All language subtitles for eoab

an old man goes every day to pray to a

church in the Spanish city of casares to

pray for Irishmen who died 40 years ago

a flag flutters over the barrel Valley

and another old man in the uniform of

the Irish Brigade of the Spanish Foreign

Legion hoists the flag of Spain and

remembers a war in another Valley a

thousand miles away and 40 years ago

[Applause]

every bullet that I would fire would be

a bullet against the Dublin Captain's

class and the

slum landlords

when I bear them not the slightest

animosity but I still cannot find out

how there could have a legitimate reason

for choosing Moscow as their Master when

I selected Rome as mine well yes please

remember ambition for Sharp churches

were burdened but this happened on both

sides yes of course such a sand of

course from that point of view to a

field that there was a couple of

hundreds of them there but uh Diana was

on our side I think that we were

fighting for Christianity and they were

fighting for the this is for the

disestablishment of the Catholic Church

that when you walked into this war it

was not a little war it was a it was a

big war being fought in a big way

[Music]

up and an island to the Spanish Civil

War was a war of fierce passions

democracy was under attack by a

rebellious Army aided by the fascist

powers or the church was being crushed

by the forces of antichrist between

these two ideologies there were a

thousand shades of black and white and

gray and red

an Irishman fought and died on both

sides in Spain

an Olive Grove in the harama valley

south of Madrid nearly 40 years ago two

great armies fought over this ground and

in 10 days of vicious and bloody

fighting 45

000 of them were killed including 22

Irishmen one of them was Charlie

Donnelly the young Arma poet he and the

section had Run for Cover into an Olive

Grove and Donnelly bent down and picked

up a bunch of Olives he squeezed them

and said even the olives are bleeding a

minute later a bullet hit him in the

head and he's buried now beneath those

olive trees

[Music]

[Music]

the 30s were the years of the blue

shirts in Ireland and they brought in

their Trail bitterness and strife and

bloody street battles in Dublin and

elsewhere their Origins were in the Army

comrades Association later to become the

National Guard founded in 1932 by former

free state army men most of them Civil

War veterans

by 1933 the association's membership and

influence had spread throughout Ireland

and they had adopted the blue shirt

uniform

in the 1933 elections the blue shirts

were the self-appointed Guardians of the

coming ale meetings and at many they

left broken heads behind them they

marched as soldiers and their declared

enemies were Republicans who their

leaders proclaimed were Communists they

saw Reds round every corner and indeed

they were encouraged in this Hysteria by

the pastors of many a bishop and the

preaching of many a parish priest

the friends of Ireland Will Rejoice with

us it was a Witch Hunt which was

condemned by Eamon de Valera and his new

Fiona fall government

and in 1933 the blue shirts got a new

leader

and I must be very careful that I'm not

taken up by some no consecutive here in

the fall for contempt the court

in the last General Ono Duffy a former

deputy chief of staff of the Free State

Army and for 10 years commissioner of

the gardenia Corner Huntley was sacked

by divalera in 1932

Destinies of your country Duffy was a

man of action with the Flair for

publicity and some organizational

ability he had molded the Civic guard

into an instrument of government and had

helped organize the Eucharistic Congress

in 1932.

go over the leadership of the blue

shirts with their new constitution full

of pietistic zeal and newly opened not

just to ex-soldiers but to all Irish

Christians within weeks o'duffy was

virtually the leader of the opposition

to Fina fall and devalera banned the

blue shirts the National Guard is

strongly opposed to anything flavoring

of a dictatorship they lasted until

early 1936 under a variety of names but

their power was really broken in 1934 by

internal dissensions caused mainly by

oduffy's personality and lack of

political experience by the finafold ban

and possibly by losing Street battles to

support the National Guard in reaching

the goal of Griffith Collins and

o'higans

Duffy went around Europe attending

fascist congresses and dreaming of the

ideal of the corporate State until he

got the call in 1936 to form an Irish

Brigade to fight for Franco in the

Spanish Civil War which began in July of

that year

it was an invitation which appealed to

everything that was romantic and

crusading you know Duffy's Restless

nature

the war in Spain was begun by an army

Revolt led by General Franco against the

left-wing popular front government which

won the 1936 general election since

February of that year there had been

riots and church burnings and

assassinations and the forces of left

and right were gathering strength on the

right the Stanley authoritarian

combination of church and Army and the

falange the Spanish fascist party on the

left the legally and democratically

elected popular front socialists

liberals Communists trade unionists

anarchists

in mid-july Franco and his Moorish

troops were invading Spain from North

Africa and Military governors in

different parts of Spain declared for

one side or the other the bulk of them

joining the forces of rebellion

three years of cruel War had begun

foreign

it was a war which was to involve most

European nations a war which for the

first time was to see the use of air

power against military and civilians it

is to be a war of incredible bitterness

of appalling acts and viciousness on

both sides a war of great heroics and

idealism

it was a war which was to illustrate

once more the Furia Espanola that

cruelty in the Spanish nature as old

scores were fearsomely settled

it was a war which lasted until March

1939 and the fall of Madrid

for Franco generalissimon head of state

Victory without generosity and a

terrible Revenge thousands were executed

a million were exiled or imprisoned

but in 1936 Irishmen were preparing to

go to Spain some to join o'duffy's

Brigade and fight for Franco others to

join the international Brigade and fight

for the Republic Terry Flanagan former

Bakery worker wounded near Madrid 1937.

today a public relations man in 1936 a

member of Sir era we had been reading

for a couple of months before I went out

there of this Democratic Republic being

assailed on all sides by Hitler and

Mussolini and Franco

and being a Republican

I thought it'd be a Dreadful thing that

if this Republic went down without me

giving one helping hand to save her

Joe monks Dubliner now working in London

wounded at lepera December 1936 a former

member of the Communist Party those of

us who had

come to the 30s and unemployment and so

forth I knew they want

that came in the wake of the great stump

in 1929 were very

enthusiastic

I'd seen the working class as the ruling

class inside the Western European state

Frank Edwards a school teacher from

Waterford one of the first to go to

Spain with Frank Ryan wounded at Las

Rosas not far from Madrid a member of

the Republican Congress

here were

Duffy's of his swashbucklers going after

going after Spain to to fight prices and

we felt that was the only way to the

only place to fight him was there since

it's impossible to do anything we felt

come completely frustrated and of no

hope of mounting any kind of resistance

to this overwhelming wave of fascism

foreign

Dubliner now a shop steward in London

captured on the Arrogant front with

Frank Ryan 1938. I thought that uh

with a struggle going on there and the

support of the Martin Murphy press who

owned the Press of course and of course

the Dublin tramways at the time that

these were heavily on the side of the

Franco of the generals in Spain right

from the beginning Alec Diggs Dublin are

now living in London former Secretary of

the international Brigade Association

went on to fight the Germans in the

second world war and lost a leg we went

there rather failing to be quite honest

it was a bit of a suicide mission but

uh

well we were young and idealistic I

don't mean on a blue-eyed sense but for

in the good sense of the word

and so it seemed the logical thing to do

so we went

Michael o'riordan General Secretary of

the Communist Party of Ireland wounded

on the abro 1938 has written a history

of the Irish in the international

Brigade

I decided to go to Spain because I saw

the Spanish table as a continuation with

struggle here and I saw it as a

universal struggle in the waters of one

of the champions of Republican Spain I'm

quoting a priest now for a change uh

Father Michael of Flanagan uh that it

was a war of the rich against the poor

and therefore one's duty was to assist

the poor since they were receiving no

assistance from anybody

patio dare Donegal man and Battalion

Commander with the international Brigade

now living in Wales spent two years in

Spain both all causes a worldwide anyway

freedom is indivisible isn't it and if

if a man fights for freedom in in one

place he's fine but everywhere

oh Duffy's man quite obviously had

different motives as strong indeed as

many of the Republicans some went to

fight against communism others from a

sense of adventure there were men like

George Timlin now a Dublin Jeweler an

NCO in the Irish Army a lieutenant with

the Spanish Bandera LED his man over the

top at siempasuelas why did he go

spiritual Adventure

and to oblige a friend who was the

friend

well how were you obliging him in what

way he asked me would I like to go

and I thought he would be pleased to

have me otherwise he wouldn't have asked

me

messages yet you of course were a former

soldier in the Army here I was yes

so you felt that you would like to get

out and do some fighting in Spain the

very thing were you therefore like some

of the others imbued as it were with the

spirit of Christ and fighting for

Christianity did you did you have this

feeling

and not really at the commencement

although such a spirit was encouraged

Captain party Quinn veteran fighter of

the war of independence and the Civil

War now living in retirement in County

Kilkenny communism was

running right through the country and

had to capture the greater part of Spain

at the time

when General Adolphus and daughters

it appeared before volunteers there were

some

a couple of well-known Bishops at the

time I suppose all the Bishops I

wouldn't know him but there's a couple

of Bishops anyway that

um encouraged him not Doolan today a

sales representative in his native pork

in 1936 a Corporal with oduffy's Brigade

in Spain I'm a great believer in the

freedom of all religions and all on

political expression but you considered

yourself then and you obviously do now

as a a very good Catholic I presume the

sound let her say sound the sound

Christian basically a sound Christian

yeah well it wasn't Catholic all right

was it Christianity or Catholicism that

brought you to Spain Christianity

what were the motives then that you do

you think that that brought most of the

Brigade out well was it again a spirit

of Adventure uh mainly a spirit of

Adventure as well as

a mild host area in the sense that they

listened to propaganda

and it's very easy to become full of

propaganda when you hear it and believe

it even though it may not be altogether

true in fact was it altogether true do

you think it was

mainly true

unfortunately those that were not

idealistic to go to mile more

prominently than those who were

idealists and it's about 20 percent of

the legend out there went for various

motives and it was quite obvious in

their behavior they took very little

interest in any idealism they went for

various reasons some had different

politics and had no Politics on her

religion some had no religion they went

out to material reasons and for

excitement addition dependent 26th of

October 1936. Ireland declares war on

communism huge Dublin Duffy's recruiting

campaign had the backing of the church

and of the Irish independent although it

had to be organized secretly oduffy's

comings and goings to Spain were well

publicized as were his appeals for Aid

and for prayers money poured into the

Enterprise as Catholic Ireland worked

itself into a religious favor and oduffy

had no difficulty in recruiting 700 men

for his Brigade

the blue ships were the Irish fascists I

know some people say they weren't in

fascists but I remember actually in 1934

the recorded statement of the Johnny

Costello

no you know he became better on the

tissue or the interpathy government and

I quite vividly remember the rewards you

said that the blue shots the black shots

are triumphed literally the brown shots

at Triumph in Germany and so assuredly

were the blue shirts trying to man but

not all of them were fascists or even

blue shirts though some who sailed

without Duffy were no doubt imbued with

the barren ideals of fascism

getting them out to Spain however was a

chaotic business but eventually after

many a misadventure the Bandera elandeza

set out for Lisbon all route for Spain

and a six-month tour of service

[Music]

Irishmen had taken Pat in the Crusades

of other days and Irish Legion of today

will please God lead in the match on

Barcelona to the strains of the Faith of

Our Fathers and placed the Cross of

Christ the King High over that City

where every priest has been slain

where every church is in a shambles

[Music]

okay

[Music]

[Music]

at Lisbon we found old Irish in the city

and many Portuguese had assembled led by

the Dominican father from Corpus Santo

father Paulo Sullivan

[Music]

life

[Music]

and they saw the relic of the skulliffs

and Bridget left in Lisbon in 1283 by

Crusaders on their way to the Holy Land

foreign

[Music]

ERS medals and prayer books to us

yet one of them said to me uh sister we

hadn't come here for Holiday I would

like you to know that we have come out

here he said to fight for Spain and

fight for religion and we remember he

said all that we have suffered in the

persecutions in Ireland and we don't

mind we will give our lives for Spain he

said and we remember also in the past

that uh the Spanish the Spaniards helped

us and they came over to Galway he said

and they were defeated he said there by

the English but we will have our revenge

now he said and we would we don't mind

if we give all our lives and we're not

coming he said we're coming here to

fight religion for Ireland Father Paul

wrote them down because Father Paul had

great faith in our prayers and he broke

down this group to make it more

realistic for us so that we will pray

for them and another said another one

sister city to me sister we're going to

shoot every damn red in Spain we won't

leave one left and we'll come back with

a cockades he said on our head

I remember the evening quite well that

we were called to the great a tiny

little parlor with the double bars and

the crowd of Irish men outside with

Father Paul and I pitted them because I

said you're going to will endanger your

lives and they said to me we are very

glad of that sister that's what we came

for we're coming to fight for religion

and we don't want the Reds to conquer

Spain Spain has always been a Catholic

country like Ireland and we are proud to

go with our leader and they ask for our

prayers and we promise that we pray for

them and also yes the asperose rupees

and we gave them Rose repeats and Medals

of Our Lady of good success and they

were very happy very happy group and we

were very pleased to meet them and

remember very well although it's a long

time ago now

but while old Duffy's man came to war in

an organized body those who went to

fight for the Republic did not

for them getting to Spain often meant

not just secrecy but a good deal of

hardship as well

it was a difficult long role because

when I went there it was illegal for

anybody to travel to spend uh this was

the internal sort of legislation which

arose from the fossil Islam intervention

uh restriction on volunteers

uh there was also the fact that uh the

Spanish Republic itself was completely

blockaded

one couldn't go up to the Spanish border

with a passport and say well I didn't

have a passport recently so how I did it

to go to London and they'll get awakened

ticket which would enable me to stay in

Paris for the weekend and there Amy had

contact with the recruiting center of

the Brigade it was all very very illegal

to understand and then after a few days

in Paris when we were briefed and what

was there before us what we were likely

to encounter and the last opportunity to

step out by the way some people did

these I'm saying this to mention that

the the picture was given to us of

conditions was an authentic realistic

and honest depiction so there could be

no Illusions for the actual conditions

most of them were smuggled in over the

Pyrenees and training for some of the

Republicans was pathetic in terms of the

war they were going to have to fight for

most it could be measured in days rather

than weeks

uh we learned how to advance Under Fire

how to retreat Under Fire how to take

advantage of natural cover and things

which really are rather Elementary

and

we've had 10 shots

the rifle I think the first five scared

me more they're not scared anyone else

there was a fact of course that it

wasn't an Army in the sense that a lot

of armors or armies were a a commander

can just walk around and hold the people

around and treat them like dogs or just

as he likes or shout at them you know

they had to be treated as people and

they were people then you they knew what

they were fighting for and we our Our

intention was always to give them the

best chance to think what about the

leadership of the brigades themselves

what sort of quality was that

the organization of the international

brigades from all over Western Europe

and America was very very well done

but the provision of trained military

leaders

was very very badly done

we were just all as paulers bunched in

there and here and there and anybody

with military

training at all was selected to occupy

positions it is correct because remember

that the Spanish Army uh started with

the generals in the reward against the

Republic so other Spanish people had no

Army and they had to build up on the

abyss of the different militias belong

to the different political parties trade

unions political groupings so far on

their own militias uh very badly

equipped not only in terms of armaments

but in terms of uniforms and therefore

the facilities didn't exist for the

training of volunteers they lacked in

training they made up

for in Courage of a higher order

foolhardy though it may seem to a

trained military mind this was a very

very impressive thing

and it was really

flesh against metal

and no matter how Valiant an army is and

how good the morale is

there comes a time when you need a

little bit more than that

from Lisbon or Duffy's Men set off for

six weeks training in the city of

casares not far from the Portuguese

border casare is the old city of the

conquistadores in the province of estro

Madura was to be their base throughout

their time in Spain and even today 40

years on it has the Backwater atmosphere

of a city far from the frenetic new

industrial Spain it's Remembered in

Spain because it was from hereabouts

that Stout Cortes went off to exploit

the new world of the Americas and in

Ireland because it was from here that

the Irish went out to fight for Franco

or o Duffy casserays was the

headquarters of the Bandera Ireland

Daisy Del tercio the Irish Brigade of

the Foreign Legion

the Alvarez hotel which became his GHQ

is still there on the streets through

which his man marched accompanied by

this Mary's pipe band from Dublin would

be familiar today to those same men

as indeed would some of the bodegas and

the Church of San Domingo where the many

Church parades were held

[Music]

on Christmas morning there was a full

parade to the Church of San Domingo

where father Maureen said three masses

followed by benediction

the volunteers had a special Christmas

dinner after which a most enjoyable

concert was held in the dining room

a little bit homesick they were in great

form jubilant and happy

one and all assured me that the

Christmas in Spain was the most

enjoyable they ever had

and in the main square of casares they

were viewed by General Franco himself

there was Jubilation in the Irish lines

when the announcement was made the

bandeel operated fully armed and

equipped with Irish flag at a tent as

each section passed him the offices had

been saluted in the spanish-style

shouting wholeheartedly Viva Franco Viva

spania and Viva Orlando

SEMO in a shot that I said I look with

giant confidence to the day when you and

your Spanish comrades will win new

honors for your flag Fighting For the

Glory of Ireland the glory of Spain and

the glory of our Holy Faith

[Music]

the Irish Bandera formed part of the

tercio the Spanish Foreign Legion whose

arid motto was long-lived death and

liaison officer with them was Don

Alfonso Bustamante ideas today the

alcalde or mayor of casares then a young

Spanish Lieutenant today a member of the

Cortes the Spanish Parliament yes I had

a such a great honor I've been with them

I appreciate the weather wonderful

people very good warrior

a very good shot they should wonderfully

well really yes and they were very good

companions I'm very happy people do

there is of course the the memorial to

them in the church and I guess you look

after that extremely well and I pray for

them every day there yeah

I go every day with that mess

and it's here in what became the Irish

church that the Bandera is commemorated

[Music]

I unveiled a tablet in the church to

Mark our official farewell before

leaving for the front the inscription in

Irish Spanish and English reads to the

glory of God and the honor of Ireland in

remembrance of the 15 Bandera Irish

Brigade of the tercio who worshiped in

this church while serving the cause of

the faith and of Ireland's ancient Ally

and protector Spain

afterwards during benediction the

bandira sang Faith of Our Fathers

foreign

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

thank you

some people some of them that we spoke

to in Ireland who are still alive they

say that they found the wine very strong

well you know the highest people that

are Spanish people were very full of

weren't all and then is the the sympathy

a mutual it's Jeff we were very cheerful

together did they drink did they drink

too much

they're whiskey so it was a fair

exchange

I remember you remember this video

but a little Duffy tends to ignore it

there was a drink problem among some of

the volunteers one of them wrote in an

unpublished Memoir of the inevitable

payday scenes which took place by those

who had taken more than their fair share

of Vino and who were now all out for

trouble

one bar man in casares Jose Garcia

recalls the Irish who came here 40 years

ago

foreign

1937 and they he was just a young boy

then he was about 13 years old and the

thing he remembers most about them was

their happiness and the clothes they

wear because here in Spain they'd never

seen anything like this they had their

Hops and their kills you know and he

remembers very well the processions they

made to the church and every Sunday well

did they sort of go around the bars and

awful lot

unfortunately it is probably true I'd

say that 20 of the large of all ages

were very addicted to drink and apart

entirely from their addiction drink was

very very cheap it was quite possible

for a young man of 18 and 19 who hadn't

been used to a lot of drink and who

wasn't being very well fed to drink a

bottle of wine into costume the

equivalent of uh 10 pence here in

Ireland you see and it was highly potent

so we had to miss every night of the

week

he says that um not always didn't all of

us have quite enough money to pay for

the rewind that sometimes they might

have had to sell their coat or something

in order to buy another bottle you know

did they drink far more than the

Spaniards for instance

um

[Music]

something they drank more but they drank

equally well do you think that the

people of casarez remember the Irish at

all with much gratitude

yes

it was it was a marvelous thing for them

they went to the coast of Ireland

take a boat the boat was going to fight

for the faith I think it's an amazing

thing

and they were very very brave people

[Music]

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[Music]

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to this day it's a mystery who gave into

temptation but one slice of viennetto

with its irresistible crisp dark layers

and simply Rich ice cream

never seems quite enough

so who was that last slice destined for

[Music]

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[Music]

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[Music]

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[Music]

[Music]

February 1937 saw Duffy's men ready for

the fight but still a long way from the

front and the front at this time was

strongly centered on Madrid which was

held by the Republican government the

fighting was Savage and by now much of

Europe was embroiled from Russia had

come arms aircraft man and money to

supporter of public which would have

died without them and from the fascist

Powers tanks and aircraft from Italy

alone came more than 50 000 Army

conscripts and from Hitler came the

Condor Legion which was to provide the

heinkels and Yonkers which were to

obliterate granica as well as artillery

and advisors

the big Powers Spain was the great

experiment a gigantic war game

for Spain herself compounded the tragedy

of a Civil War and ensure the end of

democracy for a generation

by now some of the men of the

international Brigade were old in battle

volunteers had come to fight for the

Republic from all over the world

including more than 150 from Ireland for

some of these the baptism of fire was in

the many battles around Madrid we had

Advanced about four males across country

the morning was a bit Misty then the

planes worked out but we were subjected

to terrible bombardment of artillery and

with an advanced under artillery Fair

shells exploding in the midst of us

around us all the time

[Applause]

thank you

of all the battles in Spain the one

which was to begin now in the Valley of

the harama river was to epitomize war in

all its horror its memories are burned

into the minds of all who fought in it

Uncle thought when he had failed in a

frontal assault on Madrid at University

City

he might take it on the south from

harama on the Haram River

so we were sent up there

all this road Franco had gathered

together several very good divisions and

we were sent up the

13th 14th and 15th brigades

and we held the road at a very very high

price

and the price was 45

000 men in one terrible week

the British Battalion alone in which so

many of the Irish fought lost 400 of its

600 men in one day

defending Suicide Hill in the pingran

Foothills 22 Irishmen died man like the

Reverend r m Hilliard a Protestant

clergyman from Killarney Charlie

Donnelly the Ulster poet kit Conway from

County Tipperary dick O'Neal from

Belfast it was Adorama that Frank Ryan

was wounded as he rallied his man when

the battle was turning against the

Republic

you have to look hard for evidence that

man died in their thousands here on the

harama river

a poet wrote of the terrible Slaughter

death stalked the olive trees picking

his man

his leading finger beckoned again and

again

[Music]

that's a place that we all know so well

well thought is there that we wasted our

manhood

and the most of our old ages well

oh

[Music]

and it was to the aftermath of the

harama battle that oduffy's men were to

come

[Music]

tune of their battle March cancion de

legionario they set off from casares

just as they Conquistador is before the

Madan to fight under the banner of

Catholicism

foreign

[Music]

went off to war they were marching along

a sunken Road about a mile outside

siemposales when they saw another body

of troops crossing their path and

o'duffy in his book crusade in Spain has

written of this incident he says that

The Interpreter a leften and Bove with

his troops went over to the other body

of troops saluted the officer in charge

and said to him Bandera Ireland Daisy

Del tercio identifying who they were in

fact and or Duffy continues instantly

the captain to whom he spoke stepped

back one pace drew his revolver and

fired Point Blank at leftover and at

this stage all hell broke loose and I

thought it a type of some let's

practicing and I thought they should

fire in a different direction

and bought it at the end the world came

immediately the world being attacked to

Sergeant Lee who was a later kill he

told us to get down and we saw our

movements in front of us and I opened

fired there was possibly wounded the

first to open fire

and firing went on in fact for well over

an hour a number of the Irish were

killed and a number of the other troops

too but the awful irony of this was that

the troops who had opened fire on the

Irish were of course Franco troops in

other words fighting on the same side

surely that must have

taken the guts out of you all to some

extent

not really not really but it did make us

aware

of the risks

two Irishmen died in the action and

others were wounded an inquiry found the

other troops a Franco Bandera from the

Canary Islands to blame

the action took some heart out of the

Irish but for the next few weeks they

settled in around the old village of

siempasuelas and learned to live with

these shelling from the Republican lines

two miles away

[Music]

these Railway buildings here were part

of the Irish outposts in front of the CM

persuelas when oh Duffy's men were first

put into the line in fact where I'm

standing now was part of that line and

the job was to protect this little town

uh over just over here and it was from

these positions from trenches all along

here that they made their one and only

offensive action of the war they were

ordered out into these planes over here

to take a small town called tatocia

three miles away and they left the dog

out on a very heavy artillery fire in

fact they didn't get very far the

artillery pinned them down and

eventually they were ordered to retreat

but before they retreated they had lost

four men including sergeant major

Gabriel Lee of Dublin who was killed

down there where wheat and Maize and

Millard now grow those

he unfortunately

fell forward when we had these barrage

and I was with them at the time it fell

on top of them

and when it was over I sat up and

he didn't

buy a most peculiar Circumstance the

vein it was taken from discovered

and it cut the

back of his thigh

as if you would cut a steak

and her got out of his character and did

that I don't know because I was on top

of him

so he was bleeding very very badly

I had a pair of rosary beads in my

pocket which my father had given me I

gave them to him and he clustered them

and he spoke a few words to me

uh Bergen Bergen was one of the

stretch of errors and he came along with

his companion

and they took him away on this on the

stretcher

parade courageous stretch of bear as

they were

they took him away to the hospital away

behind

where they could go and he died there

later on they moved up the line to La

marinosa near Madrid and it was there

they remained until their return to

Ireland in May of that year

Harley Quinn who was second in command

of his Brigade is surrounded in his home

by reminders of Irish history and his

Christian faith

and of his Spanish experience

after CM persuelus there was some

disagreement about the role of the

Brigade and a number of the men wanted

to come back to Ireland

poorly Quinn was not one of those

according to him oduffia decided on a

defensive role for the Bandera in Spain

did you regret that decision that would

you have prepared to have taken a more

active role yes some of us did resent it

because there was plenty of

engagements there we knew on our right

and left

that we should have been in

and would have

um

it would have painted a much better

picture no

no I don't think we were mainly a

defensive role

we took part as a mainly defensive role

because we Advanced our uncertain points

during the engagement there

it was just the position to be occupied

that made it appear that way in my

opinion well I have a suspicion that

when General Dolphins is out there and

saw the grave dangers to which we were

being subjected that if we were to come

into a conflict with the raids to a

closer degree that maybe we would have

suffered very severe casualties and he

might have felt that this country would

call them responsible for that

[Music]

at the end of May the Bandera left for

Ireland leaving behind them a dozen dead

seven of them killed in battle and now

buried in the wall said Casa Ray

Cemetery their names often incorrectly

spelled

they lie in company with hundreds of

Moorish cavalrymen of Franco's Army of

Africa

[Music]

back in Ireland oduffy's summary of the

Spanish Adventure was that his Brigade

did not because it could not play a very

prominent part in the war but we ensure

that our country was represented in the

fight against World communism our

volunteers were Not Mere adventurers

over 90 percent of them were true

Crusaders we've been criticized near

that slander but truth charity and

Justice shall Prevail and time will

justify our motives we seek no praise we

need our duty we went to Spain

well I think as a matter of fact I think

if they wanted to go to Spain to fight

for what they believed in there were

some religious people who sought that to

go down for further religion there were

some people who were fascist some

otherwise for fascism I think they had a

right to do so

but one thing I have strongly object to

is that they use the title of the Irish

Brigade and wild geese

because the

in the wild geese in the first place it

was mercenaries they had causes a cause

which they fought for an enemy which

they hated and that's why they fought

and when they got there to fight they

fought they fought and they died

see on Far foreign field from Dunkel to

Belgrade like the Warriors and Chiefs of

the Irish brigades and I think that if

Ireland is looking for a Warriors and

Chiefs who died on on the fields of

Spain

to people like Peter Peter Daly

kit Conway Jack naulty and palisova

Joshua Chiefs

blue shirts blue shirt and if you want

if you want the warrior you didn't claim

to be Chiefs

we're all over Spain married the Grays

are better though they're buried in

Graves all over Spain and I think if if

Ireland is going to consider that she

has that she had an Irish Brigade there

that she had wild geese there

the title belongs to the Republican side

not to Duffy's me

Irishman we're still fighting and dying

in Spain with the international Brigade

they fought and died at brunette in the

Aragon where Frank Ryan was captured at

Belle [ __ ] and Quinto and carowell as

the battles continue to cross the land

and they were to die on the Ebro in the

last big action involving the

international Brigade The Ebro was a

final desperate attempt to gain ground

for The Battered Republic and at first

it looked as if it would succeed again

the fight was fierce of the

international Brigade man who crossed

the Ebro 75 fell and for some of them

the Ebro was a first taste of battle

everybody suffer some I didn't

from being scarcity in the sort of the

first impression or the cracking of the

bullets like whips actually near my ears

then the artillery barrage and so on and

oh I think for each person it's an

individual coming to terms with the

reality the battle and

everybody comes to terms I think in the

wrong way and in a different way

a monument Rises out of the river Ebro

to commemorate one of the last great

battles of the war and here another

Monument this one marks General Franco's

command post near the town of Gandesa it

was a battle in which 150 000 men died

and that included about a dozen Irishmen

but it

the of a river the battle of the river

Ebro it was a battle of valleys Hills of

mountain peaks and this particular Peak

over here became quite notorious this is

the infamous Hill 481 we called it the

pimple because of the construction of

the Hill itself and for seven days we

were on the hill lapsed 40 had won and I

used to have to go run down the hill of

the valley and attack four he had one

which was in a commanding position

heavily fortified and if we had one

anti-tank gun it would have been

possible actually to knuckle that hill

but not having any anti-tank guns we

were depending upon the the maximum

machine guns and our own rifles as well

today and grenade to try and take it so

on August the 1st 1938 Bank Holiday by

the way at that time it was actually the

bank holiday it was very warm day at

least in 481 anyway uh the I was wounded

in the last attack and then we would run

because it was reckon it was impossible

to take the position for rifle machines

men had come from 29 different countries

to fight in the international brigades

they had fought on all fronts and their

casualties were appalling they had seen

their friends die and had killed and

battled themselves they had seen and

done things which they would never

forget

the war did

did some did something to me that that

can perhaps

had a bad bad effect in a way personally

uh eventually it belongs no matter how

good the calls you're fighting on it it

plunges sensibility blood is your view

of your feelings of indignation of the

negative Justice and so on that and I

had come to be indifferent about well

our other callous the callus about

casualties beside me because they could

survive and kind of indifferent even to

my own Survival

this is

this is very badly ever since an

importance of War probably the most

abiding memory is the faces of the of

three five men are killed who had

attacked attacked our position with hand

grenades and I I had a throne and thrown

hand grenades at them

and while while even while one of the

hand grenades was at the foot of one of

flowers the fascists I could see their

faces so clearly

then a

handsome young fellas who we might be

just like any of our own Spanish lads

then the explosion

and that's a true the second hand

grenade

they were no longer there

[Music]

something I'd like to point out here

because I think it's very important as

far as

Spain and the international Brigade is

concerned you see they at this time the

the Spaniards were actually moving

Spanish troops into the international

brigades to reinforce them as we're

getting very difficult to get them from

abroad and if you see the real role of

the international Brigade which is not

or just fighting they fought out they

had a special role in Spain

international Brigade and of course the

Irish with them but this was their real

role there that the Spanish government

could say well here we have a a body of

men who are loyal to nobody but us

you see they've come to fight for Spain

and this is where they differ actually

from how Duffy's crowd the thing is that

our Duffy's crowd went to Spain and they

need not have gone

but the end was near for the brigades in

October 1938 the League of Nations

supervised the withdrawal of all foreign

volunteers they were men of all classes

of many Creeds and of none without them

Spain could not have continued the fight

in the early days of the war

150 Irishmen were among their number and

60 of these were killed in Spain where

they still lie their graves unmarked

60 dead on their leader Frank Ryan in a

Spanish prison and you cannot discuss

the Irish in Spain without touching on

these strange Enigma of Frank Ryan the

charismatic socialist republican from

limnick captured on the Aragon front in

March 1938 Ryan was the outstanding

Irish leader in Spain a man who's

imprisonment by Franco caused the Irish

government and even the Vatican to

negotiate for his release

he had been sentenced to death but

International agitation had this

commuter to 30 years in Burgos prison in

jail Ryan was a sick man aware at first

that efforts were being made in Ireland

and in Spain to have him released one

man who was with him in Burgos was the

Welsh miners leader Tom Jones he got a

little unhappy and felt that either a

the other government wasn't trying hard

enough or that they couldn't persuade

Franco to get him out and then he had

other thoughts in his mind there might

be other people in Dublin in the Dublin

government even and or even in some

other organization who would not want

him back in in the Republic

Jones was eventually released leaving

Ryan behind him and he went to Dublin

ostensibly to see Ryan's family but I

was actually conveying a message from

Frank Ryan to a number of people

including the IRA and one of the

messages was that if Frank wasn't

released within six months that the

request that Frank requested the IRA to

blow up every Spanish Embassy in the

western world

in August 1940 Frank Ryan was released

from prison but not to return to Ireland

for some reason still utterly mysterious

he turned up in Nazi Germany today to

this day his old comrades don't know why

he was taken there but when I uh heard

that he was in Germany that he'd got

into Germany

I was really puzzled and I could only

think well somebody's forced him to go

to Germany either Franco site or

somebody in Dublin has said you will get

you released from Spain but you can't

come home to The Republic you must go to

Germany and

there were a number of factors which

made it very difficult for me to

understand and even still I still feel

Frank didn't want to go to Germany but

having been recruited by digestable who

did interview

they have to interviewed all of us but

we could never accept this now believe

it that uh Franklin effect in this way I

mystery to you to this day a mystery to

all of us indeed and I don't think we've

got the full story of why Frank uh got

to Germany why he was forced to go there

because he certainly didn't go he loved

this country island he was a great Irish

Patriot and this was his greatest

ambition to come home to die if he had

to die and he didn't want to die

anywhere else but the man who rallied

the Republicans at the harama was to die

far from Ireland he died and dressed in

the 1944 his grave of to Old comrades

the international Brigade the man who

had fought in the city Sierras had

played their part in a war which brought

defeat to their side they had learned in

Spain that a man can fight for what he

believes is right and yet be beaten but

force can Vanquish spirit that courage

alone is not enough

this explains perhaps why so many men in

the world over regard the Spanish drama

as a personal tragedy

in Spain were spared one horror of a

civil war they never had to face each

other in battle

I believe that I went there sincerely

but if I came there would be no

compulsion I know education and also

they were on the side of fascism and we

were fighting

uh I feel so much that that there was

um fighting against

my own Irish men but then there was uh

Spanish

for a different idea

yes I would have fought them only

singers I'm afraid I didn't do much

fighting you know I shouldn't think it

was possible that we would have met

though doofy's people

and had to fight them but had it been

possible

well there were fascists weren't they

sincerely regret it I would still have

found it my duty it was still Reds and I

would call this has a horrible thing

that killed my neighbor's children but

she would have done it

was the fight you thought they are worth

it was it was it a worthwhile right I

would say it was it was for the

Christian faith and if we are only or if

the Spaniards hadn't fought anyone as

they did then uh Spain would have been

kind of belong to the Communist blood

today France would have gone easily the

whole of Europe would be in the hands of

of Soviet Russia it's the one thing in

my life of course it stands out

it was two years almost two years and

two long hard years but uh

I liked it in in its way you know as

well as you can like our chip anyway but

I I liked it I'm glad I went

about its Horrors

oh yes yes but uh no that wasn't the

question you asked me you asked me if I

would go again not if I would want to

see the horrors again no I

I wouldn't want to see all those Horrors

again

I would never Advocate anybody else to

go to war I never liked I'm not one of

these people to say I would have missed

it for the world because I think anybody

who gets a real basement Boulevard

would never want to go again but if

there was an assessment for people

participate in a military sense to

become involved again

I wouldn't I would I would uh I wouldn't

be fit to do it obviously in the same

way but intellectually my feeling as

such I couldn't do anything I would

we have a song you remember the old film

where you may have their likes but we'll

never have battle

well that's what I feel about them

they're a fine body of matter

bloody owners are fine with them

[Music]

Franco commemorated the dead of the

Spanish Civil War here at the Valley of

the fall and outside Madrid and it's

here that he himself is buried the

generally accepted figure for the dead

is one million a conveniently round

figure which seems to suit both Victor

and vanquished the nationalists can

argue that they saved Spain from

communism at the cost of a Million Lives

the Republicans would say that Franco

climbed to power over a million Corpses

they're all remembered here the dead of

both sides Irish men among them

their Epitaph was spoken by a former

president of the Spanish Republic when

he said when the torch passes to other

hands to other men to other Generations

let them remember if they feel their

blood boil and the Spanish temper is

once more infuriated with intolerance

hatred and destruction let them think of

the dead and listen to their lesson the

lesson of those who have bravely fallen

in battle generously fighting for a

great ideal unto now protected by their

maternal soil feel no hate or ranker and

who sand us with the sparkling of their

light tranquil and remote as that of a

star the message of the Eternal

Fatherland which says to all men

peace pity and pardon

you never behind happy with strangers

they would not understand

patiently

where if you happen