A new book from Limerick-born author Barry McLoughlin, entitled Fighting For Republican Spain, 1936-38′ will be launched on this Friday in Knocklong Community Hall with a video and exhibition at 8pm.

Frank Ryan from Elton and other volunteers from Limerick were some of the 230 Irish-born among the 35,000 volunteers in the International Brigades fighting fascism in the Spanish Civil War. While this book focuses on the six volunteers from Limerick, it uses Russian files to paint a general picture of the involvement of the Brigades, their leaders, foot-soldiers and the politics in the units, especially in the British battalion of the 15th Brigade.

REASONS

The book commences with a review of Irish politics in the 1930s, the persecution of the Left and the reasons why Frank Ryan led a contingent to Spain in December 1936. The narrative also examines the tension between Irish and British leaders in Spain and analyses the major battles of 1937. In two chapters, the imprisonment of Frank Ryan in Spain and his role in German exile are scrutinised.

The final chapter is the first attempt to describe in detail one of the most gruesome episodes that occurred in the British battalion: the semi-judicial murder of a Limerick volunteer, the machine-gunner Maurice Emmet Ryan during the Ebro battle in August 1938.

The last section contains over 60 pages of statistical data and biographies of all the Irish participants in the Brigade’s history.

All are welcome to Friday night’s launch.