Snap of Eoin O’Duffy’s Irish Brigade returning from Spain after a pretty disastrous and embarassing campaign which only lasted six months. Getting drunk regularly and, in their first action, coming under friendly fire from an allied Falangist unit from the Canary Islands, it is likely that Franco was glad to see the back of the Irish Brigade.
Brendan Behan famously quipped that “they certainly made history (as) they seemed to be the only army that went out to war, ever, and came back with more”. This is because a number of Irish men in the Spanish Legion(?) decided to get a lift home with O’Duffy and co. when they were leaving.
I knew one of them, Frank Edwards who died in the early 80’s. They and my parents were mutual friends of a prominent communist years ago, I hadn’t seen Frank for years and was wandering through temple bar past the left wing bookshop when his face jumped out at me from inside the window. Somebody had lent them a line drawing of Frank and even though I knew him only vaguely the likeness was so good it was unmistakable. I think you might get a few different views of how they got on if you published this 40 years ago, a few might even be hunting you down. I met Peader O’Donnell through the same source, moody and broody but then he was old and slowly dying, in 1977>
uphilllonely,
You are thinking of the International Brigadiers i.e. those who left Ireland to Spain to fight AGAINST Fascism and Franco. Everyone involved in this blog, especially me, hold this men with the highest esteem.
This picture shows Eoin O’Duffy’s Irish Brigade who went to Spain to fight FOR Franco.
As jaycarax put it below you, wrong army.
We’ve had numerous bits on the International Brigades who fought fascism. Off the top of my head…..
https://comeheretome.wordpress.com/2012/01/12/paddy-clare-the-night-town-man/
Paddy Clare profile.
https://comeheretome.wordpress.com/2011/07/03/and-they-died-in-bloody-trenches-in-the-civil-war-in-spain/
75th Anniversary events.
https://comeheretome.wordpress.com/2010/01/24/friends-of-charles-donnelly-event-january-29th/
Charlie Donnelly benefit
https://comeheretome.wordpress.com/2010/04/27/dublin-red-headquarters-set-on-fire-twenty-injured-in-riots/
The Burning Of Connolly House
Jaycarax in particular has written quite a bit on the men who fought Franco here and elsewhere.
No Pasaran, even on WordPress 😉
Cheers for sharing your memories though. I’ll always regret not having the chance to sit down and interview any of those men.
d.
They were fighting for the Pope and Guinness..
Surprised no one has ever written a comic opera about O’Duffy. His exploits in Spain had people in tears…including Franco
A never-ending source of embarrassment to me that more Irishmen went to fight in support of Franco than against him.
Can’t agree more, Simon. But as Christy Moore put it, ” propaganda from the pulpit and newpapers, helped O’Duffy to enlist his crew”. Read Fearghal McGarry’s “Irish Politics and the Spanish Civil War”. Makes you realise where the Rome church was…and still is, at.
Oh Sorry, Jesus phuck. I was busy having a birthday yesirday and got up today very tired, so yeah I did mixem up badly!!
Hi all,
I’ve been trying to track down the original source of that famous Behan quote but so far no luck. Any ideas?
I got the Behan quote from Hywel Francis’ review of Michael O’Riordan’s ‘Connolly Column’ on p. 75 of Saothar (No. 6, 1980).
Have the physical copy in front of me but you can also ‘see’ it here:
http://www.google.ie/#hl=en&safe=off&q=%22brendan+behan%22+%22they+certainly+made+history%22&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=2892l2892l1l3363l1l1l0l0l0l0l62l62l1l1l0&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbo=u&tbm=bks&source=og&sa=N&tab=wp&ei=7kAoT_6dFIid8gPXwdyhAw&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=f87981710527c7f0&biw=1137&bih=666
The web tells me however that the quote can be found on p107 of O’Riordan’s book.
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