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DONEGAL AND THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR
By Gerard Duddy, Branch Librarian, Moville Library
2006 marks the 70th anniversary of the start of the Spanish Civil
War, which occurred between 1936-39. As part of the year's commemorations,
Moville Branch Library, Inishowen, Co. Donegal recently organised
an historical talk on 'Ireland and the Spanish Civil War.' The event
was held in a local hotel on 2nd May 2006 and was attended by over
50 people including historians and academics.
Part of the historical talk included acknowledging a local connection
between Ireland and the Spanish Civil War. During the talk information
was provided on an Inishowen (Lecamey, Moville) man Paddy Roe McLaughlin
(1902-1974) that may otherwise have been lost from the annals of
history and forgotten. Paddy Roe was a veteran of the War of Independence
and a volunteer in the International Brigade. This year has witnessed
a push among solidarity groups, academics and historians to document
this history as part of our collective heritage.
Over the last five years Moville Branch Library has organised many
historical talks including: 'Evictions in County Donegal,' 'A Maritime
History of Lough Foyle,' 'Rekindling a Dying Heritage: The Demise
of Townland Names,' 'The Donegal Corridor and Irish Neutrality During
the Second World War' and 'Shot at Dawn'…the executions of
young men during the First World War. All the above lectures have
been very successful.
But perhaps of all the historical lectures, 'Ireland and the Spanish
Civil War' has received the most positive response from the audience,
the media and civic society generally. For instance, currently on
tour from Moville Library is a pictorial exhibition reflecting Ireland's
involvement in the Spanish Civil War. Many schools and public libraries
in County Derry and Donegal have expressed interest in displaying
this exhibition.
The Irish involvement in one of the pivotal European conflicts
of the twentieth century has many angles/themes to it. It was first
and foremost a civil conflict but it also had an international and
ideological dimension. Like many conflicts it has been documented
in film, literature and the arts. But perhaps from our perspective
as a nation, it is the 1,000 or so Irish men who fought on opposing
sides of the war that has gained the most notoriety and controversy.
In my own county, some five Donegal men joined the Irish Brigade
and supported Franco's revolt while nearly double this figure volunteered
for the International Brigade and fought on the Republican side.
The purpose of the following information is to acknowledge as a
community this local connection between Ireland and the Spanish
Civil War. And also, to document this history as part of our collective
heritage. It must be stated that this is only a sketch of his life…nonetheless;
it constitutes an acknowledgement and a historical record.
Paddy Roe McLaughlin: A Republican and a member of the International
Brigade.
He was born in 1902 in Lecamey, Moville. (Lecamey is the name of
a townland situated 3 miles from Moville town, between the village
of Carrowmenagh and Moville. In the northeast quadrant of the Inishowen
Peninsula, County Donegal.) Known to his family as Pat - but to
his comrades he was known as 'Paddy Roe.' His father Thomas and
mother Bridget were small farmers.
Paddy Roe McLaughlin attended Falmore National School. For a period
he served as an altar boy at the old church of St John's, which
was located in the area currently occupied by St Columb's Church,
Ballinacrea. Paddy Roe was a veteran in the war of Independence
and during the 1920's his republicanism orientated towards the 'Anti-Treaty'
position.
Like many people of his generation he emigrated to America. It
is known that he worked on the construction of New York subways
during the 1930's. He also served in the U.S. 69th Infantry Regiment,
New York National Guard. Whilst in the United States he also participated
in protests in defence of two Italian-born American anarchists,
Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti outside the prison in the state
of Massachusetts when they were executed on August 23, 1927. Both
were accused of the killing of a shoe factory paymaster and a security
guard during a robbery on April 15th, 1920.
Following the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, it is
estimated that over 40,000 (48, 000) volunteers went to Spain from
various countries in the period 1936 - 39. Paddy Roe was one such
volunteer who went to fight on the side of the democratically elected
republican government against Franco's fascist revolt.
For Paddy Roe and over 40 other volunteers the journey to Spain
was to begin at Victoria Station, London on December 1936. Other
persons at Victoria Station included Joe Monks, Frank Edwards, Kit
Conway, Peter Daly and Jack Nalty. It is believed that when Paddy
Roe left America on route to London he intended going to Spain to
where he would meet George Gilmore, a Portadown born Protestant
who was reared in Dublin. George Gilmore was actively involved in
Irish republican and socialist politics. Together with Peadar O'Donnell
and Frank Ryan, George Gilmore left the IRA in 1934 and established
the Republican Congress, whose objective was to establish a workers'
republic.
For many volunteers, the route to Spain was across the Channel,
through Paris and then across the Spanish border to places like
Catalonia. Many travelled in groups but quite a number travelled
alone in their determination to fight against the tide of fascism
that was sweeping through Europe at that time.
Paddy Roe fought in the trenches and among the olive trees and
survived. His experiences were recorded in the 'Book of the XV Brigade.'
In Spain he fought with the James Connolly section of the American
Lincoln Battalion. He was a member of the International Brigade
from December 26th 1936 to March 7th 1938 'with an excellent record
of service.' During this period his comrades included Belfast Protestant
Republican Liam (Billy) Tumilson; the poet Charles Donnelly from
Dungannon; the Power brothers from Waterford John, Paddy Willie;
Hugh Bonar of Dungloe and Eamon McGrotty, an ex-Christian Brother
from Derry. It has been recorded that Paddy Roe was an enthusiastic
soldier and well liked. His commander in the field was Boston journalist
Paul Burns and his best friend in the trenches was Liam Tumilson.
Paddy Roe witnessed the death of Tumilson on March 14th, 1937 in
the Jarama Valley by a snipers bullet as he stood on a small hill
siting machine-gun emplacements. Liam Tumilson was quietly buried
by his comrades in the English speaking section in the little town
of Morata, about 20 miles south west of Madrid. It was Paddy Roe
who wrote 'An Appreciation of Liam Tumilson' which was published
in the Irish Democrat on 28th August 1937.
Interestingly, Paddy Roe himself was reported killed in action.
The full obituary can be read in Michael O'Riordan's book, 'Connolly
Column: The Story of the Irishmen who fought for the Spanish Republic
1926-1939.' The actual obituary appeared in the column 'Trailing
the Gael' in the December 18th, 1937 issue of the 'Irish World and
American Industrial Liberator.' Although the Catholic Church would
have viewed those Irish men who had gone to Spain to fight against
Franco as being on the 'wrong side of the fence,' the local Parish
Priest Fr. Sherrin, along with parishioners in the old church of
St John's Ballinacrea prayed for him in light of his reported death.
Paddy Roe was also a close associate of Father Michael O'Flanagan
who championed the Spanish Republican cause. It is believed that
Fr. O'Flanagan was no stranger to the north west of Ireland and
visited the Inishowen Peninsula on a number of occasions, particularly
the area of Moville and surrounding districts.
After the war many volunteers returned home to a mixed reception.
Unemployment was still high in Ireland and subsequently, many stayed
in England. Nonetheless, his political interests continued. He was
a founder member of the Connolly Association in England, one of
those who attended the meeting on September 4th 1939, at the Engineers
Hall, Doughty Street, Liverpool.
In 1938 he married Kathleen Walsh, the fiancée of Liam Tumilson
who had been killed in action. Kathleen was from Liverpool where
she spent time in jail for anti-fascist activities.
By the 1940's with the outbreak of the Second World War many joined
the British Forces. Paddy O'Daire from Glenties who fought on the
republican side became an accomplished soldier and despite his politics,
rose to the rank of Major in the British army during World War II.
In the case of Paddy Roe he became a RAF mechanic and gained his
pilot's licence and logbook flying Spitfires and Hurricanes. Years
later he also was employed at the Dounreay nuclear power station
in North Scotland as a pipe fitter; the occupation he followed to
his retirement despite having his right hand crushed in a work accident
about 1949.
Both Paddy Roe and Kathleen were members of the Communist Party.
It is believed he joined the Communist Party while working in the
USA. Like many active members of the Communist Party during this
period Kathleen left the Party disillusioned by the Soviet invasion
of Hungary in 1956 while Paddy Roe remained a member.
Paddy Roe's last visit to Ireland was in the 1973. The latter part
of their lives was spent living in Liverpool where Paddy Roe died
in 1974 followed by Kathleen in 1998. The following tribute to Paddy
Roe appeared in the Irish Democrat, November 1974: 'This bare
narrative gives no conception of the romantic events which seemed
to surround him at all times. He could keep listeners enthralled
for hours, drawing upon his well-stocked and retentive memory….
With the passing of Patrick Roe McLaughlin, the Irish community
has lost one of its most colourful and attractive characters. Born
in (Lecamey,) Moville, East Donegal, he lived a life of incredible
adventure. It would be difficult to count the number of armies he
was in. He fought in the Tan and Civil War under Peadar O'Donnell's
brother, Francis. After the defeat of the Republicans he emigrated
to the United States, where he was associated with the James Connolly
clubs, and their publication The Fenian.'
Why did Paddy Roe McLaughlin go to Spain and become a member
of the International Brigade?
Apart from his short primary schooling Paddy Roe was essentially
self-educated. This was an accomplishment for its time. He was a
fluent Irish speaker and had a clear sense of his own historical
location and of his destiny. His politics were ideology driven;
this is evident in his political activities and his associates which
included the internationally acclaimed Irish writer Sean O'Casey.
Broadly, his politics could be described as 'Republican Socialist.'
Although initially an Italian phenomenon, Europe in the 1930's
witnessed a surge in Fascism. For individuals like Paddy Roe the
call to go to Spain would have been the first opportunity, as they
saw it, to stem the raise of Fascism. Those associated with the
Republican Congress or the broad 'labour movement' would have been
a natural pool to draw from and join the International Brigade,
whereas the 700 or so Irish volunteers who were led by General Eoin
O'Duffy (Blueshirts) to support Franco's Nationalist Army were inspired
by religious ideas and in defence of the Catholic Church. Paddy
Roe and his 250 or so Irish comrades went to Spain in the belief
that they were stopping the spread of Fascism.
For additional information on volunteers from the North West a
web site worthy of a visit is www.nopasaran.netfirms.com
- the 'North West Spanish Civil War Project.'
For more information/comments or if you can add any further information,
no matter how insignificant you think it may seem, please don't
hesitate to contact:
Gerard Duddy
Branch Librarian
Moville Library
074 93 85110
Movillelib@donegalcoco.ie
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