing in order to contain Communism.

The Spanish civil war was a conflict of Christianity against Communism and this

appealed to O’Duffy greatly. END

63

Fearghal McGarry, Irish politics and the Spanish civil war, p.50

31

1934-1936 The establishment of a Republican Congress and O’Duffys decline in

mainstream politics

The years from 1934-1936 were the most significant in relation to Irish participation in the

Spanish civil war. The Blueshirt movement had developed rapidly as O’Duffy was offered

to be the leader of a new political party. This party was called Fine Gael. The leaders of the

Socialist Republican movement were frustrated by the failure of the IRA to achieve a

republic or a socialist revolution, so they left the IRA and formed a new organisation

called the Republican Congress. Eoin O’Duffy addressed a crowd of 2,500 people in Trim,

County Meath before the first Blueshirt congress was formed in 1934. Another event

which took place in 1934 was the introduction of the wearing of uniform (restriction) bill

which was aimed at the Blueshirts. O’Duffy became further influenced by international

Fascism after he resigned from Fine Gael. The purpose of this chapter is to analyse the

objectives of the republican congress and how it’s failure influenced Irishmen to fight in

the international Brigades in Spain. The role of Roddy Connolly and the Communist party

of Ireland in the Republican congress will be examined. The decline of O’Duffy in Irish

politics will also be explored and linked with his participation in the Irish Brigade. There

was no longer an ideological conflict between the Blueshirts and the IRA as the left wing

forces joined together to form the Republican Congress. There was still strong anti-

communist feeling in Fine Gael and strong anti-Blueshirtism in the Republican Congress

which was a leading motive for men fighting in the International brigade. The anti-

communist feeling was becoming a reality in the Fianna Fail government also as the police

forces kept a close eye on the activity of the Republican Congress. More evidence of the

motives of the volunteers on both sides will be provided in this chapter.

32

As has already been explained, the National Guard and Cumann na nGaedheal had a

very close connection since the appointment of Dr O’Higgins as president of the former

ACA, the National Guard. De Valera never trusted what the National Guard was up to and

on August 24, and August 25, the police banned the National Guard meetings that were

supposed to take place in Cootehill and Fermoy64

. O’Duffy’s colleagues put pressure on

him to accept the position as the leader of a new opposing political party of Fianna Fáil.

Taking into account the fact that O’Duffys National Guard was banned and now isolated,

O’Duffy accepted the leadership role of Fine Gael. Fine Gael announced that it was going

to advocate ‘as a free and equal member of the British Commonwealth’ and it also

declared complete opposition to any form of Communism65

. O’Duffy continued to

organise rallies and mass meeting on a regular basis for the Blueshirts as leader of Fine

Gael. The Blueshirt salute and the uniforms were all features of the rallies66

. The

government was still highly suspicious of the Blueshirts. DeValera was not convinced

that this Fascist movement had stalled with the foundation of the new politcal party Fine

Gael. De Valera accused O’Duffy of ‘using symbols of Fascism to attract young people

into his organisation and declared that O’Duffy wanted a one-party government and was

preparing to achieve this by force67

. The government declared that it intended on

eliminating the Blueshirts. Another event which shows the ruthlessness of Fianna Fáil

against the Blueshirts was the introduction of the ‘wearing of uniforms (restriction) bill‘

which declared that the wearing of the blue shirts, badges and the use of military titles in

support for any political was illegal 68

. According to James Hogan ‘in the event, neither

ideology was lastingly to thrive in de Valera’s free state69

. Hogan is referring to the

Blueshirts and the communists in Ireland when he refers to ‘neither ideology’. The

64



Mike Cronin, ‘The blueshirt movement 1932-5 Irelands Fascists?’ Journal of contemporary History. p.315 67



Richard English, Radicals and the republic , Socialist Republicanism in the Irish Free state 1925-1937 p.206.

33

restrictions that the Fianna Fáil government put on the Blueshirts explains why O’Duffy

became more interested in international fascism.

The increased restriction on the Blueshirts was not the only reason why O’Duffy

became interested in international Fascism, he was also beginning to lose the support of the

more conservative members of Fine Gael. Fine Gael members criticised O’Duffy’s style of

leadership by late 1934 and were completely dissatisfied with him. One member described

O’Duffy leadership as ‘hysterical and destructive’70

. Another reason is that O’Duffy could

not come to an agreement with other vice presidents within Fine Gael about corporate

policies. With the the increased dissatisfaction among members of Fine Gael with

O’Duffy, he resigned behind closed doors. O’Duffys resignation symbolised a decline in

his political influence in Ireland. This explains why he saw the Spanish civil war as means

of ‘regaining his status as the dynamic leader of the Blueshirt movement’ 71

. He had lost

significant support in Ireland so Franco’s Fascist movement appealed to him. Meanwhile

in 1934, the Irish socialist republicans began voicing their opinions in an IRA convention.

The purpose of the convention was to deal with the problems that had risen since last year.

It took place on 17 and 18 of March in Dublin, near St Stephens Green. Michael Price was

the first left wing IRA member to speak and he called for prolonging of social agitation.

He proposed that ‘the IRA shall not be be disbanded until such time as the government of

the Irish Republic, based upon the political and social principles set out in the pamphlet

referred to is functioning freely’72

. Price sought confirmation that the IRA was committed

to achieving a workers’ republic. Price’s motion was defeated and the next two people to

speak were George Gilmore and Peadar O’Donnell 73

. O’Donnell called for the

establishment of a united front just as he did in 1933, which would gather in the form of a

70


Fearghal McGarry, Irish politics and the Spanish civil war, p.26 72



34

Republican Congress. Ryan backed O’Donnell’s motion and criticised Sean MacBride

saying ‘Sean Macbride wants a continuation of the present army policy - inactivity’74

.

Peadar O’Donnell, Frank Ryan and George Gilmore left the IRA after their proposals were

refused and they began to organise a Republican Congress. They were dissatisfied by the

overall lack of social agitation in the IRA.

The early Republican Congress aimed at differentiating itself from the Fianna Fáil

government as they saw Fianna Fáil as a Capitalist party. The Republican Congress

highlighted it’s immediate opposition to the Blueshirt organisation. The battles between

republicans and Blueshirts that have been described in the last chapter were the main

points argued in the Congress. Anti-Fascism was part of socialist republican thinking as

the leader of the Blueshirt organisation was Eoin O’duffy. Republicans within the

Congress did not forget the anti-republican role O’Duffy played in 1922-3 75

. This further

alienated the republicans as they saw O’Duffy’s Blueshirts as enemies of the Republic. It is

evident that the members of the Republican Congress were still completely hostile to the

Blueshirts and they felt that they needed to fight them somewhere. According to Frank

Edwards, a member of the Republican Congress who fought with Frank Ryan in the

Connolly Column:

‘Here was O’duffy and his men going off to spain to fight for fascism and we felt

that the only place to fight them was there,since it was impossible to do anything, we

felt completely frustrated and of no hope of mounting any kind of resistance to this

overwhelming wave of Fascism’76

74



Cathal O’Shannon, Even the olives are bleeding, RTE television documentary (Dublin 1976).

35

This shows the extent of the hostility of members of the Republican Congress towards the

Blueshirts. The conflict, which began after the Irish civil war was at it’s peak right before

outbreak of the Spanish civil war. In September of 1934, the Republican Congress had it’s

first ever annual meeting in Rathmines. The members of the Republican Congress had

been drawn predominantly from the IRA, the Communist party, the Irish Citizen Army and

various trade-unions77

This Republican Congress meeting of Rathmines will be

remembered for the fact that there was a balanced split amongst the members. The split

occurred between Roddy Connolly and Michael Price in the one hand and O’Donnell,

Gilmore and Ryan on the other. Price and Connolly campaigned for the Congress to be

committed to the goal of a workers’ republic whereas O’Donnell and the rest of the IRA

socialists forwarded that the objective be just a republic78

. O’Donnell claimed that Price’s

proposal of a Workers’ Republic would only get support of convinced followers and

nobody else. The Communist party followed O’Donnell’s view that there should be a

united front of Irish Republicans and this section won the vote. The losing section, made

up of Connolly and Price and other Republican Congress members left, leaving the new

movement a divided group79

. The Communist Party of Ireland was probably the most

dominant part of the Republican Congress as it was made up of ‘the Labour defence

League, Labour League against Fascism and the Unemployed Workers’ Movement80

. The

motives of the Communist party members to join the Spanish civil war were slightly

different from those who were part of the socialist republican movement. The Communist

Party followed the ideas of the Comintern and were more international in their outlook.

However both organisations were motivated by opposition to the Irish Blueshirts.

77

Fearghal McGarry, Irish politics and the Spanish civil war, p.86. 78




36

Despite the split within the Republican Congress, conflict increased as Blueshirts were

being attacked. The Department of Justice reacted to the Republican Congress‘

announcement that it was going to adopt a United Front policy by describing the United

Front policy as a ‘well authenticated product of Moscow; and the establishment of a

‘United Front’ of left wing political parties and organisations is prescribed by the

Comintern, as the principal tactical objective of Communists in all parts of the world’81

.

The Department of Justice is correct in claiming that the Communist Party of Ireland was

influenced by international factors. The Republican Congress continued to hold meetings

throughout the year of 1935. One outdoor meeting which was held in College Green, was

attended by a Garda Síochana member. This Garda member wrote the minutes of the

Republican Congress meeting in which Frank Ryan, Sean Murray and Roddy Connolly

were all in attendance. The purpose of the meeting was to commemorate the lives of Liam

Mellows, Rory O’Connor and Dick Berrett who were killed in the Irish civil war. Frank

Ryan opened the meeting by saying that ‘they were murdered by Richard Mulcahy and his

association of the Cosgrave Government who had never been brought to book for it’82

.

This evidence tells us that Frank Ryan was still highly motivated by the conflict of the

Irish civil as it shows his hostility to pro-treaty members. It is important to note that this

meeting took place on 8 December, 1935 which was only a couple of months away from

the outbreak of the Spanish civil war. One person who fought in the International Brigades

shows he was motivated by Republican attitudes also ‘And in attacking the liberties of the

Spanish, O’Duffy is attacking those of the Irish people’83

. This person is comparing the

lack of freedom in Ireland with the lack of freedom in Spain because of O’Duffy and his

men going to fight for Fascism in Spain.

81


Activities of the Republican Congress Party in County Dublin. 2008/117/481, Department of Justice (Dublin 1935) 83


37

It was clear that the Republican Congress was a failure because it failed to gain any

significant support from republican groups. The split which occurred in Rathmines greatly

contributed to it’s failure because it was a divided group and it was put in a weak position.

The objectives of the Republican Congress were not realistic as it attempted draw Fianna

Fáil to the left, but this was not plausible as the Government was clearly too conservative

and opposed to Communism84

. The main reason why the Republican Congress failed was

that it was never able to pose a challenge to other Irish political parties. This has been a

common theme from the Irish civil war onwards as has been shown in previous chapters,

the socialist republican movement was never able to gain enough support to offer a

significant challenge to other political parties. The ascendancy of Fianna Fáil attracted

most the majority of republicans This leads me to believe that this long-term failure

contributed to the socialist republicans decision to participate in the Spanish civil war and

fight against their old enemies, the Blueshirts.

On 8 June of 1935, O’Duffy called a meeting to launch the objectives of a new political

party which was to be called ‘the National Corporate Party’. Over 500 delegates turned up

to the meeting and it declared it’s objectives. They were ‘opposed to Communism,

capitalism and all forms of dictatorship; they would establish a regime of social justice for

every class and section and were opposed to all interferences with individual liberty’85

.

Once again, O’Duffy’s anti-communist nature is portrayed. The party gained little support

which was in direct contrast to O’Duffy’s previous organisations. O’Duffy political career

appeared to be declining as the National Corporate ‘received little attention and was

attended by scant publicity’86

. O’Duffy’s insignificant position in Irish politics was a clear

motive for him to organise a Brigade to fight for Franco in the Spanish civil war. As a

staunch anti-Communist it is easy to see how the Spanish civil war appealed to O’Duffy.

84



Maurice Manning, The Blueshirts, p.199.

38

The ideologies of the Catholic church and the Irish Christian Front of the Spanish civil war

being a war of clear-cut Catholicism versus Communism made it easier for O’Duffy to

recruit people to join the Irish Brigade. O’Duffy used this to his advantage as he thought

this could re-gain his popularity throughout Ireland. Many people criticised O’Duffy,

claiming that he organised the Brigade because he was motivated solely by Fascism. It is

clear that O’Duffy was motivated by all of the reasons that have been explained.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it can be said that the Socialist Republican movement was never able to gain

enough support or progress to challenge other main political parties in Ireland. The

ascendancy of Fianna Fáil took a lot of the republican support that Socialists like Ryan,

39

O’Donnell and Gilmore needed in order to continue their ideas of social agitation. The

socialist republic movement was obscured since 1926 with the establishment of Fianna

Fáil. This wasn’t the only reason why Socialism wasn’t successful in Ireland, it was also

due to the anti-communist feeling that was shown in the Irish Free state. The failure of the

Republican Congress summed up the long-term failure of the Irish Socialists. For these

reasons Irish Socialists were interested in joining the International Brigades. They felt that

events in Spain could improve their cause. As has been demonstrated, men like Eoin

O’Duffy, Cosgrave and O’Higgins were completely hostile to any forms of communism in

Ireland. It was this long term conflict in Ireland that contributed to the Irish participation in

the Spanish Civil war. As has been shown, the conflict was ideological, i.e Blueshirts

versus the republican socialists who were regarded as Communists. It was also a conflict

which consisted of pro-treaty attitudes versus republican anti-treaty attitudes. This caused

a massive escalation in the violence which ultimately led to people joining the

International Brigades and the Irish Brigades. O’Duffys long-term anti-communist feeling

was also a strong motive for him to organise an Irish Brigade to send over to Spain. The

newspapers and the Catholic Church contributed to the anti-communist feeling in Ireland

also people began to join the Irish Brigade. Another motive for O’Duffy that has been

described, was his decline in Irish politics. He formed the National Corporate party in

1935, however it was just a means of him trying to gain back the support he had lost in

Fine Gael. The Spanish civil war was a way for O’Duffy to regain his status as dynamic

leader of the Blueshirts. For all of the reasons mentioned throughout this paper, Irish

people found themselves fighting on opposing sides of the Spanish civil war.

40

Bibliography Activities of the Republican Congress Party in County Dublin. 2008/117/481, Department of Justice (Dublin 1935) Cronin, Mike,. ‘The blueshirt movement 1932-5 Irelands Fascists?’ Journal of contemporary History Vol 30, No.2 (1995). pp.311-332. English, Richard,. Socialist Republicanism in the Irish Free State 1925-1937 (United States 1994) pp.71-236 Hoar, Adrian,. In Green And Red, The Lives of Frank Ryan (London 2004),pp.53-149 Manning, Maurice,. The Blueshirts, (Dublin 1970), pp. 2-199. McGarry, Fearghal,. Irish Politics and the Spanish civil war (Cork 1999) pp.2-55. McGuire, Charlie,. Roddy Connolly and the Struggle for Socialism in Ireland, (Cork 2008), pp.100-145. Murray, Patrick,. ‘Oracles of God’ The Roman Catholic Church and Irish Politics 1922-37, (Dublin 2000) pp.307-325. O’Shannon Cathal,. Even the olives are bleeding, RTE television documentary (Dublin 1976)

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