Podcast: Irish pro-Franco Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War

Eoin O’Duffy in Irish Brigade, or bandera, uniform.

Cathal Brennan interviews John Dorney on Eoin O’Duffy’s Irish Brigade that fought on the Francoist side of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). See also the Irish Story article on the subject here.

We discuss:

How and why the Civil War broke out in Spain
What the response in Ireland was and how the ‘Red Scare of the early 1930s influenced Catholic Irish perceptions
Eoin O’Duffy and the legacy of the Blueshirt movement
O’Duffy’s recruitment of pro-Franco Volunteers
Their experiences in Spain
The memory of the conflict in Ireland and Spain.

Irishmen also fought for the Spanish Republic in the International Brigades. See here.

Check out the Irish History show page here.

2 Responses to "Podcast: Irish pro-Franco Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War"

madrid36 says:

5 November, 2019 at 9:19 pm

When I went to to teach in Spain ( Madrid ) in 1995, my mother said, “don’t forget, Franco saved Spain from Communism”. And though I laughed at her, there’s still a lot of people here (in Spain, where I live today ) who still believe that. Look at the rise of Vox and Ciudadanos, for goodness’ sake. Nor is it true that the Irish “turned” in favour of the Republic after the Civil War. Most Irish people never, ever supported the Republic and it gets on my tits that Irish participation in the Civil War is being (mis) appropriated by the CPI and a former head of SIPTU in particular, who goes so far as to actually claim there was a “Connolly Column” fighting in the 15th International Brigade. I very much appreciated your podcast, but it could do with a bit of editing. Tell it like it was. Tell us about Cardinal McCrory. Tell us about the Italians paying for O’Duffy’s troops. Tell us about Yagüe’s odium towards O’Duffy. And while you’re at it, tell us about the Irish nobility in Spain who were all -and still – pro Franco. Ireland and Spain were sad and ignorant places in 1937.

Reply
1. John_Dorney says:
  
  6 November, 2019 at 3:57 pm
  
  With all respect, different perspectives do not constitute a ‘need for editing’ or a reluctance to ‘tell it like it was’. McRory and Yague are covered in the podcast and accompanying article. There is no claim that opinion in Ireland turned in favour of the Republic. But it is true that outright support for Franco’s cause was mainly a feature of the first six months of so of the war, after which it cooled considerably and shifted by the end into majority support for the government’s non aligned policy. The Spanish nobility with Irish roots going back to the 17th and 18th centuries are an interesting topic, but really nothing to do with the story of O’Duffy’s Brigade of 1936-37.
  
  Reply

Cathal Brennan interviews John Dorney on Eoin O’Duffy’s Irish Brigade that fought on the Francoist side of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). See also the Irish Story article on the subject here.

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